WIFT NZ Events

Wednesday

May

2024

Christchurch Christchurch

Unlocking the Reel Deal: Mastering Festival Tactics and Marketing Must-Haves

Posted Tuesday 17 Feb 2026

Join this in-depth conversation on the essentials of festival strategies and marketing materials with Jasmin McSweeney, of Umbrella Entertainment, Nadia Maxwell, of Overactive Imagination, and Mark Prebble of Show Me Shorts, moderated by Vanessa Wells.

- Talking about festival strategy, submitting to festivals and the pros/cons
- Discussing their experience with being at festivals - both industry markets and showing films.
- Critical criteria for your marketing materials – what’s essential
- How does the programming of films at A-list festivals reflect global film trends?
- What’s news from Clermont-Ferrand?

Jasmin McSweeney joined Melbourne distribution company Umbrella Entertainment as the Head of Sales and Acquisitions for New Zealand in February this year. She also produces for Sanctuary Pictures, the production arm of Umbrella. Prior to this role, Jasmin was the Head of Marketing at the New Zealand Film Commission for the past decade, responsible for the promotion and marketing of New Zealand films in New Zealand and internationally.

Nadia Maxwell is an Ōtautahi film and television producer and founder of Overactive Imagination. Over the last 20 years she has produced A-list festival feature films, award-winning shorts, and documentary projects. Previous credits include the feature films HUMAN TRACES which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017 and REUNION starring Julia Ormond released in NZ and the US in 2020. Most recently she produced the docuseries SHEPHERDESS for Sky Originals.

Mark Prebble is the Festival Manager of Show Me Shorts, New Zealand's leading short film festival, and has been part of the SMS team for the last ten years. He comes from a filmmaking and theatre background and has been involved in the New Zealand film industry for more than two decades. In February this year he represented Show Me Shorts and their short film catalogue at Clermont-Ferrand Film Festival and Market in France.

Date: 29 May 2024

Time: 6:00PM – 9:00PM

Location: Toi Auaha Rolleston House, 5 Worcester Boulevard, Christchurch Central City

WIFT NZ members FREE, non-members $20, students $10, includes wine and nibbles.

RSVP HERE

Date: Wednesday 29 May 2024
Location: Toi Auaha Rolleston House, 5 Worcester Boulevard, Christchurch Central City
Time: 6pm drinks for a 6:30pm start

Wednesday

May

2024

Upcoming events...

Tuesday 21 Jul 2026

Finding Your Voice & Tribe: In Conversation with Jerusha Hess

UNDER 10 TICKETS LEFT

When you deep-dive into Jerusha Hess's slate, the same names turn up again and again. That's no accident. Over two decades, she and her collaborators have built the kind of working relationships that let a creative voice grow, and that loyalty shows up on screen.

From co-writing the cult classic Napoleon Dynamite (2004) to her directorial debut Austenland (2013) and her Oscar-nominated animated short Ninety-Five Senses (2024), Jerusha has made unmistakably original work alongside a tight circle of cast and crew she's returned to time and again. It's a reminder that a career isn't built alone, and that the people you choose to make things with matter as much as the ideas themselves.

WIFT NZ is delighted to host Jerusha Hess for an honest conversation about staying true to your originality, the value of long-term creative partnerships, and how finding the right people early can shape everything that follows. For all who are carving out their own creative path, this is one to bring your notebook to.

This session will be moderated by Zoe McIntosh, director of Stylebender (2023).

CLICK HERE TO BOOK VIA HUMANITIX

Free for WIFT, DEGANZ & NZWG Members, $25 for non-members. Drinks & Nibbles Provided.

About Jerusha Hess:

Jerusha Hess is an American screenwriter, director, and producer best known as a co-writer of the cult comedy classics Napoleon Dynamite (2004) and Nacho Libre (2006), both of which she developed with her husband and longtime creative collaborator Jared Hess. A graduate of Brigham Young University's film program, where she began her filmmaking partnership, she made her directorial debut with Austenland (2013), a romantic comedy at the Sundance Film Festival and nominated for the Grand Jury Prize. More recently, Hess moved into animation, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Short Film for Ninety-Five Senses (2022). She also co-wrote the Netflix animated musical feature Thelma the Unicorn (2024). Across a career spanning two decades, her work is distinguished by a fondness for underdog characters and a singular comedic sensibility that has made her films enduring favourites.

Auckland