Archive Sep 2017

We have some fantastic news for all of you who are going to the Big Screen Symposium! The BSS has signed up Bec Smith (pictured below right) and Penny Win (below left) as speakers. Bec is a literary agent and an independent film agent…

Here's your chance to enjoy some of the most thrilling recent films from Germany, Switzerland and Austria for free! The Goethe Institut is hosting New Zealand's 9th German Film Festival, which opens at Auckland's Academy on September 5 and will play in New Plymouth, Welling…

Celebrate the people and culture of the Pacific at the vibrant Oceania film festival, with panel discussions, film compilations - and crepe paper craft! Catch feature film, One Thousand Ropes, hear acclaimed artists, Pacific Underground, and have fun at a Ula Lei making workshop.…

A gentle reminder that the next deadline for Premiere Pathways is Monday 25 September at 9am. Premiere Pathways is the NZFC's flexible fund designed to assist filmmakers in creating striking moving-image material to showcase their talent and help them get feature films made. You…

A good chunk of ScreenSafe's new Health and Safety guidelines are now available online. These replace the existing industry Code of Practice and contain information and updated recommendations for best-practice under the new Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 which came into effec…

A double round of applause for the team of Waru, produced by WIFT-er Kerry Warkia, and Kiel McNaughton. Waru will open Toronto's imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival, the world's largest presenter of indigenous screen content, and has been selected for the Discovery secti…

Short Film Otago's new funding round is now open, so if you have a script, or a film idea/outline that needs development or funding, it's time to apply. Short Film Otago provides a "first step" initiative for southern writers and film makers, similar to …

Imagezone intern needed

Imagezone offers complete full technical services to the television and film industry including high-end camera, video and data equipment rental. They're looking for a workshop intern to support the rental department. The successful candidate will get full training on all equipment…

Auckland-based Imagination TV is looking for an enthusiastic and energetic person to join the team as receptionist / office assistant.
Apply to jobs@imaginationtv.co…

Ever wonder how a violin is made? Come and watch WIFT-er Kath Thomas's documentary Notes in the Wood, which follows the late Stan Monk, a maverick in the world of traditional violin making. Stan worked on his craft in a garden shed at Auckland's Mur…

A big shoutout to WIFT member Vicky Pope whose web-based documentary Conversations with Teen Mums is now live. Made in Auckland over four years by director Juliette Veber and produced by Vicky, the interactive documentary features photographic portraits, quotes, films and written interviews, and pro…

What could be worse than being alone in a laundromat, doing your laundry? We love a good cliffhanger, so you'll have to watch new WIFT member Rose McMahon's short film Bleach, now live online, to answer that question! We thought 16-year-old Rose's film deserved …

Here's a chance to watch six of the best short films by the talented writer, director, comedienne and WIFT member Jackie van Beek. Jackie's first feature film The Inland Road has just premiered to positive critical reviews, so it's definitely time to celebrate! Her sh…

Environmental crises and isolation loom large in Human Traces, which has been selected for the Discovery section in the of the prestigious TIFF. Produced by WIFT-member Nadia Maxwell and starring fellow WIFT-er Sophie Henderson, the film tells a complex story on a huge canvas:…

The hghly acclaimed film I Am Not Your Negro opens in NZ cinemas on 21 September and we have 5 double passes to give away!

I Am Not Your Negro is a journey into black history that connects the past of the Civil Rights…

We know a lot of WIFT-ers were involved in this project so we're giving it a WIFT-worthy boost. Pietra Brett Kelly's Yellow Is Forbidden is a modern day Cinderella story where the brave, diminutive and daring heroine's dream doesn't end at the ball� China's only h…

If you're thinking of China as a market your TV series, this is a useful read. Production and development specialist Leanne Passafonti, shares her insights on making successful TV in China, and  outlines some of the regulatory roadblocks that occur, and how to navigate ar…

