Founded by New Zealanders Geoff Blackwell and Ruth Hobday, Blackwell & Ruth is a multi-award-winning creator of international film, book, audio and exhibition projects.

Geoff Blackwell is an award-winning publisher, author, photographer and film director. He is also the founder of MILK Tailor Made Books. He was an originating publisher for Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu, and has conceived and developed numerous best-selling books, international exhibitions, and film projects principally focussed on humanity, equality and the environment. His most notable personal projects include M.I.L.K.: Moments of Intimacy, Laughter and Kinship; 200 Women: Who Will Change the Way You See the World; mewe: Love, Humanity and Us; Human Nature: Planet Earth In Our Time; and I Know This to Be True, a series made in collaboration with the Nelson Mandela Foundation focussed on leaders that became the basis for the Netflix documentary series Live to Lead that he also created and directed.

Ruth Hobday has been the principal producer for Blackwell & Ruth projects for over two decades. She has originated and edited a number of award-winning books, five of them by the late Nelson Mandela including New York Times bestseller Conversations with Myself, and the Great Cookbook series which was published in five editions and has generated over $1 million for food security initiatives, and she co-authored 200 Women: Who Will Change the Way You See the World and Human Nature: Planet Earth In Our Time. She has produced numerous international exhibitions and events, and was producer for the Netflix documentary series Live to Lead presented by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and made in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Elizabeth Blackwell is an editor, researcher, and project producer. She was the principal editor and a music supervisor for the Netflix series, Live to Lead. She was also one of the lead researchers for the series which was presented by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and made in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Prior to focussing on film she worked on book and exhibition projects including 200 Women: Who Will Change the Way You See the World.

Brooke Ashton-Taylor works in collaboration with Blackwell & Ruth on key initiatives and across special projects. He has been awarded gold, silver and bronze pins by the Designers Institute of New Zealand – Best Awards for his leadership of large-scale brand projects and corporate communications initiatives, as well as art and photography direction. Ashton-Taylor has created brand, sustainability and creative strategies for some of New Zealand’s largest companies, and has extensive experience across multiple sectors, markets and categories.

Awards