Archive Nov 2010

So The Hobbit's staying. Officially. All the parties agree on that much. And everybody's happy. (Although some are happier than others.) If you haven't tired of reading about The Hobbit by now, or seen this tidy dissection of the whole drama by Gordon Campbell,…

As part of the Show Me Shorts Film Festival 2010, StarNow.com Short Film Seminars are being held in Auckland at the Academy (8 November) and Wellington at the Paramount (15 November).  Open to anyone interested in short films, the seminars are a unique opportunit…

The New Zealand Film Commission have been in touch with us to advise that they are deferring the NZFC Review Meetings for a couple of weeks. We expect to have more information from them soon, with the new dates, time and venue details, and we…

The World Economic Forum in Geneva releases annual calculations on the Global Gender Gap index, with the most recent survey showing that Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden, in that order, are the world's most gender-equal countries.

However, you don't need to move to Scandinavia…

Penelope Borland, CEO of SPADA, issued this letter on 21 October. Although it's now a week and a half old, we're reprinting most of it here, for members who haven't yet seen it. (We've removed a reference at the end to The Hobbit negotiations…

AUT is hosting a women's networking evening on the evening of 4^th November at Ng� wai o Horotiu Marae, AUT University, corner of St Pauls and Wellesley St, Auckland. The evening starts at 6pm and WIFT members are FREE (a nominal $5 charge for non-membe…

Forgive us for thinking this week's all about short films, but Show Me Shorts does open on the 04^th November, and shorts are a recognised way into the industry for many of us. So why not celebrate them?

Each year the Show Me Shorts Festival&…

The fifth Show Me Shorts Festival opens in Auckland on 04 November before moving to Wellington later in the month. WIFT intern Ruth Dunphy interviewed Festival Director Gina Dellabarca earlier.

Q:   Congratulations on the festival's imminent fifth birthday.  How has the festival grown…

After a very high standard of entries, SWANZ have narrowed down the finalists for this year's SWANZ awards. The winners will be announced at the SWANZ event on the evening of November the 10^th, 7pm, at the Jubilee Hall, Parnell, Auckland. In the meantime, he…

There are still a few spots left for the Directing Documentary Seminar with Leanne Pooley that we mentioned last week, but time's running out to take up the travel grant on offer from the NZFC. You need to apply by Friday for the grant. R…

Next year's going to be a very exciting year for WIFT�but shhh�all that's top secret at the moment! More on that soon. In the meantime though, we want you to help us double our target of 700 members by the end of 2010 - wh…

The New Zealand film This Way of Life has earned its director/cinematographer Tom Burstyn a nomination at the world-renowned cinematography festival in Poland. The International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography PLUS CAMERIMAGE is the only festival dedicated to the art of cinematography.…

Has Cannes glamour had its day and given way to cheap and cheerful? There's a new range of new film festivals popping up all over - cheap, friendly and emphasising the community and performance side of the festival experience. With names like onedotzero, Branchage, Flat…

According to a study done last month by USC's Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism on behalf of Geena Davis' Institute on Gender in Media, women are continuing to be portrayed in stereotypical ways in children's movies.  The study looked at 122 top-grossing family f…

From February to June 2010, Oxfam called on young people around the world with a story to tell to submit their vision for a documentary film to the Shooting Poverty competition. The topic: to expose the true cost and impact of arms trade and ar…

We at WIFT like this cool way that Raindance Film Festival in the UK are helping filmmakers access information on a budget - simply by sharing information!  Finding out who buys and distributes short films has always been a difficult task. Until now. Raindance…

The Guardian recently reported that Google has pledged to donate $5m (�3.15m) in grants to non-profit news organisations to help "develop new approaches to journalism in the digital age." The technology giant will invest $3m in journalism projects outside the US, it said t…

"Last year, the world watched as Barbara Streisand announced "the time has come", and for the first time a Best Director Oscar was presented to a woman. Only three women (Lina Wertmuller, Jane Campion, and Sophia Coppola) had ever been nominated for this honor be…

