Though the Dunedin-raised director admits he revels in the expression he has found in films such as Out Of The Blue and Scarfies, he is returning to the small screen.
And in doing so, he is working in a highly collaborative environment.
Sarkies' latest effort is This Is Not My Life, which premieres at 8.30pm on Thursday on TV One.
Created and written by Gavin Strawhan and Rachel Lang, whose credits include Outrageous Fortune and Go Girls, This Is Not My Life is set in the peaceful New Zealand suburb of Waimoana, where Alec Ross (played by Charles Mesure) wakes up and discovers he can't remember anything.
In attempting to unravel the mystery, he stumbles on the truth - that the life he lives is not his own.
It is part action-thriller, part relationship drama, set in a not-too-distant future where Personal Entertainment Centres have replaced phones and credit cards, cash has been replaced by carbon credits and paper is a rare commodity.
Sarkies is sharing the directorial duties with Peter Salmon, head director and writer of the TV3 drama series, Being Eve, and a sometime director for the award-winning TV3 show Outrageous Fortune.
The idea of alternating in the director's chair is appealing, Sarkies says.
"That was one of the things that interested me ... I'm not trying to make a Robert Sarkies show.
"The aim is to make the best shows we could and to find a style that will ultimately be a meld.
"I love drama. That's my background. I remember acting in the repertory theatre in Albany St, Dunedin.
"Drama is about creating an illusion and to do that there are many factors, from writing to shooting to managing a large bunch of people in a small space.
"I'd been pretty dubious about returning to television for a long time.
"In film, if you're the director, then it's a case of one person driving it, whereas television, just by its nature, is more collaborative."
For this new series, produced by GRST Ltd, Sarkies has teamed up again with Out Of The Blue producers Steven O'Meagher and Tim White as well as two-time Bafta-winning producer Tim Sanders, who has been involved in Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship Of The Ring and Whale Rider.
Mesure, whose recent credits include Outrageous Fortune, Ghost Whisperer, Cold Case, Bones, Without A Trace and Lost, is joined by Tandi Wright, who plays his wife, and Miriama McDowell, who is his love interest.
Other cast members include John Bach and Joel Tobeck.
"The meter is always running," Sarkies says of filming, whether it be for screens big or small.
"So you have to create this illusion that you're relaxed, that this is fun.
"In fact, you might be awake all night thinking about it.
"You've got all this equipment, all the people - it's an expensive process.
"When you are in production you never switch off."
Sarkies has also been tinkering away on a range of other jobs, including one with younger brother Duncan, with whom he co-wrote the 1999 film Scarfies.
However, he is loath to disclose details of them.
"I have been working on a little bunch of film projects that I hope will see the light ...
"As a film-maker, you are bringing something new into the world, like a baby.
"And it's important that your baby has a soul.vI think we could all find examples of films that don't have a soul."
- This Is Not My Life, premieres on Thursday at 8.30pm on TV One.
