Archive Oct 2010

March 8, 2011 is the 100^th anniversary of International Women's Day, and will be the 6^th anniversary of Women in Film and Television International (WIFTI) Short Film Showcase. This date is also commemorated at the UN and represents years of struggle for equality, justice, p…

Home by Christmas has been accepted at the 2010 London Film Festival in October as the only New Zealand film in the programme. Showing in the World Cinema section, it has scooped the fantastic time slot of Sunday evening in the opening weekend. This selec…

Va Tapuia a beautiful film produced by WIFT NZ President Catherine Fitzgerald is featured in the Thundering Whispers programme in the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival on October 22^nd in Toronto, Canada. The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is an international festival …

WIFT member Marian Evans is currently in the process of making the feature film Development, "a Wellywood story to touch your heart." The film follows Emily, an old woman whose battles for justice are now behind her, who gets drawn into a Wellywood web w…

WIFT has received the following statement from Bilbo Baggins regarding recent events surrounding The Hobbit:-

O ! Will you be staying,

Or will you be flying?

Your ponies are straying

The daylight is dying!

To fly would be folly,

To stay would …

Please note that the recent increase in GST has meant that our membership fees have also increased. Please visit the membership section of our website to see the new fee…

Oct 14-16, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, BC, Canada

SexMoneyMedia is a 3-day international symposium on the art, technology, business and politics of media and women's place within it. Women are seriously under-represented in most media jobs, especially at the top. At a time of unprecedented …

November 5^th, The Grand Tearoom, Heritage Auckland.

If there are any WIFT members who would like to attend this annual event to raise funds to support women in need, please let us know.  We would like to book a table for 10 - and…

The NZ Film Commission has formalized a Trainee Feature Director (TFD) Scheme. The rationale behind the scheme is that the first time a NZ director steps onto a feature film set may well be to direct their own debut feature film and whilst they mi…

Pixar has named Brenda Chapman as the writer and director of the animated film Brave that is due out in June 2012. The film is about Merida, a tomboyish royal with a love of archery, who makes a decision with some major repercussions for …

The Guardian website has featured an article about three new generation female directors where they discuss their work. Debra Granik, an award-winning independent filmmaker, talks about the Bechdel test in relation to her latest film Winter's Bone a film where the women are "adjudicati…

Oscar winning actress Geena Davis has spoken out recently about the way women are underrepresented in film saying that "girls are not there or hyper-sexualized." The comments were made during an appearance at the Social Good Summit, organized by the 92^nd Street Y and Mash…

The Guardian.co.uk recently released compiled a list ranking the 100 most powerful people in film. The list ranks James Cameron at number one and does not rank any women in the top ten in fact the first woman to feature on the list is Angel…

Newsweek has an interesting article about a recent study by Stacy Smith and Marc Choueiti at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California, which found that there is only one female character to every three male characters in fa…

The talent campus is a six-day creative summit for up-and-coming Filmmakers. It will occur alongside the Berlin Film Festival, February 12^th - 17^th, 2011. The summit consists of lectures, discussions, workshops, and excursions for Directors, Screenwriters, Actors, Cinematographers, Producers, Editors, Sound Designers, Composers, and Produ…

The Sixth Women's International Film Festival, which will be held in Miami, Florida from 30^th March - 3^rd April 2011 has a last call for films before the deadlines approach. The festival is a five-day extravaganza consisting of indoor and outdoor film screenings, fashion sh…

Calls for entries to the second international pitch event for Oceania films during the 2011 FIFO are now open. The event will take place during the festival from 24^th - 30^th January 2011. Entries close October 15^th 2010. More information can be found on…

Artist registrations are now open for the second installment of Auckland Fringe to be held in six months time. Auckland Fringe invites performers and visual artists to sign up for events happening all over Auckland with the only rules being that no laws are br…

The organisers of the Symposium on Indigenous Screen Production are calling for research abstracts on any theme or issue relevant to indigenous screen production. Presentations of accepted Papers will be scheduled between 11.30am on 4^th December and 2pm 5^th December 2010. Individual or group presenta…

Entries are opening for the Annual SPADA Pitching Competition sponsored by South Pacific Pictures. The winner will receive a Voyage Affaires' Travel Prize to an international market or festival AND a complimentary registration for the 2011 SPADA Conference. Conditions for entry are as follows:

