Archive Feb 2019

Congratulations to Tui Ruwhiu (producer) and Natalie Medlock (co-writer) whose drama series Flesh & Blood has been accepted for this prestigious event. The film will be part of the Berlinale Co-Pro Series which gives those selected the opportunity to meet with broadcasters, sales agents, distributors and produ…

Wellingtonions, you're in for a treat this year! The WFS's screenings will include V?ra Chytilov�'s ground-breaking film Daisies, Sofia Coppola's arresting debut The Virgin Suicides, and Agn�s Varda's delightful collaboration with photographer JR Faces Places. Contemporary German filmmakers Maren Ade (The Forest for the T…

From 2007 to 2018, just 4% of directors of the 1200 top-grossing US films were women. The #4PercentChallenge, launched during an event at Sundance on Friday, is calling on filmmakers to commit to announcing a project with a female director in the next 18 mont…

If you have a short film or documentary which follows a female's story, then Toge+her would love to hear from you! Toge+her is a new supportive space for women, addressing mental health issues. Each month they look at a new topic and each week they…

Marketing manager theatrical film release
Universal Pictures NZ

Pen�lope Cruz and Javier Bardem star in the gripping thriller, Everybody Knows - in cinemas February 28. Laura (Cruz) returns to Spain with her children to attend her sister's wedding. But celebrations descend from joy to despair when her daughter goes missing. Suspicions moun…

Be sure to catch this MasterClass by director Jodie Foster, who offers her rare insight into the craft as both an actor and director. The two-time Oscar winner, who has helmed the films Money Monster (2016), The Beaver (2011), as well as episodes of B…

Calling all tenacious and talented filmmakers: check out this year's FilmUP mentorship programme. FilmUP supports and empowers up to eight filmmakers to reach the next stage in their creative careers. Participants will receive 20 hours of one-on-one mentorship with an established filmmaker, attend Hub …

It took a year or so, but Stephen Follows and ScreenCraft crunched the data behind 12,309 feature film script reports, and the results are now available to read - and we encourage you to do so! The results reveal patterns in how script readers r…

Row, row, row your screenplay all the way to this one-day course on writing a feature film. International Institute of Modern Letters screenwriting teacher Ken Duncum looks at strategies for: Coming up with a Cinematic Concept; growing Captivating Characters; locating the Core of your st…

Well, Kate McGill left the WIFT office to take centre stage, and we couldn't be more proud of her! Be sure to catch the fabulous Kate and her mother, the queen of Kiwi comedy Ginette McDonald, as they take on the role of Joan, Tom Sco…

Costume designer Charlotte Kelleher is cooking up some weird new creatures at her Wellington costume and art department studio, CKFilmDesign. She's working on costumes for a theatre adaptation of Patricia Grace's classic kids' book The Kuia and the Spider, adapted for the st…

Don't miss this opportunity to hear internationally acclaimed director of documentaries, fiction film and theatrical works Alina Marazzi's public lecture on her 'maternal trilogy' of films. Un'ora sola ti vorrei (For one more hour with you, 2002) Vogliamo anche le rose (We Want Roses …

This really is an extraordinary film so we're drawing your attention to it, and reminding you all that you do get a member's discount at Auckland's Academy Cinemas. After a successful run at the NZIFF last year, Nadine Labaki's Capharnaum is also in the run…

Winner of the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Academy Awards, Nadine Labaki's Capharnaum ("Chaos") tells the story of Zain (Zain al Rafeea), a Lebanese boy who sues his parents for the "cr…

Here's a wonderful new initiative designed to give filmmakers a greater understanding of how the international TV landscape works. Created by the New Zealand Film Commission and NZ On Air in conjunction with Script to Screen, the Raupapa Whakaari initiative aims to further develop…

The world's most liveable city has been transformed into an interactive and ridiculously fun virtual reality experience, the first of its kind globally. Member Kat Lintott, Wrestler's Head of VR/AR, gleefully admits they geeked out on this one! The project was commissioned by WREDA,…

Support a fellow Wifter and go see Hang Time, the directorial debut of Casey Zilbert. Casey won the Fulcrum Media Finance Woman to Watch at last year's WIFT Awards; she also wrote, produced and acted in Hang Time. Billed as a raucous romp that's …

