Archive Mar 2018

Look out Ōtaki, the annual Māoriland Film Festival is just a week away! This year Māoriland welcomes a delegation of Sami filmmakers from the Scandinavian far north, including Liisa Holmberg of the Sami Film Institute, producer Mathis Stole Mathisen (Girl With A Pearl Necklace) and…

In support of WIFTNZ, Rocket Rentals would like to offer all members a 40% discount on all camera equipment rentals from now until the end of May. Check out the equipment available on the website and take advantage of this offer by contacting aaron@rocketrentals.com

To give the New Zealand screen industry its best chance of success, we need strong and new ideas - from YOU dear members! The NZ Writers Guild Seed grants allow writers to be innovative, brilliant, and to create something they own, just as they…

Well, here are some interesting statistics to chew over. Oscar-nominated films with a woman in the starring role are more profitable than their male-led counterparts, according to BBC analysis. Female-led films earn higher box office returns - despite usually lower production budgets.
Just 2…

If scriptwriting for television drama is your calling, then this is the opportunity you've been waiting for. Script to Screen Te Tari Tuhi Kupu a Whakaahua's brand new pilot programme EPISODIC LAB AOTEAROA is the first of its kind in New Zealand. Writers and/or teams…

Vive la France! The foremost French cultural event returns to New Zealand screens in the form of the 12th Alliance Fran�aise French Film Festival, and we're celebrating by giving away five double passes!

Watch the trailer >> and answer this question: How many…

American Rachel Morrison made history this year by becoming the first woman to be nominated for the best cinematography Oscar, for her work on Dee Rees' Mudbound (2017). In this interview on Indiewire, she talks about how her early career in reality TV and documentaries…

The Freelance Agency is new in town, and wanted to introduce themselves. Here's a little bit about them, in their own words.

The Freelance Agency represents NZ's leading independent screen production talent. We look after Directors, DPs and Editors across every genre and format and are in …

You have been waiting for it, particularly if you are not in Auckland!  Gather together and watch the full WIFT Awards ceremony on Red Carpet TV, courtesy of one of our newest members, Debbie Byrnand. You can watch the 3-minute version, with interviews here…

Well, they're short on women directors for one thing. Data collected by blogger Stephen Follows shows that women make up a small percentage of the people behind Oscar-nominated short films - 14% of directors, 14% of writers and 27% of producers (1957-2017). Follows reports that…

Do you have a powerful idea that you know will make an impact on screen? Loading Docs is seeking proposals from New Zealand filmmakers for creative and original three-minute documentary shorts, and this year, the theme is IMPACT.

"Impact is a powerful word; it has…

If your proposal writing skills need a polish, or your budgeting skills lack lustre, head to the Doc Clinic #2 on Saturday, 24 March where producers Alex Clark and Charlotte Purdy will help them shine. Doc Clinic #2 will also cover writing a strong and…

Here's a great opportunity for those of you interested in editing and upskilling in this area. Delve into the drama editing process with award-winning Kiwi editor Peter Roberts at this DEGNZ  workshop in April. Learn about narrative feature-length editing and dramatic storytelling and work on…

Ah, the benefits of someone else's hindsight! Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa (aka S.Q.S and pictured above) made Three Wise Cousins, a self-funded feature film which took just under $1million at the NZ Box Office, and went on to a successful Australian, USA and Pacific release. In January…

We're celebrating the team who worked on Yellow Is Forbidden, which has been selected for the 17th Tribeca Film Festival in April. Kathy Corbett and Margot Francis worked their respective accounting and editing magic for this documentary which was written, directed and produced by Kiwi…

Media specialist for TVNZ

This position involves helping prepare and deliver New Zealand's favourite shows to TVNZ's free-to-air and streaming platforms, and would suit someone who is comfortable under pressure, has a strong eye for detail, plenty of technical knowhow, is willing to lea…

We're only asking because MediaWorks wants it! They're looking to commission a number of sit com pilots for broadcast on Three, and are looking for shows that have these attributes:

Broad appeal, prime-time sitcom pilots for broadcast later in 2018. Appealing, accessible characters that re…

We know you'll love this one! Winner of the Audience Award for Best Narrative Film at the Tribeca Film Festival, The Divine Order is set in Switzerland in 1971 where, despite the worldwide social upheavals of the previous decade, women were still denied the right…

Sarah Howell is a filmmaker with a serious side passion for visual poetry. 'YOU', a poem by 'me', is a short piece written, shot, and edited by Howell, and now part of the official selection for the 2018 Film and Video Poetry Symposium, Los Angeles,…

We hope you're submitting at least one script to this year's Shore Scripts contest! With more than $35,000 in cash and prizes on offer, and with Oscar/Bafta/Emmy Award-winning judges on board, they are a fantastic opportunity. On script reading duty this year are 36 Oscar,…

You'd be zwariowany* to miss this chance to catch seven masterpieces of Polish cinema, as the third edition of the Polish Film Festival swings into action. The festival is part of a worldwide celebration to commemorate Poland's centennial of its regained independence.
The films show various…

If you're  managing a career and kids, here's your chance to explore some different perspectives on working mothers. Thanks to our PM's surprise baby news, the issue of working mothers is very much in the public domain, and capitalising on that is women's networking organisation,…

We encourage members who have produced work involving mental health issues, to enter the 2018 TheMHS Media Awards. The Awards recognise excellence and accuracy of media coverage about mental health, and are awarded in three categories: Text Journalism, Sound/Vision Journalism, and Special Media Journalism.
The Sound/Vision…

Congratulations to Judith Cowley (pictured) one of the chosen eight scriptwriting participants in the 2018 Aotearoa Short Film Lab. The Lab is a prestigious hothouse mentoring scheme for screenwriters and aspiring screenwriters to workshop new ideas for short film. Looking forward to seeing your work…

Communications Coordinator
Weta Workshop

Auckland Festival Manager
New Zealand International Film Festival

Production department head tutor
South Seas Film and Television School

Camera Operator-Editor
Newshub (Wellington)

Production Coordinator
Pukeko Pictures

Head of Longform, The Project
MediaWorks

Tutor Costume Construction
Toi Whakaari: NZ Drama School

TV News Producer

Newshub (Wellington)

Production Assistant, The…

Tired of the real world? Then join the team at M Theory next week, for a showcase of its amazing virtual and augmented reality experiences and 360 videos. The food and drinks will be real, promises M Theory director Sam Ramlu.
While you're there, why not…

Hey filmmakers, here's your chance to be part of a groundbreaking initiative that collectively achieves hundreds of thousands of views each year! Loading Docs is seeking proposals for creative and original three-minute documentary shorts on the theme of IMPACT. In particular, proposals are requested …

In these revolutionary days of the Time's Up and #MeToo movements, it's great to see the creation of new film review website Cherry Picks, which will only champion reviews by female critics. Cherry Picks is the sweeter alternative to Rotten Tomatoes, a film review …

Fantastic news for these digital media co-productions, which have received funding from the NZ On Air and the Canada Media Fund (CMF) joint funding initiative.
A Paper World by Signal Space Inc & Kiwa Digital, is an app where augmented reality and crafting paper ori…

Grab a coffee, find a comfortable seat, crack open the Easter eggs and check out this great opinion piece by Australian journalist David Leser, published in The Age. Titled Women, men and the whole damn thing, Leser makes mention of our own Lucy Lawless…

The deadline for SEED is next Friday 6 April at 12 noon. Remember to keep applying, even if you feel dispirited! We can only win by staying in the game. If we have equality in applications, yet don't achieve it in grants, it raises…

We'd love to hear your news, and we're sure other members would too! Send us your shorts or your trailers for our video slot. Maybe you have an event, an award or a project you'd like to tell us about? Perhaps you'd like to…