Entries are now open for the SPADA New Filmmaker of the Year, which will be announced during the SPADA Conference 2010. Over $40,000 worth prizes can be won including

• $20,000 worth of post-production services from Park Road Post
• $10,000 worth of equipment rental from Pa…

The 37^th Seattle International Film Festival is now seeking features, documentaries, short films and animation for their 2011 programme, which will be held from May 19^th - June 12^th 2011. The largest film festival in the United States, SIFF is a great way to…

Women's Voices Now is hosting Women's Voices from the Muslim World: A Short-Film Festival giving voice to women of all faiths living in Muslim-majority countries and Muslim women living as minorities around the globe. The Festival is a unique project that highlights pro-women voices …

The 20th annual Florida Film Festival, April 8^th -17^th, 2011 is now open for submissions. The Florida Film Festival is accredited as a qualifying festival for the Oscars� in the Live Action and Animated Short film categories. The winner of the Grand Jury Award…

The University of California Consortium for Women and Research is now accepting submissions for the 2011 Davis Feminist Film Festival that will be held on April 14th & 15^th 2011 in Davis, California. This is a short film festival that accepts films no longer …

In 2010 the NZ Film Commission will have one contestable fund of $250,000 to assist established practitioners with devolved development and overhead support. The award will be open to applications from established Writers, Producers and Directors too. The maximum amount that can be applied…

The Women's Film Institute has announced its call for film and video submissions in all lengths and genres for the 7^th annual San Francisco International Women's Film Festival, which will take place April 4^th - 10^th 2011. The SFWFF was founded in 2004 and celebr…

Workshop Option 1

9^th October

9:15am - 4:30pm, Devonport Community House, 32 Clarence St, Devonport.

Workshop Option 2

16^th October

9:15-4:30pm, St Columba Centre, 40 Vermont St, Ponsonby.

Need a kick-start to get writing? This intensive one-day BrainStorm Writing Workshop takes…

One of our WIFT interns, Chantelle, is looking for some help with her final short film project for the year as part of the BAHons programme in Screen Production at the University of Auckland. The film is about a young NZ/Samoan girl who is strugg…

TVWorks Limited (TV3) is seeking a new Publicist to report to the Publicity Manager. The role requires that the successful candidate:

• Provide assistance and support to the Senior Publicist and MediaWorks Publicity Manager with television and radio publicity, photo-shoots, talent appearances and event organisa…

TVNZ is seeking an exceptional Senior Project Manager with a passion for Digital Media and making it happen to help TVNZ deliver its key Digital Media projects in 2010.The role will be focused on TVNZ's websites, video services and getting across to new platforms …

SKY Network television is seeking a highly motivated and energetic person to join their New Market Office. The successful applicant will be responsible for the booking and administration of television advertising campaigns for a portfolio of Agencies/ Advertisers and providing support to the Account Manag…

SKY Network television is seeking a new Presentation Scheduler who will be in sole charge of one or more of their channels at one time. The successful applicant will be required to prepare programmes and schedules for transmission and ultimately be responsible for ensuring…

TVNZ is seeking a creative, experienced Promotions Producer to devise, develop and implement cutting edge content promotions across all TVNZ brands and platforms. The successful candidate will need to demonstrate an ability to generate and execute creative ideas that cut through. Key to thi…

TVNZ is seeking expressions of interest from experienced television directors and producers for on-going freelance work devising, developing and implementing cutting edge promotions across all TVNZ brands and platforms. Successful applicants will have experience in directing, writing and editing TVC's or long-form television programmes.…

TVNZ is looking for a Senior Graphic Designer for Online projects where the primary purpose will be to lead, direct and oversee the conception and production of interactive components within the Creative Hub. While the primary focus will be designing the successful applicant will …

Creative New Zealand is seeking a Senior Programme Advisor in Pacific Arts to join their Arts Development team. The role is responsible for managing and delivering sector wide, pan art from and art form development programmes and initiatives, including funding programmes. This includes substantial sup…

Victoria university of Wellington is seeking to appoint a new Lecturer or Senior Lecturer in their Media Studies Programme. The successful candidate will be expected to contribute to the development of the programme's postgraduate studies, contribute actively to the research culture of the programme,…

