Archive Mar 2019

Here's a chance to see Nicole Kidman as you've never seen her on the big screen before! Destroyer is in New Zealand cinemas 14 March, and we have five double passes to give away!

Here's the synopsis: when a fresh case exposes history fr…

Starring Rose McIver, George Mason and Kimbra, Daffodils is the story of a quintessential Kiwi marriage - and how it all fell apart. Leaving her dying father's bedside, singer Maisie rushes to perform at an indie music gig in town. But as she sings…

Catch one of the stellar performances by The New Zealand Dance Company's (NZDC) this Autumn, and support a fellow Wifter! With Kiss The Sky, artistic director Shona McCullagh showcases an Asian-Pacific constellation of original dance, music, and design, reflecting on the themes of natur…

Script to Screen presents a one-day screenwriting workshop entitled What Do You Want? Lead by screenwriter, playwright and novelist Duncan Sarkies, the workshop will focus on character objectives: how an understanding of what your character wants and the obstacles that get in their way…

Here's a unique way to celebrate International Women's Day, and experience history coming alive. Project managed by our own Diane McCarthy, the Kate Sheppard Celebration Tours offer the chance to visit the places women's suffrage leader Kate Sheppard lived, worked and worshipped, accompanied by mu…

We love this unique approach to not giving up when, work-wise, things are looking down. In this wonderfully honest and open piece for BFI NETWORK, UK-based scriptwriter Allison Davies explains how rejection turned out to be her best ally during a difficult time.

The Edinburgh International Film Festival will soon be upon us, and now is the time to apply for the EIFF's Distribution Rewired talent initiative. Every year the Festival welcomes over 1200 industry delegates and filmmakers, so don't miss the chance to get your projects …

If you're interested in, and concerned about the future of film, television and internet content - and we know that you are - then clear a space in your diary for the Ngā Aho Whakaari Hui ā Tau annual conference on Saturday March 16. The…

Calling all documentary makers! The 2019 edition of #docimpacthi5 is now open. This award (formerly known as Doc Impact Award) celebrates independent documentary films that have created real world impact. Five films will be granted $5,000, and then suitably celebrated by the community with…

Submissions are now open for the Paris International Lesbian & Feminist Film Festival. Shorts, full-lengths, fictions, documentaries, animations, experimental films: all your works on lesbian and/or feminist themes are welcome! And, there's no submission fee! The deadline for submissions is 15 May, 2019. The Fest…

Attention screenwriters: the deadline to apply for the Sundance Institute Episodic Lab is fast approaching. Submit your project by Wednesday 13 March - that's next week! This is a great opportunity for screenwriters to hone their craft and learn to navigate a changing industry lands…

Give yourself a well-deserved break and check out this great piece in The Guardian about the funny, fearless women who revolutionised TV. Shonda Rhimes, Zeinab Badawi, Sally Wainwright...you'll want to add your own screen queen to the list!

Calling writers and producers: applications close on 18 March at 9am for the Raupapa Whakaari-funded 5-day Series Drama Lab - don't miss this unique opportunity to develop your series drama project. Raupapa Whakaari is a new initiative designed to develop and package distinctive high-end se…

Women directors made Oscar-worthy films this year! Here's what they think about not being recognised, and where they're carving out space instead. Jane Campion shares her thoughts on Hollywood's conservative attitude, and there's an interesting case study on Tamara Jenkins, whose third feature, Private L…

Here's a great chance to support international Wifters! The Kansas City Women in Film and Television (KCWIFT) is looking for short film submissions for its 2019 staged reading at the Kansas City Film Festival on 14 April. Short films must be a maximum of …

A historian needs your help! Dr Jeannine Baker, a historian at Sydney's Macquarie University, would like to speak to any members with memories or knowledge of the 1977 strike by production secretaries at TV2, over wages and conditions. Please email Jeannine at jeannine.baker@mq.ed…

We're taking another short trip down memory lane for the video slot this week. Before writer, director and actor Jackie van Beek made her hit feature The Breaker Upperers there was Uphill, her 2014 short film about a tramper who finds her solitude interrupte…

So tell us all about it! Let us know what projects you're working on and what successes you've had and we'll do our best to let everyone know about it! Our eNews comes out every second week (start counting from today!) so email us office@wiftnz.or…

Mid-level post-production generalist

NZ On Air has confirmed funding for nine new projects for HEIHEI, the safe, ad-free online platform created by TVNZ and NZ On Air for children's content. In the March funding round NZ On Air called for applications for new games for primary school-aged child…

2020 marks the 250th anniversary of James Cook's maiden voyage to the Pacific, New Zealand and Australia and the advent of colonisation in the region. The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) and Screen Australia's Indigenous Department have teamed up for a one-off joint initiative supporting…

We're giving away five double passes to Vai, the tour de force from female filmmakers. To be released in New Zealand cinemas on 4 April, Vai links together a story of family, culture, and at times, isolation. Eight connecting moments of seemingly different lives thread toge…

Assembly, a new UK feature development lab for creative documentaries, is seeking international applicants - that means you! Participants from six selected projects will attend a four-day programme in London with talks, workshops and one-to-one mentoring followed by a closed pitch for �10,000 development fund…

GFC Films is looking for an in-house production assistant to work in an Auckland-based production office. GFC Films is one of New Zealand's premier production companies, producing several feature films and TV series each year. The production assistant will work alongside the production tea…

