Wednesday
23
Nov
2022
Special WIFT NZ Screening & Filmmaker Q+A for The Drover's Wife

Special WIFT NZ Screening & Filmmaker Q+A for The Drover's Wife

Posted Monday 21 Nov 2022

We’re thrilled to be bringing you this very special event at Camperdown Cinema: a free screening of The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson, followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers — director, screenwriter, producer and lead actor Leah Purcell, and producer Bain Stewart.
Leah Purcell is the inaugural Māoriland Filmmaker in Residence; Māoriland Festival Managing Director Libby Hakaraia will moderate the Q&A.

The multitalented Leah has been nominated for this year's top four AACTA Awards (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards): Producer for Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Lead Actress in Film, making her the first individual, female and First Nations practitioner to be nominated for all four at once. The film itself is up for 13 AACTA Awards.

Leah's screenplay for The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson was also nominated by AWG (Australian Writer’s Guild) for a 2022 AWGIE Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.

Watch the trailer

Leah Purcell is a First Nations stage and film actress, playwright, film director, and novelist. She made her film debut in 1999, appearing in Paul Fenech's Somewhere in the Darkness, which led to roles in films such as Lantana (2001), Somersault (2004), The Proposition (2005) and Jindabyne (2006).

In 2014 she wrote and starred in the play, The Drover's Wife, based on the original story by Henry Lawson. In 2019 she wrote the bestselling novel The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson, and then adapted it for the screen when she made her directorial debut. For her work, she has won several awards, including a Helpmann Award, AACTA Award, and Asia Pacific Screen Awards Jury Grand Prize.

Purcell is notable for her roles in several television drama series, her most recognisable television role being her AACTA and Logie Award-nominated performance as Rita Connors in the Foxtel prison drama series, Wentworth (2018–2021).

RSVP to office@wiftnz.org.nz to secure your seat.

WIFT, Ngā Aho Whakaari members and Wētā crew free; non-members $15.

Date: Wednesday 23 Nov 2022
Location: Camperdown Cinema, corner of Camperdown Rd & Weka St,  Miramar
Time: 6:00pm for a 6:30pm sharp start

Wednesday
23
Nov
2022

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

Wednesday 21 Oct 2026

Understanding the Archive

What happens to your film after delivery? Ngā Taonga has the answer.

Delivery isn't the end of your film's story. If the New Zealand Film Commission has funded your film, you're required to deposit it with Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision, Aotearoa's audiovisual archive. Most filmmakers tick that box and move on, but knowing how the archive works can make a real difference to your film's future.

Here's why:
Ngā Taonga preserves and catalogues your material, and when someone wants to screen it or access it, they send that request on to you as the rights holder. Nothing is released without your say. As the years go by, that becomes more and more valuable, whether it's a festival programmer, a researcher or a retrospective curator looking for your work.

So, who are they?
Ngā Taonga holds more than 800,000 audiovisual items dating back to 1894, and cares for the collections of the NZ Film Commission, Te Māngai Pāho, RNZ, TVNZ and much of NZ On Air's funded content, alongside material from Whakaata Māori, the Waitangi Tribunal and many other public and private collections. It's where our screen history lives, and where your work will sit alongside it.

As a filmmaker, it is essential that you know how to make sure your film materials are preserved and archived properly, so your work stays discoverable for generations to come.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK

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

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