Both the Wellington and Christchurch events went exceedingly well with people travelling from afar as Dunedin to hear Stephanie speak.  MCs - Lindsay Shelton in Wellington and Lianne Dalziel in Christchurch - interwove questions around clips of Stephanie's film, with Lianne Dalziel confessing that…

Boy and Home By Christmas have both been nominated in this year's Asia-Pacific Screen Awards, with Boy featuring in the Best Children's Feature Film category, and Home By Christmas's Tony Barry garnering a nomination in the Best Actor category. A total of 31 films…

Show Me Shorts and Script to Screen have announced the names of six up-and-coming screenwriters who will participate in the inaugural Short Film Lab on 6 November. Selected from more than 90 applicants from around New Zealand, the participants in the 2010 Short Film…

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.

Programme

6:00pm:        Mihi Whakatau: Te P�engi Wharenui

6:15pm:        Welcome to Te Ara Poutama.…

The Show Me Shorts Film Festival programme for 2010 has just been announced, and is one of the strongest yet. The six themed sessions for this year are: Imagination, Kissing Games, Noir Motive, Child's Play, Redemption and High Stakes. Each session has about seven s…

As you will be aware, the New Zealand Government passed a law increasing GST from 12.5% to 15% on 1 October 2010. As a result, our membership fees have been updated with a small increase, which is equivalent to or less than the increase in GST on…

After the Waterfall is a powerful drama based on the novel The Paraffin Child by Stephen Blanchard. Still grieving three years after the disappearance of his four-year-old daughter, John has separated from his wife Ana and seems trapped forever in pain and anger.  When…

The Screen Production and Development Association of New Zealand (SPADA) is pleased to announce that NZ Actors' Equity has agreed to meet with SPADA on engagement of performers in New Zealand.  SPADA hopes that its meeting with Equity will resolve the uncertainty and confusion ar…

NZ filmmakers often need to display ingenuity and determination to get their projects financed, and often the success of a project depends in part - at least - on the sheer goodwill of some of its sponsors and helpers. One of these projects was recen…

Marian Evans' recently-released findings about women's participation in the creation of NZ film resulted in the NZFC sending us some updated information, which will be of interest to members.

They said, 'The NZFC wishes Marian Evans success with her latest film Development. While we r…

The Manukau Film Festival kicked off yesterday, 18 October, as part of the Manukau Festival of Arts. This year it will present films concerned with New Zealand's cultural diversity. As well as showcasing the achievements of local film makers - Home by Christmas and…

All filmmakers are invited to attend a meeting with NZFC Chair Patsy Reddy and CEO Graeme Mason to discuss the Jackson/Court Review and its influence on the direction of the NZFC.

Please RSVP your attendance, specifying which meeting you would like to attend, by r…

Sydney Levine over at Sydney's Buzz put together a list of all the foreign films submitted for Oscar consideration. 63 countries submitted films (last year 65 did), and only 8 are directed by women - a teeny 12.7%. Compare that to the fact tha…

The UK's Guardian/Observer have been releasing their list of the 'Greatest Films of All Time'. So far, they've listed 75 films, covering comedy, romance and crime. And how many of those are directed by women? A paltry two: Amy Heckering and Sofia Coppola. We …

The buzz in Hollywood is that Avatar director James Cameron and Sony Pictures Entertainment are exploring the very real possibility that he will direct Angelina Jolie in a 3D version of Cleopatra.

Jolie revealed at the premiere of Salt that she'd be honoured t…

Last week, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Film Auckland and Busan Film Commission in relation to their respective Audiovisual Industries. This builds on the Film Co-Production Agreement signed in September 2008 between New Zealand and the Republic of Korea.

"This memorandum highligh…

A recent article by Elizabeth Rappe on seattlepi.com examines the trends and statistics for women directors. She comes to a somewhat dispiriting conclusion that, going on current figures, women directors might not make up half the workforce till 2060�or even beyond. It's not all …

London's renowned Film Festival continues to be one of the places with a great offering of women-directed films, with seventy-one female directors showing this year, including our very own Gaylene Preston (Home by Christmas). Check out FemaleFirst's rundown of festival films …

While the local movie industry has been tearing itself apart over The Hobbit dispute, the west of Auckland is quietly having its own film crisis.

