Archive Mar 2011

Aucklanders, what are you doing on Sunday March 13 at 8pm? If you aren't busy, save this date and time for the WIFT benefit screening of Roseanne Liang's My Wedding and Other Secrets. (Get there a bit earlier at 7:30pm if you can, for …

There are some fantastic fundraising efforts out there at the moment, but we'd like to specifically draw your attention to two this week which are geared towards women and children in the Canterbury region.

First up, Janette Howe of Caravan Productions has set up…

WIFT member Rebecca Rowe dropped us an email to advise us of her show running as part of the Auckland Fringe Festival.

Two Dog Productions is proud to present the return of The Little shop of Horrors - Redubbed. Nominated for Best Comedy a…

K?piti filmmaker and WIFT member Gaby Lingke has just released a short film showcasing the work and philosophy of Paekakariki tattoo artist Tim Hunt. The German-born filmmaker's ten-minute multimedia portrait Tim Hunt's Pacific Tattoo explores the fascination, ethics and intricate beauty of Hunt's contemporary Pa…

The International Women's Media Foundation recently announced the winners of the inaugural Women Entrepreneurs in the Global Digital News Frontier grants. Each grantee will receive $20,000 to launch innovative new media enterprises.
The winning startup projects include a website that brings transparency to the h…

In this recent Women in Hollywood blog post, Melissa Silverstein highlights an article by Tina Fey, in which Fey has a few witty words to say on Hollywood's gender bias. In recommending the article, Silverstein says "The piece talks about her struggle to decide whe…

Champion speaker-upperer for women, Geena Davis, joined stars, royalty and politicians as she spoke out against stereotyping at the recent launch of a new super-agency for women.

Michelle Bachelet, the former president of Chile, who is the first head of the new UN Women ag…

Lucy Lawless returns to the fantasy genre on 1 June this year in her first video game role. Lawless brings the virtual character Seraphine to life in the new action PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game Hunted: The Demon's Forge from publisher Bethesda Softw…

Alice Walker's novel The Colour Purple was a notable novel for both its content and the quality of its prose. It affected gay and straight women all over the world; now filmmaker Pratibha Parmar is working on a documentary about Alice Walker herself. On …

We're thrilled that Suzanne Bier nabbed herself an Oscar for In a Better World.  Best Foreign Film is no small prize. However there's no mistaking the fact that women winners were thin on the ground at the Oscars, which Melissa Silverstein contrasts with the Indepen…

Who doesn't love puzzling over a good mystery? So check out this Huffington Post article by Francine leFrak, who talks frankly about the mysterious way that feminism has fallen out of favour in movie-mak…

You know that e-survey we keep asking you to fill out? Well, it's all done - thanks very much to those of you who gave us your feedback; it was much appreciated! We've drawn a winner from the replies, so congratulations Simone Faets, who's recei…

Loving this guest post on Women and Hollywood by Victoria Mahoney about how it felt to premiere her first film Yelling At The Sky at the Berlin Film Festival. Mahoney starts her blog post by saying "The freakiest thing about indie filmmakers is that…

Just to balance out the good news about first-time women directors battling on successfully with their indie flicks, here's another post by Melissa Silverstein highlighting the wads of cash being given to some first time Hollywood directors - who happen to be men. Maybe …

Along with the fact that we're holding our WIFTI Showcase in conjunction with this day celebrating women, there are many other events happening around the world today. For example, tens of thousands of women are heading to bridge events to show their support for wom…

I Am the River was the big winner in the 2011 Documentary Edge Festival. Mark McNeill and Italian co-director Luigi Cutore's story of the cultural clash of a series of photos has seen them scoop the Festival's top New Zealand award. I Am The Ri…

Following on the heels of a recent benefit screening in Leicester Square, the makers of The Insatiable Moon are holding a NZ benefit screening in Auckland. This one-off screening at the Bridgeway cinema in Northcote Point will take place Monday March 14 at 8.15pm. E…

There are some interesting titbits in this new Movie Marketing Madness post, including Warner's new foray into mobile applications for movies, info on the trend in digital downloads and decline of DVD sales, and increase in other forms of digital entertainm…

Tom Thumb Shorts have announced their chosen projects for the most recent submission.

