Congratulations to these fabulous ten women (especially the six WIFT members) who have made it through to the inaugural Women Filmmakers Incubator run by the Directors & Editors Guild of New Zealand (DEGNZ).
They are:
| Catherine Bisley Nathalie Boltt Abigail Greenwood Kirsty Hamilton Cathy MacDonald
| Renae Maihi Zoe McIntosh Niki Si'ulepa Yamin Tun Aidee Walker
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"After much debate, the experienced industry selection panel chose ten applicants who it felt were at the right stage of their careers to get the maximum benefit from the content the Incubator offers," said Executive Director of DEGNZ Tui Ruwhiu.
"We look forward to assisting these talented women towards their first feature films, and helping to address the gender inequality that is reflected in the poor statistics of New Zealand women at the directing helm of feature film in this country."
The Incubator is a targeted initiative designed to give emerging female directors the opportunity to build their knowledge, skills and networks as a means to advance their careers and projects in the screen industry.
Each workshop in the programme will bring in highly successful filmmakers and experts in a stepped approach that will develop participants' confidence and capability to engage with the screen industry as they seek to get their own projects through development and into production.
The workshop series will start in Auckland in September 2016 and run through to the winter of 2017.
This initiative is supported with financial assistance from the New Zealand Film Commission.