WIFT NZ has had a request from a doctoral film/TV student doing a comparative study of women-centric programming in New Zealand and North America. Ashley Elaine York is the Corus Entertainment PhD Fellow in TV and film studies at the University of Alberta and is doing her doing her dissertation research on the proliferation of female protagonist dramas in television and 'women's blockbusters' on the big screen and a comparative study of women-centric programming in New Zealand and North America. She would like to interview with individuals who may shed light on: the state of women in the national film and television industries, the horizon for gendered film and TV content in the near future, and how female protagonist dramas and women-centric films are doing in NZ--as well as how they figure into the long-range plans of the national film and TV industries. She will be in Auckland from 4-8 August, and then in Queenstown for 9-16 August.
If it is possible, she would like to be a fly on the wall in a writer's session, spend a short time on-set during filming, and interview a few women in the industry: namely, a female showrunner or the showrunner of female protagonist drama and a writer, director, and/or producer of a women-centric film.
If you are interested in helping with this research please contact Ashley directly on ashleyel@ualberta.ca