Check out Make Women Matter, a campaign from Marie Stopes International, which highlights the need to improve the lives of women around the world and put an end to preventable deaths that are the result of pregnancy and childbirth.Every day, an alarming number of communi…

The new generation of black women directors is showcased in this brief video on You Tube. All the women in this piece have made independent feature films in the last three years and yet most people who love black film don't know their name…

Much has been written in the US in recent weeks about the success of The Social Network and The Town, not to mention the lacklustre launch of Disney's Secretariat. But the three movies also have in common something beyond the fact that they are dramas driven by strong story lines…

The world lost author and playwriter Briget O'Connor a few weeks ago to cancer at 49. Tim Bevan, of the UK Film Council and Working Title, noted that Bridget brought "a non-sentimental, unexpected, visceral approach to each scene that made her screenwriting exciting and exceptio…

Remember our last e-news mention of the Guardian's Greatest Films of All Time, and, of the films listed so far, that those written or directed by women barely got a mention? Well the full list's out now and you can access it at the Guar…

We may love the television series for its scripting and attention to detail for the era, but thank goodness the workplace has moved on since then. Or has it? Not really, says Rosemary Gill, a professor of social and cultural analysis at Kings College…

Sally Menke was a film editor who worked most recently on Inglorious Basterds, with Quentin Tarantino. Sadly, Menke died last month, but Slate.com celebrates her life  and work in an article by Sasha Watson. See the full article he…

While many average moviegoers might, sadly, think women + movies equates to chick + flicks, the reality, as we know it, is far more diverse. So kudos to Monika Bartyzel of Movieblog with this recent article, which exposes just what women mean to the g…

Raindance Festival's Elliot Grove lays down the hard word on how to deal with the 5 most common complaints that stop filmmakers and screenwriters succeeding. Okay, so he's blunt, but if you like your motivation tough and uncompromising, there's probably something for you …

NZFC has announced that Jonathan Rawlinson and Simon van der Borgh (Contented Productions) will run their popular three-day Development Tools course in Auckland from 9-11 December 2010. The workshop is aimed at development executives, producers, script consultants, script readers, talent agents and others working i…

NZFC welcomes applications for a 90-minute script consultation session with Jonathan Rawlinson and Simon van der Borgh in Auckland on Monday 13^th December.  Up to four feature film project meetings will be selected.  A small amount of travel assistance will be available to those …

It's just a couple of days till the fifth AnimFX hosts with a mix of international speakers, including animation feature directors, vfx supervisors, digital artists and game developers, to present, share and interact with attendees from all over the world. One of the highlight…

Writers, producers and developers are invited to register their interest for upcoming Script Factory Foundation Development Training Workshops to be held throughout New Zealand from early 2011.  The Script Factory is the UK's leading script development organisation. Founded in 1996, it has pioneered professional tra…

Some of the USA members of WIFT got in contact with us recently to let us know about their new project. Cyphers, a new web series, premiered on 31 October, and two of the co-producers and co-writers of the twelve-part series, Lori Romero and Debria…

WIFT NZ is looking for a cheerful Financial Administrator for our cosy office in Beresford Square, Auckland Central.  6 hours per week, car park provided.  If you think you've got what it takes and would like a more comprehensive job description, please e-mail office@wiftnz.or…

Sky Television is looking for an experienced Editor to work rostered shifts covering 24 hours, seven days per week at their Mt Wellington studios. Working within the Production Services team, you will be responsible for providing editing and post-production services for Sport, Entertainment, News,…

Oktobor Animation is currently in production on long-from broadcast CG animation for Nickelodeon, the global broadcast network reaching more than 400 million viewers worldwide. They are seeking a few Maya character animators to join their team on shows such as THE PENGUINS OF MADAGASCAR…

Albany-based movie distributor Vendetta Films are looking for an Account Manager to become an integral part of their team.