We're thrilled to hear that Blueskin Films, Tikilounge Productions, Flat3 Productions and Screentime NZ are recipients of the NZ On Air and NZFC funding for Asian and Pacific projects to be developed for TVNZ's Sunday drama slot. There were 44 applications in total. The Pac…

You now have until Monday 1 April at 9am to get your applications in for Raupapa Whakaari funding! Based on industry feedback, NZ On Air, the NZ Film Commission and Script to Screen decided to extend the deadline so successful applicant teams will no…

The BBC is under investigation over suspected pay discrimination against women. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) launched an investigation which will look at records dating back to January 2016 to assess whether the pay differences at the BBC are "because of sex, whe…

Short filmmakers, music video makers, here's your chance to shine at a local but international event! Submit in time for the 1 April, 2019 Earlybird deadline to the Show Me Shorts Festival, set to take place in spring in more than 25 cinemas nationwide.…

Sharpen your keyboards and start applying to the NZ Writers' Guild Seed & Seed Advanced funds! The earlybird deadline is midday 5 April, and recipients will be announced 31 May. Seed provides unencumbered development funding specifically for writers and helps their projects progress t…

Women directed only 23.3% of feature films in France in 2017. Click the link below to read Screendaily.com's interesting report on findings from a recent study that looked at every aspect of female representation in France's film and TV industry between 2008 and 2017. Interestin…

Filmmakers, here's a great opportunity to jumpstart the development of an original film. Women Making a Scene is giving aspiring female filmmakers around the world an opportunity to enter this collaborative film competition and  the chance to realise their dreams of producing their feature …

Producer for Ngā Pouwhenua
The New Zealand Film Commission is looking for a producer to be attached to Ngā Pouwhenua (see our lead item in Noticeboard) to work in collaboration with an Australia producer appointed by ScreenAuz.

In light of the tragic events in Christchurch on Friday, we're sharing this helpful visitors' update from the team at ChristchurchNZ.com, about how the city is coping, what services are affected and where to find information.

Our hearts go out to our members in Christchurch and to Muslim communities all over New Zealand. We're thinking of you all after the traumatic events last Friday. 
Moe mai koutou i ou koutou moenga roa. Ko koutou m? kia koutou. Ko tatou te h…

Check out these interesting stats from the enterprising folk at Showtools. Click the link to see a video analysis of the New Zealand box office results from 2009 through to 2018.

Check out On the Rag, a new webseries based on the hilarious podcast of the same name, and where no subject is taboo! The crew is woman-led and includes our own Robyn Paterson as series director, Ainsley Calderwood on camera and Amber Easby as s…

This surfing doco is not just about chasing barrels, but about people's connection to the ocean. Support a fellow Wifter and go along to see Emocean, edited (from off-line to online) by Wellington-based freelancer Trinity Ludlow-Hudson, and directed by Australia's Tony Harrington. The documentary…

Calling all emerging and established filmmakers who are committed to pushing filmmaking boundaries forward - that's definitely you dear members! Here's a wonderful opportunity to showcase your work. The BAFTA-Qualifying Aesthetica Short Film Festival (ASFF) celebrates innovation and excellence in filmmaking, and is callin…

Scriptwriters, we hope you're in application mode because here's another fabulous opportunity for you! SeriesFest has teamed up with Big Swing Productions (founded by Emmy�- and Golden Globe�-winner Kyra Sedgwick, Meredith Bagby and Valerie Stadler) for the Women Writing Competition, which aims to discover…

TVNZ has removed Getty Images' access to the TVNZ archive of dedicated M?ori screen but will retain footage from its flagship M?ori news programme, Te Karere. This means taonga like Waka Huia, Koha and Marae are carved out of TVNZ's sales deal with Getty Ima…

Congratulations to producer Desray Armstrong, who won the $2000 Te Kai Ngakahi Melissa Wikaire Award at the recent annual conference, Hui-ā-Tau, of the Māori screen organisation Ngā Aho Whakaari. Desray's projects include Stray, The Watercooler, Wellington Paranormal, and Ellen is Leaving. We'd also like to…

Congratulations to Marina Alofagia McCartney, Claire van Beek, Ursula Williams and Anna Duckworth, who have been selected for this year's DEGNZ Emerging Women Filmmakers Incubator. The Incubator is designed to provide participants with information, knowledge and networks to help them advance their projects and profess…

The Heart Dances directed by Rebecca Tansley and produced by Tansley and Robin Laing, tracks the creation of The Piano: the ballet, and we're giving away five double passes!

Screenwriters, here's a fantastic chance to participate in an all-expenses-paid screenwriting workshop in Greece! The Department of Audio & Visual Arts (Ionian University) is organising the "Greece - Puglia Experience Screenwriting Workshop", hoping to exploit the potential role of the film industry as a cata…

Now's a good time to catch the Hannah McOwan-produced and directed Grass Roots: the wahine of Hikurangi Enterprises online. This latest in the Frame documentary series is produced for The Spinoff by Wrestler (for whom Hannah works) and funded by NZ on Air. And in…

Congratulations to Briar March, Catherine Bisley and Claire van Beek the latest 2019 Script to Screen FilmUp Mentorship Programme participants. FilmUp is the high-end development programme for writers, directors and producers who have already shown considerable talent and tenacity in their work. Each participa…

Mingjian Cui's Inked is one of eight new scripted stories by, for and about Pasifika and Asian peoples selected for development under a new initiative from NZ On Air. The teams selected will participate in a development programme run by Script to Screen, including fo…

Senior assignments editor