David Farrier

David Farrier (born 25 December 1982) is a New Zealand journalist. He has worked in news and documentary, including features on New Zealand television, co-directing the internationally distributed documentary film Tickled (2016). In 2018, he created the Netflix documentary series Dark Tourist, in which he visits obscure, peculiar or dangerous tourist spots.

David Farrier
Farrier in 2016
Born (1982-12-25) 25 December 1982
Tauranga, New Zealand
OccupationJournalist
Notable credit(s)
Dark Tourist
Tickled
Newsworthy
Nightline
3 News

Career

Farrier's reportage appeared frequently on 3 News,[1] and he was New Zealand Nightline's entertainment reporter from 2006 until the program's end in 2013. In 2011 he made a 45-minute documentary for TV3 about the origins of "God Defend New Zealand", one of the two New Zealand national anthems.[2] From 2013 to 2017 he co-hosted the cryptozoology-focused audio program The Cryptid Factor with comedian Rhys Darby and producer Leon 'Buttons' Kirkbeck.[3] In 2015 he became co-host (with reporter Sam Hayes) for the TV3 show Newsworthy.[4]

He played a fictionalized version of himself in Darby's 2014 mockumentary series Short Poppies.

In early 2014 Farrier began production of the feature-length documentary Tickled, in collaboration with Dylan Reeve. The project began when Farrier sought to do a "light entertainment"[5] piece about videos purported to depict "competitive endurance tickling". His inquiry to Jane O'Brien Media, the videos' producer, was met with a hostile refusal to talk with him, prompting Farrier and Reeves to investigate further, and the film relates their efforts to find out more about the people involved in making the videos. The film premièred in January 2016 at the Sundance Film Festival and received both critical praise, and threats of litigation from individuals appearing in it. It was acquired by Magnolia Pictures and HBO, and released to cinemas in June 2016.

A November 2016 article about individuals with various sexual fetishes issuing "challenges" or dares to children on YouTube, encouraging them to make seemingly innocent videos of themselves,[6] led to several accounts being banned.[7]

In 2018 he was an executive producer and served as presenter for the eight-episode Netflix documentary series Dark Tourist.

Personal life

Farrier was raised in Bethlehem, Tauranga where he was home-schooled before attending Bethlehem College.[8] He graduated from the Auckland University of Technology with a Bachelor of Communication Studies degree in 2005.

In 2012, during the government sitting of New Zealand's Marriage Equality Bill, Farrier came out as bisexual, identifying his relationship with Grayson Coutts, the son of yachtsman Russell Coutts; the couple have since separated.[9]

References
  1. "David Farrier news". Archived from the original on 13 October 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  2. "God Defend New Zealand – Television – NZ On Screen". www.nzonscreen.com.
  3. "The Cryptid Factor". SoundCloud.
  4. "Hayes and Farrier ready for return to late-night news". Stuff.
  5. "Tickled: The Film Makers". Retrieved 2 July 2016.
  6. David Farrier, ‘Hello, my name is Ally’ – how children are being exploited by YouTube predators, The Spinoff, 21 November 2016
  7. Anne Cronin, David Farrier talks about uncovering YouTube predators exploiting children, Stuff, 22 November 2016
  8. "David Farrier: Telly's boy child". Now To Love. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
  9. "David Farrier in same-sex relationship". 28 July 2012 – via www.nzherald.co.nz.
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