Hiker in red jacket stands on snowy mountain summit admiring panoramic views at sunrise.

Hey, my name is Holly Wademan

Life is a collection of curated stories. Our stories literally shape our lives which always struck me as fascinating. So after attaining a BA of Communications with Honours, I set off on a career of curiosity to tell the stories of people from all walks of life. First as a print journalist for 10 years writing feature articles for national and international publications. I then transitioned into Factual TV and Documentary at the BBC in the UK for 5 years, then co-founded and managed Queenstown production company Storyworks for 10 years telling local stories. Over my career I've been granted access to numerous worlds I never even knew existed, and had the privilege to tell stories about the great diversity, beauty and complexity of life. After almost 25 years of doing what I do, I feel there's a common unifying thread to all of our stories, and if we ever meet, I'll share what I've learned.

“If you're going to have a story, have a big story, or none at all.” – Joseph Campbell

Female hiker in red jacket stands on snowy mountain peak during golden hour sunset.

Nadia and Carlos pose for the camera on their farm as part of their TV series Nadia's Farm, directed by Holly Wademan.

Black and white landscape of dramatic jagged clay pinnacle formations reaching into the sky.

Blonde woman in patterned shawl standing in golden field with mountains behind.

Person in red jacket jumping on snowy forest road in winter woods.

Videographer filming snowy mountain valley landscape at golden sunset hour for BBC's Frozen Planet 2 series.

Kea parrots playing in the snow in New Zealand while being filmed for BBC's Frozen Planet 2 series, directed by Holly Wademan.

Drone aerial footage is fundamental to film making today, especially for high end music videos.

Smiling woman in striped shirt stands in modern kitchen beside a pavlova dessert.

Woman in patterned wrap walking down empty rural road with mountains ahead.

Four people holding hands walking on rocky shore at golden hour near mountains.

Nancy Jiang summitting Ben Lomond mountain behind Queenstown as part of a documentary produced and directed by Holly Wademan.

Aerial view of high country sheep muster through remote alpine valley for a BBC natural history film directed by Holly Wallace.

Smiling farmer holding wooden staff with snow-capped mountain backdrop on a sunny day in New Zealand.

Aerial view of a female engineer in orange safety vest and white hard hat holding blueprints.

Dawn light on Lake Pukaki with Anna Hawkins to shoot her music video which Holly Wademan produced and directed.

Smiling couple embracing near a sunlit mountain lake on a bright day.

Videographer filming woman in white dress among golden grass fields with professional camera rig outdoors.

Photographer capturing a woman in white dress on rocky cliff with scenic mountain valley backdrop in New Zealand.

Two smiling women wearing aprons posing together in a pottery studio workshop.

Smiling tradesman holding power tool in a well-equipped workshop garage filled with tools and equipment.

Smiling senior woman artist sitting in creative workshop studio surrounded by tools and artwork.

Farmer walking four dogs along rural road beside tractor with dramatic snow-dusted mountain scenery.

Man standing in dimly lit winery barrel room surrounded by oak wine barrels stacked on wooden racks.

Peter Bartle tasting wine between rows of oak barrels in central otago wine cellar.

Group of five vineyard workers smiling together during grape harvest at dusk among the vines.

Dirty gloved hands holding freshly picked central otago pinot noir red grapes covered in soil during wine harvest in New Zealand.

Wine maker Peter Bartle walking alone down rural gravel road through misty vineyard at golden sunrise.

Previous work

I've been lucky enough to work across a broad spectrum of projects both in NZ and abroad. From Blue Chip BBC Natural History productions, to TV shows like Nadia's Farm, One Born Every Minute, Nigel Slater's Simple Suppers, and The Hairy Bikers. I was invited to direct on a women focused documentary for Salomon, and created a local mini documentary series called 'Living In La La Land' exploring the tensions and struggles of this region. I've made music videos for aspiring Kiwi artists including Kaylee Bell, and brand films for a range of great companies and institutions such as Coastguard. I also co-produced an ethical hunting and cooking TV programme for the Outdoor Channel in the U.S. All of which I'm incredible proud of, as I'm also a devoted Mum to my two gorgeous daughters, so life has been busy!

"Truth is always stranger than fiction."

LORD BYRON

Salomon - her way

I was invited to direct on this global documentary for international adventure brand Salomon, celebrating women that have walked their own path. It tells the story of three very different women's relationships with the outdoors in New Zealand, South Africa and the U.S. Warning. You may shed a tear or two.

BBC wild New Zealand - high country sheep muster

Wild New Zealand was a natural history series produced by the BBC. I pitched the Executive Producer the idea of filming a high country muster on Mount Nicholas station. They loved the idea and I line produced and directed this story for the series.

BBC FROZEN PLANET 2 - KEA

To capture this sequence, myself the DOP and our guide lived in Chancellors hut for 2.5 weeks in the dead of winter. The hut is perched 200 metres above Fox Glacier and has zero insulation or heating! I've never been so cold in my life, but it was one of the best experiences of my career so far.

WHAT LIES BENEATH

This short documentary made as part of the 'Living in La La Land' mini doco series explores neglect of Lake Hayes. I live near the lake and often wondered why it was so sick. Toxic algal blooms often shut down the lake to swimmers each summer, and it felt wrong that the health of such an iconic and beautiful lake could be so neglected. This film was our most successful in stimulating change. It mobilised the ORC and local community groups to step up and prioritise restoring the health of Lake Hayes which has had great results.

