Archive Apr 2010

Members of WIFT NZ are once again invited to submit their short films for free to a special programme screening in the Hamptons International Film Festival this October in New York.  "To the Point - Women telling Stories through Media" is a unique and tim…

Boy, the second feature film directed by Taika Waititi, and produced by WIFT NZ member Ainsley Gardiner, has achieved excellent local box office results, becoming the second highest grossing New Zealand film, averaging more than $11,000 on each screen over its first four days. …

• Camille Keenan, who was on WIFT's mentoring programme last year, is a finalist in the Graham Kennedy Award for Most Outstanding New Talent in Australia's 2010 TV Week Logie Awards.
• Congratulations are due to new WIFT member Barbara Sumner Burstyn of Cloud South Films,…

NZ Equity issued a press release last month expressing "their shock and disappointment over the decision to allow a US performer to enter the country and take work away from a New Zealander."  They were reacting to the government's decision to allow American actor Vin…

Government officials have been meeting key stakeholders and industry bodies to gather submissions for a review of New Zealand's censorship laws.  The Film, Video and Publications Classification Act 1993 evolved from the Video Recordings Act 1987, prior to the rise of the internet, pay…

Over 11,400 hours of locally produced television programmes screened on New Zealand's six main free-to-air channels in 2009, according to NZ On Air's annual Local Content Report, released last week.  Although this was a slight decrease (1.6%) on 2008 figures, NZ On Air suggests …

Larry Parr, Te Mangai Paho's Television Manager, has released a discussion paper on 'the nature of subsidy'. Prepared for discussion with key industry stakeholders, it builds on discussions held by Te Mangai Paho's board and is intended for circulation among key stakeholders in the indu…

Designed to offer practical guidance on how to empower women in the workplace, marketplace and community, the Women's Empowerment Principles - Equality Means Business were launched last month in celebration of International Women's Day at a conference in New York.  Developed through a year-long multi-stakeholder…

The feminist movement was the focus of the latest edition of TVNZ programme Media7.  On Thursday March 31^st, presenter Russell Brown invited Professor Marilyn Waring (former National M.P., political economist and author), Gemma Gracewood (Film & TV producer and broadcaster) and Sophia Blair (National Wo…

At BAFTA last month, a panel of TV industry experts debated on the topic of Women Working in TV: Is It A Young Girl's Game? The debate opened with some striking statistics from the UK media industry: the proportion of female employees in television…

In last month's How Freelancers Can Succeed interview on The Big Idea, Ande Schurr interviews Film Construction's Phil Liefting about the director/producer relationship, dealing with advertising agencies, pitching for a job and winning, and the first step for aspiring producers.  In his most  recent post, Sc…

Screen Australia has released some interesting facts and figures about the state of the documentary industry across the Tasman.  The report, Documentary Production in Australia 2010, is available online at Screen Australia, and reveals that documentary as a percentage of audiovisual production costs is …

Top indie U.S. producer Christine Vachon of Killer Films is returning to New Zealand, this time to work intensively on two selected local feature projects as part of Script to Screen's Script Focus Programme.  Two feature projects in advanced development will be selected to…

The deadline for the request for proposals for New Zealand On Air's digital content initiative closes at 5pm, this Friday 9th April.  Proposals which demonstrate a synergy between traditional broadcast and new media platforms are encouraged and may be preferred.  Companies or individuals wi…

The New Zealand Film Archive is WIFT's latest discount partner, offering members the concession rate of $6 for all Film Archive screenings, except Film Festival screenings.  We regularly include Film Archive screenings in WIFT's e-news and on our website, but you can also check…

WIFT member and acclaimed producer Ainsley Gardiner talks about her career to date in a video interview just posted on NZ on Scree…

Producer Wendy Cuthbert's The Six Dollar Fifty Man (written and directed by Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland) has picked up yet another award: Best Drama at Aspen Shortsfest, USA.  The win marks the short film's fourth Academy Award-qualifying film festival award to date - further…

An extra 150 copies of Onfilm's May issue are off to this year's Cannes Film Festival and Market, where they'll be distributed by Film New Zealand to key clients, as well as being available to visitors to the New Zealand office.  Held this year from 12th to 23rd May, the annual Cannes Film Festival and Market is arguably the&nbs…

The Produced By Conference returns to Los Angeles in June 2010, this year launching CoProShow - an international co-production market with a focus on creative partnerships and global co-financing. Five international applicants will be selected to participate in one-on-one meetings with the US Producers Gui…

Deva Britow is in the process of moving to New Zealand and is starting to look for employment. With 15 years experience in Film and Television, and 10 years at her previous company in various capacities including, publicity, marketing, executive producing, scheduling and international acquisiti…

The fabulous WIFT NZ Awards 2010 will take place on Thursday 5 August at SKYCITY Theatre, Auckland.

Nominations are now open in the seven awards categories to be presented on the night.   Anybody can submit nominations - women, men, members, industry colleagues, general pu…