Archive May 2011

Winner of the Killer Films internship Michelle Savill is blogging her way through her experience for Script To Screen. So if you'd like to see what she's been up to on her exciting adventure in New York, check it out h…

Everything's coming together for our next Auckland workshop in collaboration with CoLab, Animation with Cris Casares, so head over to our website and see what's in it for you. The Pitch Perfect workshop with James Brookman at CoLab last week was a stunning su…

We love coverage about young female filmmakers doing it against the odds. So here's a recent Thomson on Hollywood post about rookie director Massey Tadjedin, whose new feature Last Night was recently released as a high-profile test of new indie distributor-on-the-block Tribeca Films' video-on-…

In an era when women account for only 7% of the directors of Hollywood movies, Jodie Foster is the rare female whom financiers will back to helm any film, never mind a marketing challenge like The Beaver, her upcoming $20-million tragicomedy about depression starrin…

Apart from the fact that there's no antipodean flavour to it yet, we're really liking the culture guide site Flavorpill - all kinds of listing in all cultural areas: film, photography, music, food and lectures that will keep you creatively fulfilled.
So if you're …

30 Rock creator/star, Tina Fey, is a smart, funny and professional woman in front and behind the camera - her book proves it is so, according to the reviews. Though none of us here in the WIFT office have been privy to a copy yet,…

This article in USA Today advises that it's not children who are seen and not heard in movies - it's women.
In a study, while men usually get to blab and natter, with 67% of the speaking roles, women have about half that…

Rachel Jean has produced and/or directed over 40 documentaries, made award-winning drama and film, and set up and run production company Isola Productions. Jean has recently moved from producing and directing to the role of Head of Drama and Comedy at TV3 and C4…

Just a quick plea from us to please pay any outstanding subs, as we're trying to tidy up our end of year financial accounts. It would make things much easier for our lovely Accounts person Emmy if she didn't have to chase them up! Th…

Don't forget, Wellingtonians - tomorrow (Wednesday night) is the first of our great social networking for film events; number one in a series of three panel discussions on the changing means of film promotion, marketing and distribution. Be there or be...er...out of the network!

May already? So that means winter is only a month away. Still, look on the bright side - it's a great season for spending time in film theatres, 'doing research' in front of the television, working on a new project or tying up your post-product…

Australian filmmakers Enzo Tedeschi and Julian Harvey have turned filmmakers' traditional views of the internet on their head. No longer a tool for piracy, the internet is the means by which their film The Tunnel will be funded, released and distributed - by…

Reel Earth has kicked off again with over 45 hours of the most thought-provoking, inspiring, and creative films you are likely to see this year. Once again celebrating the beauty and wonder of nature, as well as the amazing people who sacrifice to protect…

A pair of local shorts have made the cut within the multi-stranded festival and ancillary events. Sam Holst`s 10 minute short Meathead has been named in the official festival shorts line-up, while Stephen Kang's 14 minute short Blue appears in the Critics Week prog…

It's now official and organisation is moving forward at a fast rate - a 12-hour global telethon for Christchurch is planned for Sunday 22 May - exactly three months on from the city's devastating earthquake.

Called Rise Up Christchurch -Te Kotahitanga, the fundraising spe…

Local feature film Russian Snark (wri/dir Stephen Sinclair & prod Liz DiFiore prod company Godzone Pictures) last week picked up an award for Best International Feature at the Garden State Film Festival in New Jersey.

