This award recognises exceptional talent in a woman under 30 working in the New Zealand screen industry across any field.
Our finalists are:
AMANDA-JANE ROBINSON
A rising talent deserving of all her success already, this impressive young producer delivered the powerful 2025 short film Womb which was selected for Tribeca, Melbourne, Sydney, BFI and of course the Whānau Mārama NZ International Film festival. She also served as producer’s assistant for Vicky Pope on Pike River.
SARAH RYAN
A newcomer in the foley editing space, Sarah has been delivering outstanding work at Images and Sound, displaying an innate sense of sound’s emotional & narrative power and is an absolute joy to work with. Her stacked storytelling C.V includes The Brokenwood Mysteries, A Mistake, Millie Lies Low & Mystic.
KURA TURUWHENUA (Tūhoe, Ngāti Porou, Kāi Tahu)
Kura is a multi-hyphenate storyteller across a multitude of media big screen and small and is of course no stranger to the stage and writers rooms of Aotearoa. Firmly grounded in te ao Māori with a clarity of vision and humour, it was very clear to our judging panel that she will become a dominant force as a comedian, activist & director.