Tuesday
15
Sep
2026
Opportunities and Choices in the age of AI (Auckland)

Opportunities and Choices in the age of AI (Auckland)

Posted Tuesday 25 Aug 2026

Trust, technology and storytelling in Aotearoa’s screen industry 

As AI becomes part of everyday screen production, what choices remain in our hands, and where can Aotearoa lead the conversation?

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the screen industry at remarkable speed, with new tools influencing the workflows of every department. At the same time, storytellers, audiences and funders are grappling with questions about transparency, trust, authorship and creative autonomy.|

It is necessary that we discuss the implications for our industry. Just a few years ago, debate often centred on whether AI had been used at all. Today, the questions are more nuanced: how is AI being used, when does it matter, what should be disclosed, who benefits, and how do we maintain trust between audiences and creators as technology evolves?

WIFT NZ hosts a conversation with director and researcher Caroline Bell-Booth, whose Master’s research explores the categorisation and disclosure of AI-generated screen content, Amie Mills, Head of Funding at NZ On Air, and Steven Finnigan from award-winning Post Production house Images & Sound.

Moderated by producer and audience strategist Gemma Gracewood, together they’ll explore a central question: how can Aotearoa’s screen industry retain agency, build audience trust, and make thoughtful choices about the stories we tell and the technology we use? 

CLICK HERE TO BOOK

Date: Tuesday 15th September
Time: Drinks from 6pm, panel from 6:30pm - 8pm.

Location: Images & Sound, 113 Grafton Road, Grafton, Auckland.

Free for WIFT members, $20 for non-members. Drinks & nibbles provided.

Date: Tuesday 15 Sep 2026
Location: Images & Sound, 113 Grafton Road, Grafton, Auckland.
Time: 6pm-8pm

Tuesday
15
Sep
2026

Upcoming events...

Wednesday 21 Oct 2026

In Conversation With: Cathy Garcia-Sampana

You may have missed her at the Big Screen Symposium this year, but in our eyes, she was the hidden gem of the conference.

Cathy Garcia-Sampana is one of the most successful filmmakers in the Phillipines. Her films have been the highest-grossing Filipino film of the year on nine occasions, and on six occasions have been the highest-grossing Filipino film of all time (Wikipedia). And with all of that, she spends a half of her time in Aotearoa!

Across a career spanning more than three decades and closely associated with ABS-CBN and its film studio Star Cinema, she has directed some of the most successful and widely watched productions in Philippine screen history. Her credits include One More Chance (2017), The Hows of Us (2018) Hello, Love, Goodbye (2019) and Hello, Love, Again (2024). The themes that are present through her work are family, navigating love, ambition, migration, and personal reinvention.

WIFT & PASC are delighted to have Cathy speak to us about her journey as a filmmaker, working within her values, and how the screen industry in Asia is vastly different from ours.

The session will be moderated by Marc Laureano.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK

Drinks & nibbles provided.

FREE for WIFT & PASC Members | $20 for non-members

Programme is brought to you with generous support from the NZ Film Commission and Foundation North.