In this role, you'll be dealing with some of the top names in entertainment retail and rental around NZ, selling them everything from the latest mi…

Good Morning is a studio-based magazine lifestyle programme produced out of Avalon Studios and broadcast weekdays on TV One. Good Morning is looking for a Researcher with solid editorial skills and a journalistic background to join a team that produces a live television production. St…

Leading Film Editing boutique-style business is looking for a Second Assistant Film editor. The applicant will work under the supervision of a First Assistant servicing 4 Senior Editors. The job requires excellent computer skills, organised mind and good people's skills. It will involve digitizing, an…

This is just a quick reminder about our end-of-year membership drive, in case you missed it last week.

We're trying to double our target of 700 members by the end of 2010 - which would give WIFT NZ almost 1400 members! We already hav…

WIFT NZ would like to welcome two new staff members and one new Board member to the whanau.

Susan Wills has been with us a few weeks now and is in charge of the e-news. We're sure you've noticed that our fortnightly newsletter has b…

A couple of us from WIFT got along to the opening of the Show Me Shorts Festival the other week, and what a great showing it was. Eight short film awards were given out on the night, and it was refreshing to see these go…

Screentalk recently ran a short interview with Janice Finn, a television writer/producer who's also spent time in front of the camera. Her acting roles have included parts in Close to Home and The Strip. Finn produced the high camp 80s soap Gloss and 90s d…

Just after our last e-news went out, This Way of Life picked up an award at the Anuu-ru Aboro Festival in New Caledonia, winning the Prix du Jeune Public award. Check out the pic of the award on Faceb…

Are you a woman filmmaker who has something to say about what you do and why you do it? Her Film - where your film is news would love to interview you or have you write for them. While the blog was created by one per…

Woo-hoo - it looks like another NZ film might make some inroads into the US market, adding another level of confusion for  those Americans who are still trying to figure out how Jake the Muss fits into Middle Earth.

That's because last Friday, Boy…

The fourth benchmark report that examines the representation of women in govenance in the corporate and public sectors as well as other areas of professional life has been released by the Human Rights Commission.  The Commission publishes the report to monitor and analyse progress in impro…

"Long before director Kathryn Bigelow won an Oscar, Liane Brandon and others were making films that captured a movement," says Loren King in an article at Boston.com.

As time goes by, it's easy to forget about the women who made the first notable forays…

Still on the theme of unsung heroines whose legacy lives on, Sarah Jacobson (1971-2004) was a an independent filmmaker who wrote, produced, and directed several movies in the 1990s, including Mary Jane's Not A Virgin Any More and I Was a Teenage Serial Killer. Sar…

Here at WIFT we keep our ears to the ground not just about women in film and television, but other ways women might be making themselves heard in male-dominated worlds. This week we came across an article on Huhuonline.com that noted that women of oil-mon…

Here in New Zealand, it's become more common in recent years for many of us to retain our given family name on marriage, but if we have kids, the rules get a bit more fuzzy, with some children getting a double-barrelled amalgamation of parents' nam…

For at least one director, the milestones Kathryn Bigelow and The Hurt Locker set at the end of the Academy Awards telecast earlier this year were the equivalent of seeing Barack Obama elected president of the United States.
In an article at awards insider …

New dates for the NZFC Review Meetings were recently released. The meetings will be an opportunity to meet with NZFC Chair Patsy Reddy and CEO Graeme Mason to discuss the Jackson/Court Review and its influence on the direction of the NZFC. They'll also b…

The NZFC have also just announced this year's Talent Awards Programme. In past years NZFC have awarded separate Writer and Producer Awards to assist established practitioners with development and overhead support. In 2010 they opted to have one contestable fund of $250,000.

The Award…

If you're thinking of attending the NZFC Development Tools course, run by Jonathan Rawlinson and Simon van der Borgh (Contented Productions), note that applications close at the end of this week. The course will take place in Auckland, from 9-11 December 2010, and there's lim…

On Wednesday evening, the New Zealand Writers Guild held its inaugural Scriptwriters Awards NZ 2010 (SWANZ). Twenty-one nominations competed for the seven awards on offer, ranging from the new (Best New Writer) to the more mature (Industry Mentorship Award), and over a hundred people tu…

Last Friday 12 November, SPADA held its annual Big Pitch, this year sponsored by South Pacific Pictures. The prize for 2010 was free travel to an international festival or market of the winner's choice, anywhere in the world, plus a complimentary registration for next ye…