Dramatic sunset over Lake Hayes in Queenstown which was the subject of a documentary directed by Holly Wademan.

the run - high performance sport nz

This short promo video for Beijing Winter Olympics was a collaboration with ChillBox Creative to profile the local athletes heading off the the games in a fresh, dynamic way.

Ski for trees

Professional skiier Pete Oswald approached me to help him raise awareness of his mission to raise money to plant trees. The idea was for Pete to do as much skiing as possible, but for a cause. The catch was he had to climb up to ski back down. No lifts. All on foot. Then he wanted people to donate money for every vertical metre he climbed which turned out to be 3.5 times the height of Everest! So we jumped on board and made a short doco to support his mad dream.

Documentary directed by Holly Wademan about a freeskiier ascending a steep snow-covered peak under a deep blue starry sky.

A woman tenderly holds a sleeping newborn baby outdoors after him almost dying at birth due to a lack of funding and support in Wanaka.

A LABOUR OF TRUTH

This 'Living in La La Land' film highlights how dangerous it is for women to have babies in the Queenstown Lakes District. A lack of funding, support and resources means women have to drive 4 hours to Dunedin hospital to give birth, which an often go wrong.

ULTIMATE HIKES - BRAND FILM

Ultimate Hikes was looking to tell it's story differently. I pitched the idea of telling their story from the angle of what hiking actually gives you, rather than just the nuts and bolts of their package. They loved it and this beautiful film was the result.

Aerial panoramic view of the Wakatipu Basin in Queenstown, with rugged peaks and golden plains in New Zealand.

QLDC - vision BEYOND 2050

This film tells the story of where Queenstown and the wider Lakes District wants to be in 2050. It was an aspirational and moving project to be part of - bringing the QLDC's vision of our possible future to life.

PROVIDORE - BRAND FILM

Providore is a realitvely new Central Otago wine and we wanted to help launch it by telling the story of wine maker Peter Bartle's deep connection with the land, light and vines.

pure milford - Brand film

Pure Milford was also looking for a more authentic approach to showcase what they do. So we spoke with their long time skipper who's name ironically was Fjord to create the narrative for this beautiful film to give viewers a local's insight into Milford Sound's magic.

Anna hawkins - wayfaring stranger/ yea though I walk

Kiwi singer Anna Hawkins approached me to make a music video for her remake of classic song Wayfaring Stranger, and wanted to film it at the clay cliffs in Omarama. We spent 3 days only filming at dawn and dusk to make this visually stunning film. Anna has the voice of an angel and I still get chills every time I watch this video.

Kaylee Bell in red top sitting in the back seat of a vintage classic car interior for her music video.

kaylee bell - getting closer

Before Kaylee Bell became a mega star and introduced a whole new generation of Kiwi's to country music, we made her music videos. This was my favourite one as the song meant a lot to Kaylee and was her big break into the American market. Nothing better than a NZ road trip with your besties to get over a broken heart.

cam scott - praying rain

Cam Scott was an aspiring country music artist who wanted to step up his music videos to try and break into the U.S charts and industry. We teamed up with him to create a high end, story driven music video to put him on the map!

High end music video produced and directed by Holly Wademan in Queenstown for country music artist Cam Scott.

CREDITS

FACTUAL TV/ DOCUMENTARY

NADIA'S FARM Series 1 & 2 - Warner Bros (Director)

MAN EATS WILD - The Outdoor Channel (Co-Producer & writer)

FROZEN PLANET 2 - BBC (Line Director)

WILD NEW ZEALAND - BBC (Line Director)

SNOW CREW - Stripe Studios BRAVO (Director)

SEVEN WONDERS OF THE COMMONWEALTH - BBC (Line Producer)

SKI FOR TREES - Winner QT Adventure Film Festival )

HER WAY - Salomon (Line Director)

LIVING IN LA LA LAND - Mini Doc series funded by NZ on Air (Producer/Director)

FREEDOM TRAILS - Seadog Productions (Line Director)

CWMNI DA - 3 part Welsh travel series shot around NZ (Line Producer)

ONE BORN EVERY MINUTE - Dragonfly Productions (Self shooting Director)

HAIRY BIKERS - BBC Southeast Asia series- (Assistant Producer)

NIGEL SLATER SIMPLE SUPPERS - BBC (Assistant Producer)

ORIGINAL FEATURES WITH NICK KNOWLES - BBC (Assistant Producer)

TRIBAL WIVES - Diverse (Assistant Producer and Self Shooting Director)

NURSES - Channel 5 Maverick Productions (Assistant Producer)

SECRET SUPPER CLUB - Channel 4. Boomerang Productions (Assistant Producer)

CORPORATE CLIENTS/ PROJECTS

COASTGUARD

ULTIMATE HIKES

SKYLINE

QLDC

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS

MILLBROOK

PURE MILFORD

KAYLEE BELL

PROVIDORE

NZ GOLF OPEN

FILM OTAGO SOUTHLAND

GENERAL MOTORS

HIGH PERFORMANCE SPORT NEW ZEALAND

CAM SCOTT

MIRANDA EASTEN

ANNA HAWKINS

PAUSE BREATH SMILE

Let's get to know each other.

I'm always keen to listen to your story.

Because a story told well can change the world.