Archive August 2025

Congratulations to the powerhouse team behind Mārama, a Māori gothic thriller set in Victorian England. The film been selected to make its premiere in the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) Discovery strand!

Aotearoa actress Ariāna Osborne leads the cast as a young Māori woman who…

We congratulate the WIFT members selected to receive funding for NZ or Air’s Children’s content:

A face familiar to parents will be catering to a whole new generation of pre-schoolers, as a result of the latest NZ On Air funding for Children’s content. 

Suzy Cato’s…

In this round $9million was allocated in this round for Scripted projects, with priority being given to those accessing the Screen Production Rebate in the interests of encouraging third party investment and creating ambitious content that delivers to local and international audiences. Ten applications were…

NZ On Air is backing many audience favourites to return to screens, along with a host of new content to probe important issues and entertain.

The challenging media environment has required a response from NZ On Air, as local platforms have been clear they can…

RNZ, in partnership with the Pan-Asian Screen Collective (PASC) and the Pacific Islands Screen Artists (PISA) have selected eight projects to receive development support through the RNZ PASC PISA Development Fund. Congratulations to our selected members!

The RNZ PASC PISA Development Fund is a collaborative…

Dawn is a short film based on a true story of survival, sisterhood, and resilience in South Auckland. It follows a young woman who, while visiting home, is unexpectedly thrust into the role of full-time caregiver for her five younger siblings. 

Inspired by real events,…

Congratulations to WIFT member Michelle Scullion for her collaboration with Lisa Maule in Revelation Valley playing this week at Bats Theatre. Michelle has composed and recorded original music for the show and will be performing live alongside Lisa each night!

5th - 9th Aug 2025
7.30pm…

Whakaata Māori and Te Ao Māori News invite expressions of interest from prospective producers and regional content partners responding to Te Māngai Pāho 2025/26 News and Current Affairs Request for Proposals (RFP).

The Request for Proposal is designed to align with Te Māngai Pāho goals,…

In a welcome update for the Aotearoa screen industry, Inland Revenue has lifted the tax-free per diem threshold to NZ$100 per day, effective 1 July 2025. This means crew working away from home can now receive up to $100 daily without tax deductions or needing…

Established in 2003, Berlinale Talents is the festival’s talent development programme for the world’s top 200 emerging filmmakers, drama series creators and key players of the cinema industry. It consists of a creative Summit with talks, discussions, workshops and numerous networking events, the Berlinale Talents…

Get your applications ready for Day One Shorts 2026! They are looking for diverse creatives who haven't received film or series production funding in the past.  Day One Shorts is a series of short films by rangatahi emerging filmmakers from across Aotearoa.

The contracted production…

 The countdown is on, there's only 3 days left to get your entries in!

The New Zealand Screen Awards recognise excellence in the screen industry and honour the special skills and unique talents of the companies and individuals who create, produce, and perform in…

Join for this in-depth discussion with acclaimed director and Directors Guild of America (DGA) President Lesli Linka Glatter (Zero Day, Homeland, Mad Men) to discuss her work and her career. This evening session, moderated by director Rob Sarkies, will explore how Lesli forged a career…

RNZ have released a podcast exploring stories and history associated with Aotearoa’s Māori Wardens:

Māori Wardens have been part of New Zealand for some 170 years and their work has had a lasting impact on many New Zealanders. However, the story behind this podcast started…

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Sophie Henderson has long been a distinctive voice in Aotearoa’s screen and stage landscape. From Fantail to Baby Done, her work is marked by a willingness to explore imperfection with honesty and humour. With her latest project, Workmates—which she both wrote and stars in—Henderson has…

The evolution of Firefly Films has taken flight into a bold new era: welcome to Velvet Moss. In conversation with founder Emma Slade, we learn more about the inspiration, philosophy, and exciting projects behind this transformation.

Firefly Films was founded in 2014, born from Emma’s…

“We invite you to review the urgent letter below, which calls on our Government in an open letter from NZ media professionals (which includes many WIFT members), urging them to publicly reaffirm New Zealand’s commitment to the safety of journalists worldwide and make clear this…

Congratulations to our WIFT members whose short films were honoured in NZIFF's Aotearoa New Zealand’s Best short films awards. We’re so proud to see our members’ talent and storytelling celebrated on such a prestigious stage. These wins are a testament to their creativity, vision, and…

The inaugural Aho Shorts Development Lab brought together emerging Māori storytellers for three days of creative development and whanaungatanga. With the support of Aotearoa’s leading screen creatives, each project took bold steps forward.

