Ka pai Francesca Carney! We're pleased to hear the news that Fran (Te Āti haunui a pāpārangi) will join the Wellington Write Room programme’s mentor team as this year’s Producer Intern.
Franesca brings a wide range of experience to the role including her work at The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) in the Talent Development team, and as part of the core-working group behind the NZFC’s Te Rautaki Māori (Māori Strategy) for which she held the role of Kaiwhakarite Rautaki. Since leaving the NZFC in 2018 she has held production accounting, production manager and locations roles on NZ productions such as Cousins, Wellington Paranormal, Poppy, Red, White and Brass and most recently Little Apocalypse. She produced independent short film Song for Serbia directed by Rouzie Hassanova that premiered at Show Me Shorts 2021. Fran is currently in development with Ani, a Māori murder mystery based on the story of her tūpuna and set on the Wanganui river in the 1860’s.
Wellington writer, actor, acting coach, theatre and filmmaker Ella Gilbert (Rongowhakaata, Ngati Kaipoho, Ngati Kahungunu) has been announced as the 2023 Wellington Write Room Resident with her project The Desert Road.
Write Room is a screenwriter residency and producer training programme. The programme has been running for four years in partnership with Toi Pōneke Art Centre.
Each year an emerging or mid-career producer is selected to shadow the process of selecting a screenwriter to undertake the 12-week residency at the Toi Pōneke Arts Centre to develop a draft of their feature film screenplay with the support of a group of experienced industry mentors.