Last week at SPADA 2010, Tait Brady, former CEO of Palace Films (Australia) and now both a script assessor and consultant to producers, talked with Danny Perkins, CEO of Optimum Releasing (UK), founded in 1999 and bought five years ago by the French company St…

From isolated schools on the East Coast and the Far North to big city schools and universities, with winning film-makers ranging in ages from 7 to 23, The Outlook for Someday film challenge for 2010 is a showcase for a "diverse, energetic and passionate …

Michael Bennett describes himself as a filmmaker and "lifelong distance running addict". It's a handy combination when venturing on your first feature film. In a Big Idea Q&A he talks about the gestation of an idea, the marathon 12-year journey to make Matariki and…

Okay, so they're not in the film industry - but who knows, you might want to use them on a future soundtrack, so we thought we'd stick this in the news. New Zealand band, Conan Mockasin, are making inroads overseas and will be performing…

What's better, the original or the remake? It seems that for American audiences, if it ain't Americanised, it just ain't good enough. Hollywood loves to repackage foreign films for a global audience, which has led to a long-running war of words over the practice.

Berlin and Paris, France and Germany, are two neighbours in the heart of Europe with a long and rich cultural history. Ever since the signing of the Elys�e Treaty, also known as the Treaty of Friendship, in 1963, Franco-German cultural exchange has blossomed. One promi…

The World Summit Award (WSA) have been a resounding success for New Zealand since 2003. The awards provide the opportunity to shift the focus from technology, networks and access issues to the actual applications and the resultant digital content, while increasing the visibility of…

TVNZ and NZ On Air are delighted to support the commissioning of a new strand of half-hour special interest stories entitled NZ Stories. Both are eager to extend the current range special interest programming beyond the current titles. 
TVNZ Commissioner Jude Callen said "Essentially this se…

The Los Angeles Film Festival is a qualifying festival in all categories for the Film Independent Spirit Awards and is also a qualifying festival for the Narrative and Animated Short Film categories of the Academy Awards�.
Select narrative features, documentary features, and short films partic…

The Indian Film Festival 2011 is calling for entries with a 'dream' theme for the Western Union Short Film Competition.
To be accepted, films must be created around the theme 'Dreams' and run for a maximum of ten minutes. Entries close on January 15. …

Bravestar Films are looking for Maori of all ages in your community to be part of an exciting television event.

If you're Maori and you've lost touch with your heritage then we want to talk to you about helping you rediscover your history. Then …

Ever wanted to know how to make an inflatable dress? Transform card into an interactive creature? Develop a game or commercial application? Shoot, publish and stream videos using your smart phone? Or learn about Motion Capture or Virtual Reality and what you can do …

Budding short story and screenplay writers, now's your time to shine. AUT is holding their second-annual creative writing competition. Entries opened 1 November 2010 and close on 31 January 2011.

Prizes include a Macbook Pro, ipod touch, ipod nano, mentoring and online publication.

For com…

This year's Elam School of Fine Arts Graduate Show have a film preview screening this Friday 19 February, alongside their main show. Art students have been producing these works for their Final year of Undergraduate, Post Graduate Diploma and Masters Degrees, and those intereste…

Stratos Television, New Zealand's fastest growing independent free-to-air digital television service is looking for a Sales and Marketing Manager.
Stratos has plans for significant expansion as digital switch-on approaches and its immediate priority is to establish an in-house sales and marketing operation. The Network o…

Oktobor is looking for a Motion and Design Lead. A creative, talent-based company that creates visual effects solutions for television commercials, feature films, interactive and entertainment productions, Oktober is listed in the top twenty visual effects companies world-wide by Motionographer. They've received numerous award…

Oktobor, a creative, talent-based company that creates visual effects solutions for television commercials, feature films, interactive and entertainment productions, is looking for a senior VFX Producer. Candidates will have a proven background in producing high-end VFX solutions for a range of international and national cli…

Reporting to the GM Marketing, TV2 are looking for a talented marketer with the passion and drive for excellence that has seen TV2 take a leading position in the NZ market. You will have the opportunity to work across new and existing creative product ensu…

TVNZ is seeking a new General Manager for their Research and Insights team.