This adds to their 6 nominations and 1 a…

Those of you who are based in London, or have friends and family there, might be interested to know that there's a fundraiser screening of My Wedding and Other Secrets at BAFTA, 6:30pm this Sunday, May 8. All proceeds will go to the Christchurch Earthq…

Script to Screen is holding a Writer's Room at this year's Auckland Writers and Readers Festival.
How do filmmakers bring our country's rich history to life for the screen, creating both compelling drama and truthful re-presentations of history?
Award-winning writer/producer Paula Boock (The Insider'…

Inspiring Stories Trust and CoLab will be running a two-day intensive storytelling and filmmaking workshop on the Tues 31 May and Wed 1 June in Auckland - and there's space for 10-15 energetic young filmmakers aged 13-26.
The workshops are designed to help aspiring y…

The Vodafone New Zealand Foundation, in association with SYHPANZ (Society of Youth Health Professionals Aotearoa New Zealand) is calling for applications for the second Fellowship in Youth Health Leadership.
The Vodafone Foundation's vision is to promote the health and wellbeing of young New Zealander…

Expanding Documentary: Sound, Image, Text 2011 is the eighth biennial documentary conference held in Aotearoa New Zealand since 1996. Arising out of a 'small country' context, the event has been distinguished over the years by its concern to engage artists, makers, academics, writers, in…

The International Women's Media Foundation is now accepting applications for the 2011-12 Elizabeth Neuffer Fellowship, named for the 1998 IWMF Courage in Journalism Award winner and The Boston Globe correspondent who was killed in Iraq in May 2003.
The fellowship will run from Sep…

The Aesthetica Short Film Comp has officially been developed into a fully-fledged festival, so they've now extended the deadline for the competition until 31 May.

With the launch of the Aesthetica Short Film Festival, the organisers have the potential to screen an even larger…

Here's one for aspiring scriptwriters - the New Zealand Writer's Guild Script Comp.
Up for grabs are short-term internship placements with top NZ television production companies. The recipients of these will be selected by the companies themselves from the ten finalists and the exact …

One of our members has contacted us to let us know they have an edit suite for hire, nice and cheap. It's an online edit suite with Mojo - and is available from today, 3 May for $300 per week.

To find ou…

The Red Flag Social Club,on behalf of the Auckland Labour History Group, invites you to a function to mark the 60^th anniversary of the Auckland Waterfront Lockout. John Bates is showing his documentary on the Auckland Waterfront lockout. John and Len Gale (cartoonist durin…

Know any young people (aged 12-19) who would like to learn some exciting skills from a bunch of our country's finest musicians? Even better, it's free! Get in quick though as places are limited (and filling up FAST!) For more info contact Hinewe…

A short remembrance from Exec Director Susi Newborn.

"Last week I received a tweet from Arthur-son-of-God (Rawiri Paratene) that a well known K Road identity "one of our own" as he put it, had died in her sleep on Easter Monday. For those …

On the 4th May at the Film School in Wellington, WIFT NZ announced Vanessa Simons from Crew 21, as the winner of the 2011 Robin Laing Scholarship.
"We always find it tough making these selections and this year was no exception" said President Cath…

The Topp Twins film Untouchable Girls now has a North American theatrical release through Argot Pictures (USA) and Kinosmith in Canada, where it has attracted glowing reviews (read here).
The film opens at Cinema Village, New York, on May 13, then Landmark Theat…

WIFT member Tamsyn Harker dropped us a note to tell us that she and Esther Venning are semi-finalists in the international AAA Screenplay Contest, run by Creative Screenwriting Magazine for their script,Olympian. Hugely exciting for them! Finalists are announced May 22, so good…

A recent New York Times article suggests that there's a new trend for female film characters packing murderous intent, shooting and not just clawing their way into macho territory. The chief film critics of The New York Times, Manohla Dargis and A. O. …

Joanna Russ, a writer who four decades ago helped deliver science fiction into the hands of the most alien creatures the genre had yet seen - women - died earlier this year on 29 April in Tucson. In this New York Times article, Margalit Fo…

Ooh, sounds exotic, doesn't it?! Sadly, this opportunity won't be accessible to most of us, but who knows, you may have gotten a little lucky in Lotto, or have had a small financial windfall. New York WIFTI Chapter member and TV/film/internet editor, photographer and instr…

Auckland director-producer Amanda Phillips, 25, who is in Cannes this week to promote Desired, her first completed feature film, will also be pitching Silent Fear, a claustrophobic thriller she has just added to her development slate.
Silent Fear is being produced by Amanda's produ…

Sleeping Beauty, a first feature from Australian novelist-turned-director Julia Leigh, is dividing opinion at Cannes. In the film, actress Emily Browning's character spends key scenes lying in bed, naked and passive, the object of men's erotic fascination.
"Is it a provocative feminist t…

While one news site waxes lyrical about the upswing in women's representation, another laments that it's still not good enough.