They said "Project selection has been an inspiring process and we have been overwhelmed by the amount of talent, enthusiasm and thought that has gone into the short film proposals that …

Another great article from Raindance, this time writtten by Elliot Grove, who talks about the fundamentals of pitching your project. He says "When someone asks you what your screenplay is about, and you tell them, you are verbally pitching your script to them. If …

Stuck for the last bit of cash to finish your film? The Women in Film 2011 Film Finishing Fund grant programme is now open for applications.
This fund supports films by, for or about women by providing cash grants of up to $15,000 or in-…

The first annual Tulsa Film Festival is calling for entries for this year's festival, taking place between September 22nd and September 25th in Downtown Tulsa. Spanning over four days and multiple venues, the event will feature special guests from the film industry, a myria…

The 14th annual FirstGlance Film Fest Philly is open to professional, first time, graduate and undergraduate filmmakers from down the street and across the globe. FirstGlance showcases the best indie filmmaking from around the world and celebrates Philadelphia filmmakers with a festival described as, …

The V48HOURS Registrations are open online from today. V and 48Hours would like to offer all Christchurch teams free entry into this year's competition. The organisers said "Filmmaking is the last thing on anyone's mind at the moment but we would like to think …

We've been offered a discount for WIFT members for a two-day non-residential yoga weekend, happening April 2-3. If you struggle to find the time, money, babysitter or transport to make it out of town, this In-the-City Yoga Rejuvenation Weekend could be right for you.

Kia hiwa ra, kia hiwa ra, kia hiwa ra ki t?nei tuku, kia hiwa ra ki t?r? tuku, kai ?puru koe ki te toto, ?puru tonu, ?puru tonu. Karanga te p?, karanga te p?, karanga te ao, karanga te ao, karanga te tihi o …

Get your 2011 writing project up and running with this five-week creative writing class designed to take you from the blank page to a basic plan for your next writing project.
Tutor Kathryn Burnett uses a series of writing and brainstorming exercises to get …

Europhiles should make sure they get along to Rialto Cinemas between 17 and 23 March, when the short and sweet Windows On Europe Festival happens. For a list of films, and more information, see the Rialto's websi…

Sian Jacquet has contacting us to let us know about a street appeal for Victim Support this week, happening on Friday 11 March between 7:00 am and 6:00 pm, on Queen Street between the Ferry Building and Aotea Square. Victim Support helps support victims…

Yesterday the Auckland and Wellington Film Society seasons kicked off with their first screenings and film lovers around the country shouldn't have much longer to wait.

Remember, WIFT members are eligible for a discount on full AFS membership.

This year's highlight is Pedro Costa's Fon…

The Young Writers Festival 2011 is an exciting new initiative, celebrating and building the talents of our young writers in poetry, prose and song. This festival spans 10 activations, including 7 free writing workshops in central, north, south, east, and west Auckland. There's something…

Reel Addiction are seeking an editor with drama/fiction editing experience, preferably with feature film experience. Shooting is in June, so post will be August - September. This is a low budget production so only limited fees are offered. Please send cv/filmography and preferably a …

The Lake is a self funded independent short film looking for the following positions:

Cast

• Peter (main, $200/day)
• Carlie (main, $200/day)
• Jane (supporting, $150/day)
• Motorist
• Radio Announcer

Production regrets unspoken roles are unpaid.

Production Crew

• First Assistant Director: Looking for a film…

Te Hiku Media are currently producing a low budget Te Reo Maori documentary series called Kuaka Marangaranga and are in need of a Final cut pro editor to do some online post production. They would like to hire someone who has done post for televis…

Tomorrowland is looking for a competent Final Cut Pro editor with speed and attention to detail is required for in-house post production. Good skills for quick turnaround of offline cuts, and experience with graphic placement and generation a must. Experience in shooting and directi…

Join us for networking drinks at the Bar at 7.30. Screening starts at 8pm. Tickets at the door. $15 WIFT members, $20 non-members. Roseanne will be there to introduce her film.

