Archive Oct 2018

The excitement is building...the 2018 NZCS Awards dinner is an occasion to help the image-making community celebrate how much New Zealand cinematographers have achieved in the past year. The extraordinary depth of New Zealand cinematography will be on show, from on-the-spot news and stunning m…

This short film, co-produced by Olivia Shanks, Jaimee Poipoi and Ashleigh Flynn, needs a cash injection for its prosthetics department. Written by Jo Randerson and co-directed by Jo and her longtime friend actor/director Loren Taylor, Hey Brainy Man! is a message from our ancesto…

Check out what's on offer at this year's Show Me Shorts 2018! The fabulous trailer is now live, and reveals plenty of short and sweet, scary and strange films to enjoy. Don't forget WIFT members get a discount when you buy a concession-priced ticket…

New and emerging writers, here's your chance to further develop your talent and learn from the best. Applications are now open for the Script to Screen and Show Me Shorts Film Festival 2019 Aotearoa Short Film Lab. You'll need to submit one script and…

Applications are now open for the Masters in Scriptwriting course at the International Institute of Modern Letters in Wellington. Described as "life-changing" by one writer, the course is directed by award-winning screenwriter and playwright Ken Duncum. A couple of points worth noting: an undergraduate de…

NZ On Air is seeking proposals to create a news service for children. This project is a pilot being funded out of the $4m in additional funding provided to NZ On Air in 2018/19 as a one-off, and $1m has been set aside for …

Today we're featuring an award-winning music video, so click the link below and crank up your speakers! It was produced by Kate Moses for Chelsea Jade's single, Laugh It Off. The video won the NZ on Air Best Music Video in the Show Me Shorts Awards 2…

The acclaimed mockumentary comedy horror series Wellington Paranormal returns next year featuring the multi-talented actress, writer and director Jackie van Beek, having received NZ On Air funding of $5,093,485. The spinoff to What We Do In The Shadows was a hit with audiences and cr…

Women in Saudi Arabia have only been allowed to drive since June this year, after the lifting of a decades-old ban. Meanwhile, the first cinema opened in the country after 35 years in April. Saudi Arabia's first female filmmaker Haifaa Al Mansour made her fi…

The organisers of the Oscars have announced a programme of new initiatives geared toward encouraging female filmmakers. Called Action: The Academy Women's Initiative, it includes a one-year fellowship for women filmmakers and executives, a lunch that will bring together women across the industry, a…

"No Going Out & No Boyfriends". These rules are set in stone for Hibiscus (Suivai Pilisipi Autagavaia) by her mother, in Hibiscus' final year of university. However, as guys start to go all-out to impress Hibiscus, she asks her childhood friend Ruth (Anna-Maree Thomas) a…

And congratulations to these Wifters who, with NZOA funding, are charged with creating a range of fun, engaging and (just quietly) educational content for children:

Field Theory for Kiri And Lou 2 for TVNZ 2 and HEIHEI
Brown Sugar Apple Grunt Productions for The…

It's a bit difficult to spot the WIFT members in these finalists so please forgive us if we don't mention you! We can see Ness Simons, Annie Duckworth, and the team at Attitude. Congratulations to you and any of you we have missed! All…

You can catch these wonderful Wifters' works this week at Ng? Taonga Sound & Vision. First up is Lisa Taouma's Marks of Mana in its New Zealand premiere. In this new documentary, the filmmaker, academic and founder of the Coconet.tv expands the record of knowledge a…

Here are opportunities around the country to see the film Rafiki and hear more from Kenyan filmmaker Wanuri Kahiu, presented by Marian Evans #directedbywomen. Kahiu kicks off #BIGSCREEN18 (click here for tickets!) with an opening address, and has recently sued the classification office in…

Pamela Hutchinson's excellent summary of the #MeToo movement in The Guardian is well worth a read. In the past 12 months, talk of change and proposed structural changes within the industry have shifted the pendulum - but is it still just talk?

Here's another great screening to mark in your diary: Doc Edge presents Dancer, the fascinating, powerful story of Sergei Polunin who took the dance world by storm and became the Royal ballet's youngest ever principal. At the peak of his success, aged 25, he wa…

Applications are open for the 2019 intakes in audio, music and screen production at SAE Creative Media Institute. If you're interested in applying you'll need to get cracking because SAE reports applications for the diploma and degree programmes at its Auckland campus have reached an all-…

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Make Thursday night movie night and go see She Shears, the documentary produced by Ainsley Gardiner and Georgina Conder, and released in New Zealand cinemas tomorrow. She Shears focuses on five female shearers as they head for black shirt glory at the Golden Shear…

We're delighted that a number of you successfully applied for NZOA funding. The projects are on topics as diverse as religion, homelessness, music, suicide, nature and living with disabilities. We're looking forward to seeing the finished products! Here are the successful candidates:

Who knew this was happening just around the corner from the WIFT office? Our doorway even features for one nano-second! We need to get out more - thankyou Gwen Isaac for showing us what we've been missing! The Others Way is an annual multi-venue m…

It's a long way from ?taki to Toronto, Canada, but this short film has made the journey! Libby Hakaraia's second short film, The Gravedigger of Kapu, recently had its world premiere in Toronto at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. The film was wri…