Former WIFT panellist and Essential Media's head of scripted, Ian Collie, is launching his own drama production company, Easy Tiger Productions, backed by FremantleMedia. Collie, a panellist for the WIFT Australia/Denmark/New Zealand Co-production Summit, is taking development slate as well as the four-part crime …

A big shoutout to Kirsty Griffin and Viv Kernick whose web series Amy Street won best non-fiction web series at this year's Webfest in Berlin. The series is a collection of eight episodes, and focuses on the different residents of Amy Street and explores t…

Last days to get your submissions into the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival and Screenplay Competition (#VIWIFF)  before the 2 October deadline! This five-day celebration runs from March 7 - 11, 2018, and will showcase an impressive line-up of short, and feature films (narrat…

The Kiwi directors of Waru made an impression on film journalist Gill Pringle at the The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) where Waru premiered in the Discovery section. In her blog for The Female Gaze, Pringle describes them as a "boisterous" and "lively tribe"…

Kapiti writer/director Linda Niccol is on a roll: her short screenplay The Girl With A Little Bit Extra will have a staged reading at the upcoming Lady Filmmakers Festival in Beverly Hills, one of just two screenplays selected. The script tells the story of Po…

NZ On Air and the Canada Media Fund (CMF) will renew their partnership to encourage the coproduction of digital media content between Canadian and New Zealand creators. The budget for the Canada - New Zealand Digital Media Fund is CAD$800,000, with both organisations contributin…

Congratulations to our members who made the finals of The New Zealand Writers Guild Script Writer Awards and Unproduced Script Competition! The finalists are:
Best Director Feature Film
Shoshana McCallum, Natalie Medlock - Daisy Chain
April Phillips - Blind Eye

Best Feature Film
J…

Miranda Harcourt has stepped into the unknown with her first feature film as director. The Changeover is a commercial movie aimed at young adults - a first for New Zealand.

Due for release in New Zealand 28 September, the film is an adapt…

Here's some hot-off-the-press news for those heading to the Big Screen Symposium: Kylie du Fresne will be examining her 20-year business and creative relationships with Goalpost Pictures partners Rosemary Blight and Ben Grant: how they started out and the creative and financial divisions in…

A round of applause please, for our many members who made it into the regional finals for Best Female Director of the HP48HOURS! Below is a list of all the finalists in the main regions, and you'll find a list of all nominees here.

Remember Madonna's first movie? Desperately Seeking Susan was at the vanguard of films produced by women, and those women are coming to New Zealand to share their story. Midge Sanford and business partner Sarah Pillsbury set up their film production company Sanford/Pillsbury Productions in 1…

Here's your chance to shine a light on an inspirational, hardworking woman in the screen industry. The WIFT Awards are an uplifting celebration, highlighting the work of women in film and television in New Zealand. Anyone can nominate, but nominees must be wo…

Cliffs of Freedom chronicles the journey of a Greek peasant girl after tragedy befalls her family. Joining with fellow rebel fighters she fights for freedom, galvanizing a country to rise up against an oppressive Ottoman Empire. The film is running a work-in-progress test screening that inclu…

Here's an aural treasure that's now available for anyone to hear. It's the first of four online exhibitions to showcase the Ng? Taonga K?rero collection - the archive of Radio New Zealand's M?ori radio programmes. It contains the oldest recorded M?ori broadcast from the opening…

Integration executive
TVNZ is seeking an exceptional Integration Executive to offer core support, proposal development and project management implementation support across a variety of projects, to the Content Solutions team.
More details

Film lecturer

The SAE Creative Media Institute is looking for a Film…

Calling all M?ori, Pasifika and Asian writers with new, exciting and original screenplays and plays! Playmarket and NZWG joint development programmes Brown Ink & Asian Ink want your submissions. Selected plays and screenplays will win a day-long script clinic with a professional director, ca…

Here's a chance to mix business with pleasure: the 15th Berlinale Co-Production Market is happpening during the 68th Berlin International Film Festival, so you can fill up on festival films as well as scout for a potential production partner. The submission calls for feature proj…