Here's another fabulous reason to attend the M?oriland Film Festival in ?taki in March: the portmanteau film Vai will open MFF19 in the film's Southern Hemisphere premiere. By the way ... our apologies to Marina Alofagia McCartney and Matasila Freshwater, whose names we missed in th…

Emerging directors, be empowered with knowledge, connections and confidence at the DEGNZ Women Filmmakers' Incubator! This Incubator is intended mainly for emerging debut directors of feature film (drama or documentary), but will also consider you if you're trying to establish a career in TV d…

Scriptwriters, it's time to promote yourselves and apply for funding, so you can create your dream script! The goal of the New Zealand Writers Guild (NZWG) Seed grants is to give writers an opportunity to create feature film scripts they believe in. Funded by the…

The 2019 MFF programme is out now and it features a strong line up of films by women. More than half the programmed directors are female, celebrating a diversity that Hollywood is often criticised for lacking. The festival includes the southern hemisphere premiere of the celebr…

Non-professional actors are in the spotlight after the surprise nomination of non-professional indigenous woman Yalitza Aparicio for this year's best actress Oscar for her role as a domestic servant in Alfonso Cuar�n's critically acclaimed Roma. Professor Catherine O'Rawe, the University of Bristol's Professor of It…

Join the 2019 NZIFF team!
The New Zealand International Film Festival is hiring an impressive number of NZIFF contract roles for 2019. If you're interested in Comms or Event Management then check out the link below.
nziff.co.nz/about/work-with-us/

Calling all filmmakers: the @BAFTA-Qualifying @ASFFest is an excellent opportunity to showcase your work to a wide audience. Celebrating innovation and excellence in filmmaking, ASFF is looking for emerging and established practitioners who are pushing the boundaries of filmmaking forward. Filmmakers can submit Short F…

Support a fellow Wifter and local film by getting the production ball rolling for Woman in Blue, a short film about an ex-policewoman who relives her memories of policing from a dementia ward. Produced by Ashleigh Flynn and directed by Jack O'Donnell, with Jess Char…

The 17th annual Female Eye Film Festival in Ontario Canada is still accepting submissions and is offering a slashed rate for WIFTNZ members! Save 50% on submission fees by using the discount Code WIFT- INT. In light of the most recent events that have…

Register now for your accreditation to the Cannes Film Festival and grab the earlybird rate before 1 March! Registering via the Marche du Film means you'll get a number of benefits from complimentary croissants and coffee to priority line access to screenings, and invite…

Hundreds of pilots sell to networks and streaming services every year. What's stopping you from selling your idea? If you're keen to learn how to write a TV pilot, NoFilmSchool's Jason Hellerman will show you how, with six weeks of online tuition. And it's fr…

The submissions window for London Short Film Festival 2020 is now open! Stay ahead of the game, grab the earlybird deal and submit your short film today. The prize-winning categories are:
Best International Short Film, Best Documentary Short Film, Best Animated Short Film and, j…

Can you believe it's been six years since writer, director and actor Aidee Walker and producer Julia Parnell of Notable Pictures created this award-winning short film? Friday Tigers / Ng? Taika o te R?mere was awarded the $5000 Madman Entertainment Jury Prize for Best New Zealand Short…

Ava DuVernay was the first black woman to win the best directing achievement at the Sundance Film Festival, and her career has included numerous accolades since. Her television show, Queen Sugar, employed all female directors. And she's constantly trying to uplift the voices around …

Need help accessing finance for your film? This wonderful Cannes Film Festival initiative helps connect female-identifying directors to top tier film investors. The programme is focused on practical actions and is a direct response to what the organisers, themselves female filmmakers, have encountered as barr…

Finally, some encouraging stats for women and people of colour in film. WomenAndHollywood.com reports on the latest research from Dr Stacy L Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative shows that onscreen gender and racial representation has improved in popular movies. Analysis of the l…

T?n? koutou to our new WIFT NZ members! Your support means a lot to us, and we hope you make the most of your membership. Great to have you on board:
Lina Nothwang, James Darroch, Tosca Christie, Alice Davies, Molly Dagger, Kristy Robinson, Mel Love, Cha…

We're giving away 10 double passes to Vox Lux, starring Natalie Portman and Jude Law, and featuring original songs by Sia. To be in the draw to win, click here to watch the trailer and answer this question:
Someone asks Celeste, 'Do you min…