Archive May 2019

The Cannes official selection has been announced, and four women will have their work in the main competition at Cannes this year, reports Variety.com. They are Atlantique by Mati Diop, Little Joe by Jessica Hausner, Sibyl by Justine Triet, and Portrait of a Lad…

Though New Zealand seems to have dropped off the planet, this report still makes for interesting reading for those of you interested in co-productions. Take a look at which countries most frequently team up to create film co-productions, both official and unofficial, in this re…

Better make your application stand out from the crowd - NZOA says it's gearing up for lots of applications for its July funding round which opens today! In response to industry feedback NZOA is capping the funding committed in this round to ensure there's en…

Here's your chance to showcase your innovation and be in to win! The Aesthetica Short Film Festival, a BAFTA-qualifying event, is looking for emerging and established practitioners who are pushing the boundaries of filmmaking forward to showcase their talent and innovative work to wider audien…

Documentary makers with an ear for a good story, it's time to sharpen your pitches! Doc Edge and Audible have created the Doc Edge Audible Pitch Programme 2019, a new audio documentary initiative designed to expand the scope of contemporary nonfiction storytelling. Your idea…

Fans of the TV series Mad Men should check out this uber-cool 1960s character space on lower Khyber Pass Road, Auckland. It's home to a TV and entertainment company and commercials prod-co Exit Films, and has some space to let until the end of Aug…

Are you a producer seeking to do the following:
Advance your film script's financing with sales agents and distributors at 37�South: Bridging the Gap?
Have your completed film viewed by sales agents and distributors at 37�South: Breakthru Screenings?
Source new content ideas from publishe…

Screenwriters, here's a great competition to enter! CinemaStreet Pictures invites women screenwriters to submit short screenplays (20 minutes and under) for production consideration. The winning screenplay will be receive $1,000 for a two-year option to produce the script. Applicants may be from any country, but…

Pull out your most "aesthetically and structurally daring" work folks, and enter it into 'Encounters', the new section of the Berlin Film Festival! Encounters aims to support new voices in cinema, reports Screendaily.com. Starting from next year's festival, Encounters will comprise a maximum o…

Netflix is creating a new executive position that will focus on inclusion and diversity among employees, reports LATimes.com. The streaming entertainment giant has appointed Vern? Myers to the newly created role of vice president for inclusion strategy. The company said Myers will help devise…

The Athena Film Festival is now accepting short films and feature-length screenplays for its annual celebration of women leaders. The Athena Film Festival is a features extraordinary films from across the globe that tell the stories of fierce and fearless women leaders. The curated pro…

Multi-award-winning producer and former head of HBO Documentary Films, Sheila Nevins has been recruited by MTV to launch its documentary films division. Realscreen.com reports that the new unit will develop documentary films and specials for third-party streaming services, premium networks and MTV platforms. Under Ne…

Support a fellow Wifter and make the most of this unique opportunity to see her perform live! Jan Hellreigel will perform her latest work, Sportsman of the Year - A Suburban Philosophy at Substation, a new venue within the Powerstation, in Auckland this July. Sportsman is …

Navigating the balance between staying true to your story while satisfying the audience's expectations for your character is tough at the best of times, but what about when those characters are the first of their kind on screen? Come to this Script To Screen pa…

And three more cheers for these Wifters who have received funding in the latest NZ On Air round. Anna Marbrook Productions receives up to $180,000 for Loimata - Sweet Tears for for M?ori Television, the story of traditional waka builder and ocean captain Ema Siope…

We're thrilled to announce that Whetu Fala is the very worthy recipient of the 2019 WIFT NZ Mana Wahine Award! Whetu is Ngā Rauru, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Maru ki Taranaki, Samoa, Rotuma. Her award will be presented at the Wairoa Māori Film Festival Gala Awards…

Here's another fantastic reason to visit sunny Ōtaki: the Korakora Matihiko, a two-week expo opening on Friday. Enjoy indigenous games, animation, VR and 360, rangatahi workshops and public korero. Korakora Matihiko runs from 17 May 17 - 1 June at the Māoriland Hub in Ōtaki.…

The early bird gets the worm - and for the 2019 48Hours, that means a juicy discount! There's also a chance to win starter VFX packs (smoke, dust, flare, glow, grain), guaranteed to give your 48Hour film some authentic winter atmosphere. Registration for the early…

Three cheers for these Wifters who have won funding from NZ On Air for their Scripted projects: Roseanne Liang's Flat 3 Prductions receives up to $1,733,889 for Creamerie for TVNZ 2, and Ainsley Gardiner's Miss Conception Films receives up to $200,000 for Cousins, for M?ori Televi…

Calling all motivated documentary makers! Doc Edge, Beach House Pictures (Singapore) and the Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Wh?tau T?hono have announced a new internship which will see recipients working with one of Asia's leading production houses in Singapore. The two-month internship is being off…