The Research & Insights team plays a key role in understanding how New Zealanders and the media industry are changing, which ultimately shapes the future direction of TVNZ. As General Manag…

Do you have an interest in television? Do you have a passion for production and the media? Do you have a desire to learn and develop skills? Are you enthusiastic with a positive attitude? If so, TVNZ wants to hear from you.
TVNZ is loo…

Commercial video-maker, Video1, in Sydney is looking for a film maker to produce template-scripted 30 to 60 second videos (script and template provided) to be used on business websites.
They have several clients who wish to start production next year for their online customer…

The Melbourne International Film Festival is looking for a Programmer to work closely with the Artistic Director to create and deliver a dynamic program of film screenings and related events for the Festival. The MIFF is an iconic Melbourne event, hosting a program of …

A 1st AD is required to manage the drama unit of a crime genre docu-drama series for a US cable network. This is a dual role with production coordinator duties on location and in the production office on non shoot days. Drama experience preferred. Gruell…

Have you moved workplace or moved your email service to a better internet provider? If you have, but you've forgotten to update your details with us, you won't be receiving our e-newsletter.

We've noticed around a dozen addresses are currently bouncing back, so if y…

The New Zealand Film Commission announced four greenlit films for their Escalator scheme the other week, and we're pleased to announce that women are very well-represented among them. Two of the four are directed by women, two are written/co-written by women and two are prod…

We at WIFT, like the entire country, were saddened to hear abut the Pike River mine tragedy. So we wholeheartedly support the news that Gaylene Preston is holding a benefit screening next week, in aid of the Pike River community.

What: A benefit screeni…

Bills to pay, films to make - and Christmas just around the corner. Eeek! We know times are hard - we hear the stories on a weekly basis about how many of you have been struggling this year. So the last thing we want…

Congratulations to Sumner Burstyn, whose documentary This Way of Life has made the shortlist in the documentary feature category for the 82^nd Academy Awards.
The film won best documentary at the Qantas New Zealand Film and Television awards this year.
Burstyn said, in a r…

Recognised as New Zealand's leading Film, Television, OnScreen Acting and Animation training institution, South Seas offers full-time diplomas in on-screen acting, film and television production, digital photography and animation production and will be celebrating its 20^th anniversary next year.  WIFT was invited to ta…

This year, WIFT NZ has had the most awesome interns. They've helped us in the office, sold raffle tickets at the Awards, written articles for us for Onfilm magazine, updated our Facebook page, contributed to e-news and worked tirelessly behind the scenes at workshops…

The ambitious, international documentary Relocated Mountains, tracing Kurdish New Zealander and former refugee Sirwan Namo's journey through the Middle East to his former home in Northern Iraq, airs on Maori Television this week, on 4 December at 8.30pm.

Sirwan's family were forced to flee…

Have you ever watched a film and been disappointed by the lack of strong female leads? Are you looking for the key to creating a successful female character? Birds Eye View's Louise Forbes spoke to Helen Jacey about her new book The Woman in …

The makeup of movie audiences is at least 50% female, and yet films rarely have the same ratio when it comes to characters and strong women-driven plot lines. Melissa Silverstein, who created the blog Women and Hollywood, aims to change that scenario and keep blog…

Women and Hollywood recently reported that Spider-Man series producer Laura Ziskin will soon add the 2010 Visionary Award from the Producer's Guild to her mantel, next her David O. Selznick Achievement Award. The award is given for outstanding cultural contribution through storytelling or performance.…

Next-door neighbour woman in film Nicole Kidman has been selected to receive a coveted Cinema Vanguard Award during the 10-day Santa Barbara International Film Festival early next year.
The award recognises stars who take artistic risks and make a significant contribution to film, an…

Nau mai, haere mai ki te Whare Tapere! Don't forget that this week the Indigenous Screen Production Symposium happens at AUT. It's a free event that will bring together Maori and other indigenous filmmakers to share the experiences and challenges of making indigenous film…