It looks like Roseanne Liang is going to be busy! It's been announced that Liang will direct Do No Harm, a feature film based on her 12-minute short of the same name. You'll remember back in January she made the list of 20 top fe…

It's not often we get to see three works by the same Wifter, all screening around the same time! Anna Cottrell has hit the trifecta with three projects due to screen on free-to-air TV within the next month. So, watch out for:

Wahine 50 Y…

Head to Hamilton on 8 November for Misty Flicks, a showcase of short films by Waikato filmmakers that have had some success at film festivals. Spearheaded by Paige Larianova, along with Kelly Fritz and Rod Petsef, Misty Flicks will screen 13 shorts ranging from narrat…

Filmmaker Rachel Ross and producer Morgan Leigh Stewart are seeking a bit of funding - $8,000 to be precise - for their project Green, a story inspired by true events. It's about Blake, who road trips to her father's house in Taranaki to chec…

Speaking of shorts, don't miss the Uni Shorts International Student Film Festival this Saturday at Auckland's Unitec Institute of Technology. The USISFF is the only student film festival of its type in Australasia and Unitec has curated it since 2012. The selected 24 student-made s…

Check out The Secret Lives of Sex Workers, a fascinating three-part doco series produced by Ruth Korver and production managed by Ness Patea (who was also looking after stills). This series gets special notice because the production crew was all-female - something which helpe…

The first City Gallery Wellington's Contemporary Feminism series panel kicks off tonight in partnership with RNZ, so get to the Gallery to hear Kim Hill chair a panel discussing the topic of 'Feminism and Faith'. The panel will be tackling questions such as, ho…

Three top French female sales agents and gender equality activists have teamed up to launch Totem Films, a new independent sales collective. Screendaily reports that Agathe Valentin and B�r�nice Vincent are joining forces with cinema finance expert Laure Parleani to create Paris-based sales and finan…

Looking for new talent? Unitec's Graduating Acting Class of 2018 present FIN? a collection of short plays they devised under the direction of Pedro Ilgenfritz, Kate Parker and John Davies. The graduating class have been divided into five cohorts and will perform Lunar State, Broders…

Operations director of Parrot Analytics, Dil Khosa is a member of WIFT NZ and a great supporter. In the new year we'll be adding useful data content to our newsletter, generously provided by Parrot. Meanwhile, Parrot Analytics is behind the first-ever data-driven TV content awa…

Screen Producers New Zealand (SPADA) and fourteen other TV and film trade associations from around the world have formed the Global Creative Alliance (GCA), a new partnership to encourage more effective international collaboration between producers and to increase opportunities for co-productions. Trade bodies from Austr…

Applications are now open for the NZ Diploma in Screen Production Level 5 at EIT in Napier. This course has dedicated industry experienced tutors facilitating the learning of the fundamentals of screen skills. It's a hands-on, practical course that gives students the core skills the…

The Show Me Shorts festival is in full swing, with short film screenings happening across the country. Many are selling out, so we recommend you contact your local cinema to book in advance and avoid disappointment!

Click here to check out what's o…

We know many of you head down to the beautiful Otago and Southland regions for various projects, so the sharp new Film Otago Southland website will be especially helpful when you're looking for crew, locations, caterers, accommodation etc. The site now offers an industry direc…

We're giving away three double passes to Pietra Brettkelly's Yellow Is Forbidden, which opens in New Zealand cinemas on 1 November 2018. From a country with the world's largest population, Guo Pei is China's only haute couture designer, with one of her pieces taking 50…

If the New Zealand screen sector wants to remain globally competitive, it needs its own employment framework, a working group says. Directors and Editors Guild head Tui Ruwhiu, NZ Writers Guild head Alice Shearman, and Ng? Aho Whakaari executive director Erina Tamepo, were among the 13 me…

Blumhouse Productions founder Jason Blum stirred up controversy by stating there weren't "a lot of female directors period, and even less who are inclined to do horror." So Variety.com came up with 15 directors they believe are perfect for the next cannibal, zombie or sla…

Only two more sleeps to go before the Big Screen Symposium! We're pretty excited that New Zealand's Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, who also happens to be the Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Jacinda Ardern (pictured below), will deliver a mini address on Fr…

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A pair of "crazy" shoes sparked the idea for Yellow Is Forbidden, Pietra Brettkelly's documentary about China'sdesign darling Guo Pei (pictured above, left) and her efforts to be recognised by the fashion industry as an haute couture designer. Guo Pei's dresses are pretty…

One indoor location, contemporary dress, seven fabulous actors and a great script: filmmakers take note, Sally Potter's scorchingly good film The Party shows you don't always need a big location/props/wardrobe budget to make a great film.

Congratulations to Donna Malane and Paula Boock (Lippy Pictures), and Philly de Lacey (Screentime) for successfully developing this exciting co-production with Germany. Shot in New Zealand, The Gulf is a six-part "Southern noir drama ... that delivers a gripping, fast-paced dive into a world …

Get along to the inaugural Rotorua Indigenous Film Festival (RIFF) from 1-3 November. Supported by Bay of Plenty Film, the event is the brainchild of Piripi Curtis, Mike Jonathan and Lara Northcroft of Steambox Collective, a group of Rotorua-based film makers, the event is to ho…