This article on The Guardian website takes more of a glass-half-empty approach, noting that despite the higher number of women competing for the Palme D'O…

WIFT NZ would like to welcome 17 wonderful young women to its 2011 Internship programme - 13 in Auckland and four in Wellington. This year saw an increase in applications to the internship programme, making the choice very hard. However, we're confident that those selected…

WIFT NZ is very pleased to announce that we've managed to place 15 of its 21 applicants into the 20111 Mentoring Programme; four of these are Te Puni Kokiri sponsored mentorships. Once again, we're very grateful to all those who put their names forwar…

SOCIAL NETWORKING NEW MEDIA Sessions 1 was held in Wellington at the Film School following the announcement of the RLS. A very interesting discussion was begun with some opening visual stats on the numbers of people participating across Face Book, Twitter, and the We…

What makes truly outstanding sound? On 26 May, Images & Sound's award winning sound engineers Steve Finnigan and James Hayday will reveal some of the secrets to the magic of great sound in next week's second WIFT event.
Using examples from local series and …

It's a great couple of weeks for WIFT events - here's another one to lock into your diary. Fighting Film Piracy - how you can better protect your intellectual property from piracy and stories from the battlefield, happens at the Classic, Queen Street, on Tu…

Those of you who are interested in animation won't want to miss our next great event covering the invisible art and the unknown business behind animation. Exploring all that it takes to be an animator, this presentation with Cris Casares will delve into the…

This week it's hard to escape the news coming out of Cannes, whether it's articles about the women filmmakers featuring this year, or the 'news' items that prefer to focus on what actresses are wearing (or not). So dive in and drink it al…

Have you got skills & experience in filmmaking, photography, or creative digital media? Are you interested in helping out the next generation? Look after a team, share your skills and make a difference as a mentor for the Inspiring Stories Charitable Trust.

Inspiring Sto…

NZ On Air has recently launched a new music funding programme to invest in a greater diversity of New Zealand music. The scheme, called Making Tracks, will contribute $2 million a year towards at least 200 new Kiwi songs - 200 single track recor…

There have been some interesting changes over the ditch that might interest members, especially those currently working in Australia. Screen Australia has welcomed a $13 million direct budget injection package over four years and a comprehensive suite of Producer Offset reforms announced i…

Are you familiar with the concept of crowd-funding? Wikipedia says it "describes the collective cooperation, attention and trust by people who network and pool their money and other resources together, usually via the Internet, to support efforts initiated by other people or organisations." It's …

Have something you're passionate about? Here's a site that's been set up to help individuals and organisations create funding campaigns to raise money quickly and securely by tapping into their networks of supporters and beyond. So far, Indiegogo has helped to raise millio…

These days it's common to find people without a landline at home - why would we need one when we have a mobile?' they say. But is the common TV going the same way? This NZ Herald article (via the Observer) suggests that…

Another Big Idea interview to slot into your lunch break. This time, Ande Schurr interviews three line producers, Anzak Tindall, Iris Weber and William Grieve, who have a healthy track record of bringing home international commercials. They delve deep into the business o…

Your work is great - so how are you going to tell everyone about it? Start with this Big Idea generator article, chock full of generic marketing tips that could come in handy for marketing your next project, or yourself.