The older you get, the faster time flies - so for some of us, it won't seem like 21 years since TV3 started broadcasting. (What? But I was only at university then�that can't be right�er�oh�yeah�hmm, I guess it is.) For others, of course, that t…

The Black Balloon is an Australian film about Thomas Mollison (Rhys Wakefield), who is turning 16. His autistic brother Charlie embarrasses him and so do his wacky parents. When his pregnant mother (Toni Collette) is confined to bed rest, he is put in charg…

As part of their series of articles about freelancers and their approach to their work, The Big Idea has an interview with cameraman Jason Wetze. Colleague Ande Schurr questioned Wetzel on the way back from a shoot in Samoa, asking him about storytelling and shoo…

NZ on Screen has been busy curating a collection of work from NZ screen industry frontrunner Tony Williams.  This collection is a celebration of his eccentric, exuberant career. As well as being at the helm of many iconic ads ( Crunchie, Bugger, Spot, Dear…

The New Zealand Film Commission is calling for applications for its Festivals and Awards Programme. This programme provides financial assistance to recognised industry individuals or organisations towards the cost of either:

• festivals which provide the public with a diverse selection of feature film program…

The 2011 Indy Film Fest, being held July 14-24 at the renowned Indianapolis Museum of Art, is now accepting submissions. They say "We would love your help in building a truly comprehensive slate of the best in independent from across the globe. We hope …

Last week Artistic Director David Malacari launched the programme for the next biennial Auckland Arts Festival, which takes place 2-20 March, 2011.  A spectacular line-up of theatre, dance, music, film, visual arts and special events will bring the world's best to Auckland over 19 d…

Last week Artistic Director David Malacari launched the programme for the next biennial Auckland Arts Festival, which takes place 2-20 March, 2011.  A spectacular line-up of theatre, dance, music, film, visual arts and special events will bring the world's best to Auckland over 19 d…

A Debate: Cinema is Dead! Two inspired teams including distributor Gordon Adam (Metropolis Films), Gaylene Preston, Rena Owen, Peter Cox and Mika come together with MC Ella Henry to bring you a comic hurly-burly infused with the profound over the state of cinema to…

The Film Archive mediatheatre in Wellington is currently hosting the last week of the French-German Film Festival, so  if you're a fan of European cinema, get along before it finishes. For specific screenings, see the festival webs…

Starting this week at Wellington's BATS theatre is the provocatively named Minge: A Celebration and Interrogation of Womanhood. (We can see the fellas tittering on the street as they walk past the posters already - they are SO predictable.)
But this Minge is no…

Auckland's Northcote Point have told us about their regular French film screening. This month, there's Alain Corneau's thriller Love Crime (2010), starring the polished Kristin Scott Thomas and up-and-coming Ludivine Sagnier. It screens 13 December, 6.30 pm at Bridgeway Cinema, with wine and cheese from 6pm.

Tickets are&n…

TVNZ is looking for a creative, experienced Creative Promotions Producer to devise, develop and implement cutting edge content promotions across all TVNZ brands and platforms.

The Creative Hub is an exciting new initiative from TVNZ that brings together creative talent from Promotions, Branding, Commercia…

Script to Screen are looking for an events Coordinator/Administrator. They run a busy and varied calendar of events for filmmakers, including Writer's Room panel discussions with local practitioners, seminars and intensive Script Focus Programmes with visiting internationals, a US screenwriting internship, and regional grass …

The Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival is looking for a festival director.

Are you passionate about film and the environment?

Do you have:

- event management experience, good organisational skills, strong relationship building and management skills

- the ability to work with volunteers

- …

Digital Media have announced an opportunity for an enthusiastic Associate Producer to join the company's Digital Media team in Sydney. The successful applicant will report to, and work closely with the Product Manager and play an important role in building and shaping the futur…

The NZ film commission is looking for an accounts assistant to start in the New Year. They are looking for an outgoing, proactive and self-motivated person to join their finance team.

Responsibilities include:

• Accounts Payable
• Bank Reconciliations
• Cash Management
• GL reconciliations
• Assisting th…