Lost In Libya

Feature-Length Documentary – Directed by Dan Henry

2008: Three amateur historians venture 4000kms into the Libyan Sahara retracing the footsteps of their wartime heroes in search of Gebel Sherif, the only battlefield where New Zealanders fought during WWII that remains untouched. World expert on the LRDG, Kiwi Brendan O’Carroll, historian Kuno Gross (a Swiss engineer working in Libya) and their Italian friend and fellow history buff Roberto Chiarvetto, share a fascination with the LRDG and its Italian counterpart the Autosahariana.

Lost In Libya follows these modern day history hunters on their journey into the Libyan Desert. It’s no easy ride; every day Brendan and the team battle intense heat, the threat of dehydration and heat-stroke as temperatures soar over 40 degrees. Sandstorms, endless mechanical breakdowns and the challenges posed by the shifting sands threaten their goal of reaching Gebel Sherif.

Lost In Libya is also the story of the men who travelled those same sand dunes 70 years earlier. In 1940, as the war in North Africa intensified, the British knew the only way to make headway was to come at the enemy from the last place it would expect – the uncharted desert to the south. For this, they needed men who could handle heavy trucks over the unpredictable sand, knew their way around an engine and would just get on with the job: they called in the Kiwis. The LRDG’s main objective was to provide detailed maps and information about enemy positions deep in the Libyan Desert – all without being detected. Each patrol was completely self-sufficient, capable of travelling for hundreds of kilometres over barren unmapped country for weeks at a time.

Through interviews with some of the last surviving members of the LRDG, Lost In Libya tells just how effective this relatively small group was. Member of the LRDG’s T Patrol, Peter Garland, now 92, says the Italians called them the Ghost Patrol, “They couldn’t catch us, they couldn’t even see us.”

Veteran Tom Ritchie, 93, recalls how precious water was in the desert heat, “The trucks always came first, it [water] was rationed to less than two litres a day – and you had to share that with the truck, if you ran out you didn’t get any more.”

Lost In Libya also features the only known footage of the LRDG in action being broadcast for the first time.

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Lost In Libya

Feature-Length Documentary – Directed by Dan Henry

2008: Three amateur historians venture 4000kms into the Libyan Sahara retracing the footsteps of their wartime heroes in search of Gebel Sherif, the only battlefield where New Zealanders fought during WWII that remains untouched. World expert on the LRDG, Kiwi Brendan O’Carroll, historian Kuno Gross (a Swiss engineer working in Libya) and their Italian friend and fellow history buff Roberto Chiarvetto, share a fascination with the LRDG and its Italian counterpart the Autosahariana.

Lost In Libya follows these modern day history hunters on their journey into the Libyan Desert. It’s no easy ride; every day Brendan and the team battle intense heat, the threat of dehydration and heat-stroke as temperatures soar over 40 degrees. Sandstorms, endless mechanical breakdowns and the challenges posed by the shifting sands threaten their goal of reaching Gebel Sherif.

Lost In Libya is also the story of the men who travelled those same sand dunes 70 years earlier. In 1940, as the war in North Africa intensified, the British knew the only way to make headway was to come at the enemy from the last place it would expect – the uncharted desert to the south. For this, they needed men who could handle heavy trucks over the unpredictable sand, knew their way around an engine and would just get on with the job: they called in the Kiwis. The LRDG’s main objective was to provide detailed maps and information about enemy positions deep in the Libyan Desert – all without being detected. Each patrol was completely self-sufficient, capable of travelling for hundreds of kilometres over barren unmapped country for weeks at a time.

Through interviews with some of the last surviving members of the LRDG, Lost In Libya tells just how effective this relatively small group was. Member of the LRDG’s T Patrol, Peter Garland, now 92, says the Italians called them the Ghost Patrol, “They couldn’t catch us, they couldn’t even see us.”

Veteran Tom Ritchie, 93, recalls how precious water was in the desert heat, “The trucks always came first, it [water] was rationed to less than two litres a day – and you had to share that with the truck, if you ran out you didn’t get any more.”

Lost In Libya also features the only known footage of the LRDG in action being broadcast for the first time.

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NZ Stories

Documentary TV Series

We made 10 of these stories, which took us on an amazing journey: from the earthquake-ravaged ruins of Christchurch, a music festival in New Plymouth, a firefighting competition in Port MacQuarie, to grinding poverty in the slums in Manila.

Prog 1: Swee Tan – A Surgeon’s Gift

Plastic Surgeon Swee Tan faces a marathon day of surgery and reflects on his journey from rural poverty in Malaysia, to his life in NZ leading a team of pioneering cancer researchers.

Prog 2: Operation Restore Hope

Every year a Kiwi medical team donate their time and pay their own travel costs to Manila, to spend a week doing cleft palate operations on children in extreme poverty.

Prog 3: The Womad Wrangler

A behind-the-scenes look at Womad, New Zealand’s biggest music festival, and the work of Chris Herlihy, the man who makes sure it all runs like clockwork.

Prog 4: Cheap As Chips

A team of Supergrans leads the “Cheap as Chips” course for council tenants, sharing cooking and budget tips, and together discovering secret places round Wellington where you can find free wild food.

Prog 5: Battle at the Basilica

One of the biggest building preservation projects ever undertaken in New Zealand gets underway in Christchurch. It’s the battle against time to save the Catholic Basilica from being progressively, and potentially critically, damaged by earthquakes.

Prog 6: Manny and The Singh Brothers

Two rising stars in the music business, Shaan and Tyaan Singh – schoolboys from the Kapiti Coast – get the chance to work with Manny Garcia, a music performance specialist, as they write a new song.

Prog 7: The Trolley Boy

Refugee Makuei Aken is nominated for an Arts Access Award. It’s another step in what has been a long journey… from tragedy and flight from Southern Sudan, survival in a refugee camp, to finally settling in his new home in Upper Hutt.

Prog 8: Annie’s Heart

Burmese expatriate Annie Coates juggles a huge load of commitments to her community and family, as she awaits life-changing heart surgery.

Prog 9: A Home for My Girls (Habitat House)

Petronella Nyamangwanda is desperate to find a warm, safe home for her two daughters and seeks the support of Habitat for Humanity – a move that changes their lives forever.

Prog 10: All Hands To The Pump

Carterton volunteer firefighters juggle work, family and regular brigade commitments to compete in a national firefighting competition, being held in their home town.

 

For more information about this series, or any of our previous broadcast and corporate work, please make use of our contact page.

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My God

Documentary TV Series

The series is based on interviews with New Zealand theologian and TV presenter Chris Nichol. Each programme focuses on that guest’s very personal approach to their beliefs: how faith helps set their moral compass, brings them comfort in adversity, and helps answer some of life’s big questions.

There are five series, each consisting of 10 half-hour programmes. For more details on the content of each series, click on the covers of each DVD listed below.

Series 1 – PDF

Series 2 – PDF

Series 3 – PDF

Series 4 – PDF

Series 5 – PDF

Ordering Information

Each series is currently available from Pacific Screen for $40 NZD (10 shows).

You can also purchase the collection of all five series for the discounted price of $150 NZD.

These prices include GST, and receipts will be forwarded on request. Place orders by using our “Contact” page, and please include your email contact details and the series number and qualities of dvds you require.

There is an additional charge of $6 for a courier pack to New Zealand addresses.

Overseas buyers should contact us directly to find out about pricing and delivery charges.

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