It's not just about m…

It's your last chance to enter the NZWG TV Script Competition, which closes on 27 May. Prizes: up for grabs are short-term internship placements with top NZ television production companies. The recipients of these will be selected by the companies themselves from the ten final…

Save 16 June for a benefit screening of Early Days Yet, a documentary about the life of great New Zealand poet Allen Curnow. Made in the last years of Allen Curnow's life, Early Days Yet is a 70-minute documentary directed by Shirley Horrocks. …

Tiramaramarefers to 'the glistening of the stars'- an appropriate title for this star-studded Matariki Festival event on Friday 24 June, 7.30pm. Happening at the ASB Theatre, Aotea Centre, this special evening of entertainment showcases collaborations of contemporary Maori artists with other distinctive musical genres including…

The Christchurch Telethon on 22 May needs Auckland volunteers at the Waitakere Stadium to walk around the crowd with buckets to collect money. The event is 9.00am till 9.00pm but you're not expected to stay the whole day, only as much time as…

From Jane Campion's Peel and Alison Maclean's Kitchen Sink to Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland's Six Dollar Fifty Man, NZ short films have been exceptionally successful at Europe's most prestigious film festival.
This collection of 27 films showcases Kiwi shorts that have graced the…

Remember that 'site we like' we mentioned? Well here's a worthy example of it in action.

The filmmakers are looking for support and/or involvement for a project about postpartum psychosis, TEARS OF A CLOWN. www.TearsofaClownMovie.com

May is Postpartum Awareness Month and the filmmakers are …

Ever wondered what the WIFT NZ office looks like? Well, for those of you who haven't visited this one-room centre of busy joyfulness, just off Karangahape Road in the heart of Auckland City, here are a couple of pics. As you can see, we …

We'd like to welcome the following people to our membership ranks.

Hello and welcome to Tina Chongko, Natalie Mentor, Jessica Boag, Miao Zhang, Alex Mason, Laura-Jane Allen, Leila Collins, Sarah Matthews, Rebecca Darby, Mia Bernard, Sory Kim, Jin Sel Seo, Anahera Holder Parata, Terese M…

He wahine whai mana, he wahine whai kaha

Mai i a WIFT NZ nga mihi nui ki a koe Merata nau nei i whakapuare te matapihi o te oranga mo nga Wahine o te Ao Kiriata me te Ao Papaho. Kua waiho mai e koe…

The Writers Guild of America, West (WGAW) has released the Executive Summary of the 2011 Hollywood Writers Report: Recession and Regression. The study examines writers' employment and earnings by ethnicity, gender, and age from 2008 through 2009 in the motion picture and television industr…

Check out this LA Times Article about director Jennifer Yuh Nelson who is making inroads for women in animation. With 'Kung Fu Panda 2,' Jennifer Yuh Nelson has become the first woman to solely direct an animated feature from a major Hollywood studio.
After immig…

This recent Huffington Post article talks about why millennial women love Tina Fey and asks "Will her awesomeness never end?"

Writer Jessica Massa suggests that Fey has become an incomparable role model for today's young women, intentional or not and asks "How has …

Women and Hollywood blogged recently about the recent conclusion to the Cannes Film Festival, where Poliss directed by Maiwenn won the jury prize (which is third place.) The film has been picked up Sundance Selects. None of the other films by female director…

Whoever thought that a presentation on illegal file-sharing could be so exciting! Tony Eaton, Executive Director of the New Zealand Federation against Copyright Theft (NZFACT) and Claire Deeks, Intellectual Property lawyer, presented a riveting account to WIFT NZ of the realities facing the industry when…

We're quite liking this Smart Brief site and its facility which allows you to sign up to newsletters about your industry. For example, these were some of the newsletter headlines for the Forte Foundation alerts for professional women.