&nbs…

Like other businesses in the Canterbury region, some film and television businesses may also be eligible for government support after the Christchurch earthquake. We have been sent a couple of fact-sheets which you can find here and he…

Newsweek and The Daily Beast have honoured 150 powerful women worldwide, with this list. They are heads of state and heads of household, angry protesters in the city square and sly iconoclasts in remote villages. With a fiery new energy, women are building schools, sta…

WIFT member Lucy Edwards has written to us to let us know about two new shows she is involved in. So, Wellingtonians, check them out!

Brain Damage
5 April 2011 - 9 April 2011, 6:30pm-7:30pm
Where: BATS Theatre, 1 Kent Terrace, Mt Victoria, Wellington
…

Producer, director and film festival organiser Marianne Khoury was one of many players in the film industry who felt compelled to involve themselves productively in the 18-day uprising in Egypt earlier this year - an uprising that has had repercussions across the region. For…

We discovered this interview just after our last enews went out, so you might already have come across this Q and A with In A Better World director, and Oscar winner, Susanne Bier. However, we thought the link was worth re-posting here in case…

Interesting piece of news here on SIFY News about some women making inroads in filmmaking overseas. They cite 38-year-old Shiny J. Koshy, in particular, who took a break from Kuwait where her husband was employed, to concentrate on her own filmmaking career.
And in re…

Late last week the NZFC announced the full line-up of this year's premiere shorts, of which four out of six will be directed by women. Yay!

Tom Thumb Shorts:
Bee. Writer/Director: Loren Taylor. Producer: Ainsley Gardiner
Sonny, My Older Brother. Writer/Director: Tammy Davis. Producer…

A large group from the entertainment and business sectors has begun work on a Global Telethon for Christchurch. The intention is for it to be a multi-channel broadcast, and a sign of national unity that brings focus to the widespread but disparate fundraising efforts …

We're looking for stills from your latest project!
We'd love to feature some images from members on the WIFT website as a celebration of what you're all doing. So, members, if you have a recent project that you'd like us to feature, please send…

Thanks again to all of you who filled in our survey. Here's a brief analysis of the results.
66% of respondents were Pakeha; 44% in Production; 42% of you wanted more information on our Programmes, in particular our Mentoring Programme (36%); there was a gen…

In 2008 WIFT NZ launched its specialist mentoring programme.  Now established as an annual national programme, each year WIFT NZ matches up to 16 full members with experienced practitioners for twelve hours of paid mentoring over an eight month period.  The scheme is designe…

We'd like to say a huge and heartfelt thank you to Roseanne Liang, South Pacific Pictures, Sony Distributors and Rialto Cinemas for allowing WIFT NZ to host a pre-release Auckland screening of My Wedding And Other Secrets last Sunday as a fund-raiser for the Christch…

We hope your week's started well, WIFT members.  It's been a busy week for us, with lots of event planning on the cards for Auckland, Wellington and the South Island, plus an upcoming trip to Wellington to organise for Exec Director Susi and Admin Mana…

Here's a great free event series for Melbourne-based members - Stephen Cleary: 2011 Creative Writing Public Lecture Series. Titled Audience Engagement and Creating the Low Budget Film, the series takes place Wednesdays 23 and 30 March 2011 at 6.00pm at the Victorian College of…

Sione's 2, the sequel to the New Zealand comedy smash hit Sione's Wedding, begins production shortly and will be released in cinemas across New Zealand on 19 January 2012. The sequel will reprise the same characters as they go on yet another quest.

Oscar Ki…

Just over a week ago, with much sadness, the New Zealand Film Commission acknowledged the passing of scriptwriter Graeme Tetley.

A script writer for over 25 years, Graeme began his film career as co-writer on Vigil with director Vincent Ward for which they were a…

The NZ self-funded short film Hauraki has been invited to this year's Tribeca Film Film Fest as part of their mixed shorts selection, one of the film's producers, Stephen Lovatt, has advised us.
This is a self funded short that has just recently been he…

Registrations are now open for this year's March� du Film in Cannes. This year the market takes place from 11 - 20 May.  The New Zealand Film Commission is registered as an Umbrella organisation with Cannes, which means filmmakers can register online under their "umbre…

The NZFC's Chris Payne was in Rotterdam for CineMart 2011, where he had the opportunity to get some feedback from Marit van den Elshout (Head of Industry & CineMart) to help explain why, for the second year running, no New Zealand project was selected …

This year's Escalator applications closed on 28 Febuary, and the NZFC received 137 applications this year from which 12 teams will be selected to attend the four-day bootcamp in early May. Successful bootcamp teams will be contacted on 1 April.

