This award recognises a woman with an emerging body of work who shows the potential to have a significant career in the industry.
The finalists are (WIFT Members in BOLD):
ROSIE HOLE
The momentum Rosie is building as a future leader is impressive, reflecting her standing in the Aotearoa screen community. Showing her commercial acumen & cross-industry insight, she is instrumental in driving projects through from concept to production & marketing, combined skills which position her as a future screen professional and leader
VEA MAFILE'O
Vea is an award-winning Tongan filmmaker and cultural leader whose work bridges art, drama, documentary and social impact. A founding member of the Pacific Islands Screen Artists (PISA) and the Nuku’alofa Film Festival, Vea stands a vital force for change as she transforms Aotearoa’s cultural landscape with each new story she tells. Her dramatic short film Lea Tupu’anga/Mother Tongue was selected from 17,000 submissions for the Sundance Film Festival and her feature-length documentary For My Father’s Kingdom debuted at Berlin.
ANNABEL KEAN
Annabel has forged a community-driven truly indie path through Aotearoa’s screen industry, and nothing says "independent filmmaking” more than her hit kiwi comedy The Weed Eaters! A producer, director, writer, actor AND art department whizkid, she’s worked on everything from the recent Taskmaster as well as helming a swathe of music videos for the likes of The Beths and Marlon Williams.