Archive Aug 2019

We're thrilled for Matasila Freshwater who was awarded a special grant of $15,000 from the New Zealand Film Commission's 2019 Gender Scholarship. Samoan screenwriter Sima Urale won the scholarships's main grant of $50,000 to help progress her filmmaking career. The 2019 scholarship was for Pac…

It's great to hear that Night Raiders, a New Zealand-Canada co-production was awarded conditional production funding in July. Night Raiders is co-produced by our own Ainsley Gardiner, is set in the near future where the military controls post-war America and children are property of the Sta…

Next time you bump into Pietra Brettkelly (pictured below), congratulate her on becoming the inaugural Arts Foundation Laureate to receive the Dame Gaylene Preston Arts Laureate Award in Documentary Filmmaking! Dame Gaylene Preston awarded Pietra this honour at the New Zealand International Film Festival in Ju…

A big congratulations to Wifters on the team behind For My Father's Kingdom. This fabulous film received the Best International Documentary award at the Los Angeles Asia Pacific Film Festival in May!

A still shot from For My Father's Kingdom

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Christchurchians, it's time to mix and mingle! HODs, crew, vendors, producers, directors, writers, investors are invited to join the NZFC for an industry information evening and drinks on Friday 30 August. Pop the date in your diaries for now and send your details to allyc@nzfilm.co.nz …

Calling all producers! This fund has an annual allocation of $400,000 available on a contestable basis, so get your applications in. The fund will offer two strands: the Series Drama Matched Funding (Series Drama Market Partnerships); and the Feature Film (Official Feature Film Co-Productions).…

We're looking forward to the Show Me Shorts opening night and awards ceremony on 5 October in Auckland at the ASB Waterfront Theatre. Meanwhile, the Wellington season will kick off on Friday 11 October with a gala event at The Embassy. Tickets to both ope…

It seems the Venice Film Festival still has a long way to go on possible gender parity, according to this article in the Hollywood Reporter. This year's Festival competition line-up features just two female-directed films out of 21 titles, which equates to less than 10%.

Every March, the indigenous world comes together in Otaki, Wellington to celebrate indigenous screen storytelling at Maoriland Film Festival, the largest Indigenous film festival in the Southern Hemisphere. MFF 2020 will be held from March 18 - 22, 2020, and they're seeking content. Maoriland inv…

We hope everyone has heard about the development of a strategic plan for the screen industry, taking us from 2020 to 2030. Here's the first announcement with public consultation dates. We encourage you to reserve a spot for this important hui and make sure …

A great short film can launch a career! The good folk at Script To Screen have put together some helpful tips so you can put your best foot forward in your Fresh Shorts applications.

The good folk at SPADA sent a friendly reminder about encouraging you to either enter or nominate deserving women in their three major upcoming awards.

First up is the South Pacific Pictures Big Pitch, a chance to pitch your idea for the screen, and…

If you're into animation and VFX, make the most of this new resource from Animated Women UK. They've launched an online resource recommending books, podcasts and other sources of inspiration for women studying Animation and VFX.

Let's give a round of applause for Prisca Bouchet, whose documentary Egg Cup Requiem won the Madman Entertainment Jury Prize for the Best New Zealand Short Film at NZIFF 2019. This is the first time a documentary short has won the competition. Prisca co-directed the …

Film industry data hound Stephen Follows combines two perennially popular topics, money and myths, in this in-depth investigation into the correlation between first-time directors and financial profitability. The myth in question is that first-time directors are risky and should be avoided!

Exciting news from the New Zealand Film Commission! The Power of Inclusion summit has added more inspiring speakers to its line-up. The summit will take place in Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand on 3-4 October 2019, and include an extra day for WIFT mem…

Here's a great chance to put your smartphone to good use and be in to win! The Goethe-Institut New Zealand and the Mobile Innovation Network and Association (MINA) invite aspiring filmmakers to enter #Nucleus short film competition. They're looking for short films of 3-5 min…

POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews is calling for proposals for short films about Jewish communities with roots in the historic territories of Poland, and you have until 31 August, 2019 to get your entries in. The fourteen shortlisted films completed on…

Congratulations to Ghazaleh Golbakhsh and Vanessa Wells whose projects have received funding from the RNZ/NZ On Air Joint Innovation Fund. The projects they're involved in will commemorate the one-year anniversary of the March 15 terror attacks in Christchurch. Each project will be published o…

The bright folk at PLS Auckland are offering hands-on experience with the Light Bridge CRLS kit today and tomorrow, in Auckland. All the various sized reflectors will be set up with lights, so go along and investigate how you can use this unique system…

Congratulations to Angharad Gladding whose short documentary It Is Me was released on Monday by Toge+her, a supportive space for women that addresses mental health issues. The very talented Angharad (of MEAN Productions) directed the documentary, and created the illustrations that feature throughout. …

Great news for Tilane Jones, who has been promoted from Vice President to President of Ava DuVernay's trailblazing film collective ARRAY, which is dedicated to the amplification of films by people of colour and women. In the newly created position, Jones will now lead A…

It will be a busy end to Jan Hellriegel's year as she tours the country promoting her latest work, Sportsman Of The Year - A Suburban Philosophy. This is Jan's fourth studio album, and it's also available as a beautifully produced book with photos…

You'd better get your skates on if you're planning to enter the M?oriland Film Festival 2020! The free earlybird registration closes on 30 August, 2019. The deadline for submissions is October 7, 2019, and late submissions will be considered until October 27, 2019. MFF …

You'll open new doors at the WIFTI and The Power of Inclusion summit! Meet Kirsten Schaffer, executive director of Women In Film, Los Angeles (WIFLA). Kirsten was the director of programming and then executive director of Outfest, and is widely credited as having…

Department manager for survey and photo department
Weta Digital

Keep your eyes peeled for journalism jobs - eight journalists are being sought to work as local democracy reporters in regional newsrooms across New Zealand. The recruitment aims to boost reporting on local body issues and the work of publicly funded institutions, local councils, he…