One of the green-lit …

Internationally acclaimed television series City of Men drew a massive 35 million viewers when it aired in Brazil.  Created by Academy and Oscar nominees Fernando Mereilles and Katia Lund, it will screen on New Zealand's free-to-air, nationwide channel Stratos TV from Thursday, April …

Twelve Nelson students are busy making short films on inspiring young Nelson people. The students participated in a two-day workshop led by internationally award-winning young film-maker Guy Ryan.
The 25-year-old is heading a youth-focused initiative in 2011 called Inspiring Stories - a workshop for insp…

The RETHiNK Grant has $15 000 to share amongst 1 - 3 creative projects that work to promote positive understandings of mental health issues and the people who experience them.
RETHiNK Grant is part of the Like Minds, Like Mine project at Mind and …

Every year, the Festival de Cannes R�sidence welcomes 12 young filmmakers from all over the world who are working on their first or second feature film. A jury selects six candidates for each of the two four-and-a-half-month sessions per year.
Since its creation in 2…

Australia's Bayside Film Festival is calling for entries for its Jump Cut sessions - open to 10-26 year-olds internationally as well as within Australia.
The eighth Bayside Film Festival will showcase a unique range of Australian and International films over its four-day season.  The Fes…

DigiSPAA, Australia and New Zealand's platform for the celebration and acknowledgment of independent digital filmmaking, has announced the launch of its seventh annual competition, with entries now open. Filmmakers from Australia and New Zealand are invited to enter. As well as offering one of…

Finding, articulating, protecting and promoting the core essence of your film from the originator's mind to the screen audience, this workshop will be held on 16 and 17 April in Auckland.
Deadline for applications: 5pm Friday 25th March.
This is an intensive 2-day workshop …

The Actors Laboratory holding a workshop in Auckland this weekend, Saturday 26 March, with Miranda Harcourt, one of their most experienced practitioners.

Miranda's one-day workshops embrace a range of styles and techniques in order to maximize talent and on-screen skills. This includes on-camera scene-work. Miranda…

Here in the WIFT Auckland office, we're all long-term supporters of Trade Aid goods, so when we learned this week that Trade Aid Importers in NZ are actually a Canterbury organization we sat up and took notice.
Luckily all Trade Aid Importers and Trade Aid shop…

Included in the last NZFC newsletter was some information about infrastructure funding for the industry. This programme is for professional film organisations that directly represent and provide specific initiatives or activities that develop feature film producers, writers and directors.
Applications for Industry Infrastructure fundin…

In the last enews we listed some work opportunities - some lightly paid, some unpaid - for new short film The Lake to be shot in Wellington between 26-29 April. They're still looking for assistance, for various roles, so check out the script and m…

Additional NZFC Talent Awards Created

Checked out the Film Archive recently? See what's on near you, either at the Wellington Film Archive head office, or at the gallery partner in Auckland. This week's screenings can be found he…

"Acting is the ability to live truthfully under the given imaginary circumstances" Sanford Meisner

The Wellington Actors Studio Meisner Acting Classes start soon, on 31 March, running till 8 September.
Time: 6pm-9pm, Thursdays (pre-class warm up from 5.45pm)
Cost: 3 payments of $280. No …

A WIFT member sent us this link to some footage that was shot of Christchurch which clearly shows the extent of the city's devastation.
Cameraman Gareth Bryant said " I was asked by Civil Defence to record the city for archival use and to …

This Saturday 2 April sees Maori TV screen a short documentary by WIFT's own Executive Director, Susi Newborn.

If you think making "a good cup of tea and a pretty good scone" doesn't fit with seriously campaigning and roughing it for world peace - …