The Waitakere City Council-supported Auckland Film Studio has run into financial trouble after its main user, Walt Disney New Ze…

The Film Commission recently announced that production will commence 27 October on The Orator. The film, written and to be directed by Samoan-born and raised Tauti Tusi Tamasese, will be his feature debut and be the first NZFC-funded film to be shot entirely in S…

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have announced that the field of Documentary Short Subject contenders for the 83rd Academy Awards has been narrowed to eight films, of which three to five will earn Oscar nominations come January 25th, 2011. The eight f…

In a recent Guardian article, David Thomson discusses why it's easy to take Helen Mirren for granted - and also why we shouldn't. Read the full story he…

March 8, 2011 is the 100^th anniversary of International Women's Day, and will be the 6^th anniversary of Women in Film and Television International (WIFTI) Short Film Showcase. This date is also commemorated at the UN and represents years of struggle for equality, justice, p…

The LIDF in association with the London Review of Books is calling for submissions before 1 December 2010. The call is open and international. All subject matter is considered. Short and Feature length films are accepted and first time and established filmmakers all welcome. F…

The online call for submissions for the 2011 MeetMarket at the Australian International Documentary Conference is now open. 25 competitively selected documentary projects will feature in MeetMarket at AIDC in March 1^st to 4^th 2011. MeetMarket is designed to match selected documentary makers' most innov…

The Premier Shorts deadline - 29^th October - is fast approaching, so if you're planning on submitting a work, you'll need to act fast.   The three Executive Producer groups are happy to meet with applying filmmakers before the deadline.

Find full inf…

Submissions for the 2011 Birds Eye View Film Festival are officially open; they are seeking short film submissions from women filmmakers from around the globe, to be part of an innovative and inspirational celebration of talent.

Every March the UK's major women's film festival show…

The Sonoma Film festival is calling for entries to the April 2011 festival.

The 2010 Festival bucked the economic trend by expanding to include two additional screening venues, three more filmmaker events, and 10 more films than the previous year's Festival. Joined by ov…

North America's premier cinemaquatic� event, the San Francisco Ocean Film Festival, is calling for entries to the eighth annual festival, March 9-13, 2011.  Presented by Aquarium of the Bay, The Bay Institute and NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries, the Festival will again take place adjacen…

Interested in writing for the big screen?  Beginner's Guide is an intensive evening course that demystifies the basics of screenwriting.  Over the four sessions, tutor Kathryn Burnett will take participants through the how and why of writing for film including premise, plot, story structure, formatt…

Wellingtonians might want to check out the latest BATS Theatre title: Gene Pool, directed by Cara Brockliss.

Set in the not too distant future, a time when advancing genetic technology is challenging our sense of what it means to be human, Gene Pool…

20 & 21 November 2010, 9am - 5pm, SAE Institute Melbourne.
Cost: Full $475 / Industry Discount $420

IClaudius Workshops are holding a new two-day workshop in directing film & TV with acclaimed US director Bobby Roth in Melbourne in late November. In this t…

University of Auckland is now accepting applicants for the Graduate Programme in Screen Production 2011 intake. For more information about the programme please visit our website or view some of our staff and students' work on YouTube.
Applicants apply in an area of specialisation (screenwrit…

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…

Leading television production company, Eyeworks New Zealand, is seeking a Development Producer based in Auckland.  This role will also be Head of Research and Casting, and previous experience in the television production industry or print journalism is a necessity.  They are looking for someone …

In association with Te M?ngai P?ho, T?manako Productions is offering an exciting 'on the job' training opportunity for an emerging television director. The successful applicant will be attached to the production "M?haro" and will enjoy a targeted training programme covering many aspects of television direc…

New Zealand's largest independent television production company, Eyeworks, is looking for a new designer to join their graphics team

Key skills sought are a good knowledge of computers, excellent graphic design skills and a solid understanding of Maya/Cinema 4d, Photoshop and After Effects.

Applicati…

Script to Screen is delighted to announce the 2011 US Screenwriting Internship Scholarship to Killer Films in New York.
The Scholarship, sponsored by the Film Investment Corporation Foundation and the New Zealand Film Commission, will fly the winning applicant to New York and pay their …

Sydney Travelling Film Festival is seeking a manager with excellent event management, organisational, presentation and communication skills, capable of working autonomously as well as in a team environment, and with an understanding of film culture and regional audiences.

The successful candidate must be a…