Screenwriter
Developing her screenwriting with the aid of seminars and workshops run by Script to Screen, WIFT, and the NZWG, the by-product of her creative insomnia has been a lengthy list of features, TV series pilots and short films. Writer-for-hire and script editing work quickly followed, as well as trips to Los Angeles to attend Screenwriting Conferences and Pitching Events.
In 2013-14, Tanya wrote, or script consulted, on a number of short films that were selected for film festivals, including Footsteps (2014), written by Tanya, which screened at the New Zealand International Film Festival, Wrong (2014), Dog On Duty (2014) and Ollie (2013). A feature film followed, Umbrella Man (2015), and then a seat in the writers’ room on TV series Power Rangers, Dino Charge (2014-15). Following her stint on Power Rangers, Tanya created, wrote, and produced a children’s sci-fi web series, Reset (2016) with NZOA funding. Reset has been played 1.2 million times by children around the globe, and garnered Best Web Series Global in Los Angeles in 2017 and Best Short Form Digital Content for Children at MipTV in Cannes, France, in 2017. Reset has been on CyberSmarties (IRE, UK, INDIA), HeiHei, TVNZ On Demand, Māori Television, Air New Zealand, and Toon Goggles (USA). Tanya followed this up with a stage adaptation of Jane Austen’s Persuasion (2017) at the Pumphouse Theatre, and script awards in the USA. Tanya’s short play, It Happens To A Lot Of People (2019) won Best Script, Best Play and Best Actress at the Short+Sweet Festival (2019).
Tanya has written and produced other short films, including The Middle Wife (2022), and debuted as a director on her short horror film, Means To An End (2022). Tanya has also been developing television series projects such as The Realm, Arrowtown, Journo and Scaffold, as well as animation projects, The A-List, Mortal Gods and The Last Beautiful Princess. Tanya has also written numerous feature screenplays such as Girl Viking, Spying, Beyond Dying, Gap Year, Husband Boot Camp, Exit Stage Right, and Maize, as well as writer-for-hire projects Silent Fear, Kamehameha, Api and Jade Sisters.
Tanya has also been a guest lecturer in storytelling, script development and screenwriting at AUT, Waikato Film Hub, NZ Stage and Screen Combat School, and various secondary schools.
Workshops and seminars organised by WIFT and Script to Screen have played a huge role in helping Tanya gain access to networking and learning opportunities and she praises events like the Jeff Gomez Transmedia Conference and the Big Screen Symposium as being both inspiring and broadening as a screenwriter. Connections formed through WIFT have led to producing partnerships and strong networks with other women filmmakers and marketing strategists.
Contact Details:
Tanya M. Wheeler
Phone: 021 234 3681. Email: tanya@snakefang.co.uk
For further details, search for Tanya M. Wheeler on www.imdb.com