This is an excellent opportunity to polish your directorial skills! The five-day Travis Technique Intensive Workshop with California-based Mark Travis is designed to fully immerse a small number of directors (max. 5) into story (autobiographical storytelling), characters (interrogation process) and staging (power of placement…

The deadline is fast approaching for Show Me Shorts 2019! This will be the 14th edition of the competitive Oscar-qualifying traveling festival that reaches 28 venues nationwide. Festival director Gina Dellabarca says they're looking for cinematic, narrative-style short films between 2-20 minutes in duration…

The New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) has revealed five films from its highly anticipated 2019 programme. A Long Day's Journey into Night and Under the Silver Lake will make their long-awaited NZ premieres at NZIFF after premiering at Cannes last year. High Life…

About 47% of all registered French journalists are women, yet just 37% of the 611 journalists who wrote a film review in the past year were female. This statistic, and plenty more, was revealed at the first Women on the Move day which took in Can…

Australia's Smartphone Film Festival 2019 wants your short, feature and 360/VR films! The only catch is they must be completely shot on smartphones or tablets - but that's no barrier for a Wifter is it? There's $AUD40k worth of prizes up for grabs! Entries cl…

Congratulations to all the Wifters who won funding from this joint initiative between NZOA and the New Zealand Film Commission. The funding goes toward drama series from New Zealand, and of the ten projects nine involved Wifters! They are: Pip Hall, Carmen J Leonard, Deb…

Wellington and Melbourne based production company RDYSTDY is looking for a freelance producer with experience in TV and children's content. Ideally you can come on board in August, for an ongoing position. If you are interested please contact Hana at hana@readysteadystudio.com.
RDYSTDY is the …

Aucklanders, make the most of this opportunity to experience a Directing Masterclass with renowned acting coach Howard Fine. For more than 25 years Fine has built an unshakable reputation as one of the most gifted acting teachers of his generation. In this Directing Masterclass, …

We're looking forward to seeing this new local webseries produced by Craig Gainsborough and featuring Ren�e Sheridan, which has wrapped principal photography this month. With a five-episode story arc, the debut season of R?rangi will explore issues that directly affect the trans community, including impo…

A big shout out to the many WIFT members who are being celebrated across the ditch in the upcoming Sydney Film Festival! The programme for the 66th Sydney Film Festival has been released and New Zealand features prominently as the Festival's country of focus …

NZ On Air and RNZ are seeking proposals for media projects to commemorate the one year anniversary of the March 15 mosque terror attacks. Up to $300,000 has been allocated towards creative content that will honour the victims and their families. Projects driven by mem…

Here's a worthwhile read - and a good one to share: Creative Europe MEDIA has published an overview of good practices from the audiovisual industry and policy makers in the EU, to help ensure gender balance.

We have Bellbird for our video slot this week. Co-produced by Catherine Fitzgerald and starring Rachel House, it's the feature film debut of Hamish Bennett, who wrote and directed. Set over four seasons on a humble Northland dairy farm, Bellbird is the story of a dairy farmer st…

Māori screen practitioners are having to wait until the end of the year for decisions on the promised overhaul of the Māori Media sector in the review being conducted by Te Puni Kōkiri. Minister for Māori Development, Hon. Nanaia Mahuta has said the recently published…

It's tough making a living when you're a creative professional in Aotearoa, and most of us can't spend as much time on our creative practice as we'd like! Research released by Creative New Zealand and NZ On Air has found most creative professionals canvasse…

Check out the just-released work of independent filmmaker Nikki Si'ulepa and her wife and film producer Rachel Wills: Same But Different: A True New Zealand Love Story. Screening now at the Rialto Newmarket cinema in Auckland for a limited time, with more cinemas t…

Yoobee Colleges is now New Zealand's largest independent specialised creative and IT college. South Seas Film & Television School, Animation College, Yoobee School of Design, AMES - The Institute of IT and Design and Arts (Canterbury) are now united under the Yoobee Colleges brand to cr…

There are some great prizes on offer at VF 48 HOURS this year! WIFTNZ and Dame Gaylene Preston are showing our support for female directors and filmmakers with two prizes: the Best Female Director (win $1000 and a year's membership to WIFTNZ);…

Check out these Wifters spotlighted in the media recently. Bauer Media's NowToLove website features interviews with Kerry Warkia, Georgina Conder and Ainsley Gardiner, Kiwi creatives who've "made it their mission to give screen time to New Zealand women because under-representation is simply no longer accepta…

Hollywood film casting extras in Wellington
KAM Talent and Models

Based on the incredible true story of Joseph Ferdinand Cheval (Jacques Gamblin), comes the remarkable tale of a French postman who spent 33 years crafting his magnificent 'Ideal Palace'. Everyday Cheval travels along the river Dr�me from village to village, quiet and alone he en…