- Can you wear what y…

These days you don't even need your own website to market yourself (but it can help). Where should you be on the social web, and, more importantly, why? This great little article on The Big Idea tells you where and …

Two new films are garnering rave reviews around the country: Sam Hunt - Purple Balloon and other stories is a feature length biographical documentary exploring how Sam Hunt reflects the New Zealand landscape - literary and physical - and examines what makes him a …

The presentation on Animation with Cris Casares on 19 May at CoLab was another great evening. Cris delved into the art of the business plan behind every project, IP, and every idea in Animation, and explained how Animation is evolving and expanding into exciting…

Tonight - a Script to Screen Writer's Room event for women and your inner comic.

From their smallest foibles to their greatest contradictions comic female personalities have lit up the

screen from Mae West to Tina Fey. In this Writer's Room Madeleine Sami (Su…

The Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) has confirmed four NZ films: three features in the Panorama thread and one in the inaugural Mobile SIFF competition sponsored by China Mobile.
Stephen Kang`s Desert, Paul Murphy`s Love Birds and Ian Sharp`s UK-NZ co-production Tracker wil…

The Wairoa Maori Film Festival happens this Queens Birthday weekend as part of Matariki. Here's the official timing and lineup for Thursday 2 to Monday 6 June 2011.

Official festival powhiri, 3 pm Thurs 2 June, Taihoa Marae, Wairoa

Wairoa Maori Film nig…

Show Me Shorts Film Festival has announced a new partnership with the New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF), which will provide more opportunities for Aucklanders to engage with short films.
This July, as part of NZIFF, the Civic's elegant Wintergarden will be transformed …

The Flicks NZ cinema census results are in, making fascinating reading for anyone interested in film. Our thanks to Marian Evens for sending us this l…

The International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam, one of the world's leading documentary film festivals, is still open for entries of docos completed after April 11. There are also categories for graduate and beginner documentary-makers. For more, see the web…

The 2011 Fresh Shorts funding round opened last week. The Fresh Shorts scheme allows for eight films at $10,000 and eight films at $30,000 to be funded. Last year there were over 220 applications - and this year they want to see even more. …

Submissions are already piling up at the Documentary Edge office as many take advantage of the early bird low submission fee which will run until the 15th of June 2011. It's easy to submit, just go to WAB and with a few clicks …

If you just took part in the 48 hour competition, you now have 3 months to get ready before competing in the 72-hour documentary contest, a new homegrown documentary competition.
While the kick off of the year is saved for the Rugby World Cup on 9…

This 17 - 19 June, up to ten selected teams will spend a weekend producing a 2-minute story-based project for the mobile phone or Internet, under the tutelage of experienced practitioners Max Schleser and Lauret Antonczak. Applications have been extended and now close tomorrow, Wedn…

2011 Hamptons International Film Festival - To The Point: Women Telling Stories Through Media will host a screening of short films made by Women In Film & Television members from around the world at the 18th Annual Hamptons International Film Festival.
A joint ventu…

The Longest Night Film Festival is having its first screening at the Eltham Town Hall, Taranaki, on Saturday 25th of June 2011 at 7pm. And it's now calling for entries.

Open to local and overseas film makers, preference will be given to short fi…

Take a best-selling American author, her New Zealand love stories, add a German film crew and you get the spices in a hot new TV film season to screen on Stratos Television from June 1.

The free-to-air New Zealand broadcaster (via Freeview Channel 2…

Self Direction, play and discovery: The Actors Laboratory in association with Creative New Zealand is bringing Christian Penny to Auckland for a weekend workshop.

When an actor is working they leave a trace. The audience follows this. This trace is generated by their encounter with…

Sadly, our wonderful Financial Administrator, Emmy, is bidding us farewell due to an over-commitment of work projects. So, WIFT NZ is looking for a cheerful Financial Administrator for our cosy office in Beresford Square, Auckland Central. Six hours per week, car-park provided. I…

So, it's the last day of autumn today, and even the news seems to have quietened down for winter.

In fact, since our last enews, it seems like most film talk has been all about THAT proposed sign near Wellington airport. So we'll abstai…