We’re proud to acknowledge the WIFT members who shared their time, wisdom,…

We’re thrilled to celebrate two of our very own members, Julia Parnell and Ashleigh Roworth, as the first-ever recipients of the New Zealand Film Commission’s brand-new International Placement Initiative. This groundbreaking programme is opening doors for Aotearoa filmmakers to gain invaluable global experience. Julia will…

We congratulate our members, Becs Arahanga, Ella West, and Erica Cassidy who are the recipients of Seed and Seed Advanced for Round 1 2025! 

Seed remains one of the most competitive writer-only grants for feature film development in Aotearoa.The NZWG received an outstanding 115 Seed…

Check out this short film! Watch Generate Me Here

Congratulations to WIFT member Nora Aati, one of the creators of Generate Me for winning first place in the 2025 AI Creative Media Hackathon! 

“We decided to give it a try when we saw the competition.…

For actors ready to be challenged, commit fully, and transform their craft. 4 weeks. 8 classes. 1 big leap in your acting!

The Format:

Tuesdays: Cold-read a new script with your scene partner

Thursdays: Perform the same scene, memorized

New partner & script each week

Whakaata Māori is seeking comprehensive proposals to develop engaging content that caters to the diverse interests of Māori audiences. These proposals should highlight and showcase Māori culture and language through various media formats, with the aim of fostering cultural pride and supporting language learning among…

This survey provides a vital snapshot of how our industry is really doing and your input helps build that picture. We encourage you to engage with this screen indusrty health check. We want to ensure that the voice of women is heard in these survey…

Day One Shorts 2026 seeks diverse emerging directors without prior NZ On Air, Te Māngai Pāho or NZ Film Commission production funding. Directors must be either 18–29 or apply under the 30+ sub-category. They will also be funding at least 2 films with 50% Te…

The Women's Voices Now Film Festival promotes emerging women filmmakers using social-change films to advocate for women’s and girls’ rights around the world. 

They are offering a 50% off discount for the first month of submissions using code 2026FF.

The festival is a month-long event…

Depth of Field is a weekend gathering bringing together women from across the action sports and outdoor media world.

The weekend long event is designed to be relaxed, collaborative, and fun. You’ll walk away inspired, informed, and plugged into a supportive community of like-minded photographers,…

Are you an aspiring board member or new to governance in the creative sector? This interactive, in-person programme is designed to support creative practitioners who are either exploring governance for the first time or in their early years on a board.

Join for Demystifying Governance…

The ScreenSafe's Professional Respect Training Project was developed to support WORKSAFE's health & safety guidelines around harassment.

The course will address predominately sexual harassment and also includes bullying, harassment, definitions, disclosures, and respectful behaviours in the workplace. Be a part of this screen sector culture…

Just one month left to enter the 64th edition of the prestigious Rose d’Or, the gold standard in international Television and Audio awards!

Entries close on Monday September 22nd.

The categories are:

Drama, Comedy Drama and Sitcom, Soap or Telenovela, Factual Entertainment and Reality, Competition…

The FVLB is looking to fill a part time role (approximately 20-25 hours per week) and is currently recruiting for an Operations Co-Ordinator to assist with daily administrative and operational tasks. The role provides support to the Daily Operations Manager and will be based in…

Māoriland  invites film, video, digital and interactive media work + artwork of all mediums made by Indigenous creatives to submit their projects for Māoriland Film Festival 2026. This is an incredible festival to be a part of. 

Free Submissions Close: Oct 24, 2025

Late Submissions…

Do you have precious whānau archives sitting on VHS, cassette tapes, DVDs, or CDs? Maybe it’s koro’s old waiata recordings, your parents’ wedding video, or those hilarious 90s home movies – all slowly gathering… dust?

At Māoriland, they believe taonga like these deserve to be…

Script to Screen welcomes feature film projects (narrative or documentary) that are ready for an in-depth development process to apply for Story Camp Aotearoa 2026. 

Story Camp Aotearoa is a unique stepping stone for any project prior to pitching, funding and production. This development camp,…

Entries are now open for the 2025 South Pacific Pictures ‘THE BIG PITCH’!

This is your chance to showcase your most original and ambitious screen project idea to a live panel of judges at the Spada Conference in Auckland (20–21 November 2025).

With $2,500 towards…

In September 2025, Script to Screen will bring two workshops to Whangārei. A one-day adult scriptwriting workshop and a four-day school holiday workshop for youth aged 14-18. The adult scriptwriting for screen workshop will be led by writer and director Michael Bennett (The Gone, In…

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