2021 NZTV Awards Announces Directing and Editing Finalists

We are beyond proud and excited for the DEGANZ members who are finalists in the 2021 New Zealand Television Awards. With a total of 117 nominations from more than 530 entries and across 37 categories, this year’s finalists reflect the diversity of content and voices available to Kiwi viewers.

A big congratulations to all DEGANZ members up for awards!

Screen Auckland Best Director Drama

David Stubbs (DEGANZ)
Black Hands
Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand (TVNZ 1)

Roseanne Liang (DEGANZ)
Creamerie
Kevin & Co + Flat 3 (TVNZ 2)

Max Currie (DEGANZ)
Rūrangi
Autonomouse (Neon & NZME)

Peter Salmon
INSiDE
Luminous Beast (Prime, Neon)

Black Hands, Creamerie and Rūrangi are also finalists for NZ On Air Best Drama Series.

Best Script: Comedy

Shoshana McCallum and Roseanne Liang
Creamerie
Kevin & Co + Flat 3 (TVNZ 2)

Best Factual Series

Origins
Peter Bell (DEGANZ), Tash Christie, Meg Douglas, Megan Tucker
Scottie Douglas Productions / Greenstone TV (TVNZ 1)

Fight for the Wild
Peter Young (DEGANZ), Tracy Roe, Dave Hansford
Fisheye Films (RNZ)

Best Camerawork: Documentary/Factual

Peter Young
Fight for the Wild
Fisheye Films (RNZ)

We would also like to extend our congratulations to all the finalists in the directing and editing categories:

Best Editing: Documentary/Factual

Bryan Shaw
Origins
Scottie Douglas Productions / Greenstone TV (TVNZ 1)

Toby Longbottom
Deleted
Stuff Circuit (Stuff)

Simon Coldrick
Six Angry Women
Kindred Films (TVNZ 1)

Best Editing: Drama

Allanah Bazzard
Black Hands
Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand (TVNZ 1)

Eric de Beus
The Gulf – Season 2
The Gulf Productions (Three/Discovery)

Gretchen Peterson
The Gulf – Season 2
The Gulf Productions (Three/Discovery)

Best Director: Documentary/Factual

Anna Marbrook
Loimata: The Sweetest Tears
Anna Marbrook Productions (Māori Television)

Irene Chapple
The Eruption: Stories of Survival
Pencil Productions (Three/Discovery)

Natalie Malcon & Thomas Robins
Heaven and Hell – The Centrepoint Story
Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand (TVNZ 1)

Best Director: Multi Camera

Matt Barrett
Battle of Jacks Ridge
Sky Sport (Sky)

Wayne Leonard
36th America’s Cup Match
America’s Cup Events (Am. Cup website/YouTube)

​Nigel Carpenter
Aotearoa Music Awards 2020
Discovery (Three/Discovery)

The NZTV Awards are designed to recognise excellence in television, and honour the special skills and unique talents behind New Zealand television.

Finalists across all awards categories can be read here. Winners will be announced on Tuesday 1 March, 2022 at a red carpet gala event held at Auckland’s Shed 10.

Last updated on 2 December 2021

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Fiona Clark: Unafraid to Feature at New Festival In The Shade

An exciting new film festival is coming to Auckland! Showcasing films featured at this year’s NZIFF, as well as international talent, In The Shade will commence early next year on January 19 and runs until February 1. Fiona Clark: Unafraid is part of the line-up.

DEGANZ member Lula Cucchiara directed the documentary, with Shailesh Prajapati as assistant editor. The film explores radical photographer Fiona Clark and her work, which captured the burgeoning gay liberation movement and vibrant queer scene in 1970’s New Zealand.

The festival will be exclusive to Academy Cinemas and the Hollywood in Avondale, and will include international films sourced from some of the world’s most prestigious film festivals, such as Sundance, Cannes and Toronto.

When speaking of the current state of Auckland’s cinema scene, In The Shade commented that “Auckland is currently in the throes of a big screen drought, the like never seen in our moviegoing lifetimes”. Therefore, quenching Aucklander’s “insatiable hunger for the very best cinema from around the world” is what the festival hopes to do.

Fiona Clark: Unafraid has recently enjoyed a run as part of NZIFF, and will no doubt be an exciting addition to the new In The Shade film festival as well. Other films announced as part of the programme can be found on the festival’s website, with more titles being added in the coming weeks.

Last updated on 2 December 2021

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Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back an Epic Documentary

Glowing reviews have poured in for The Beatles: Get Back, the new docuseries from director Peter Jackson (DEGANZ). Described by some reviewers as a documentary epic, Get Back clocks in at almost eight hours in length. Yet, it’s been described as an “addictive” and “immersive” experience.

Jackson has assembled this three-part documentary entirely from never-before-seen footage of the Beatles from 1969, restored at Park Road Post Production and supported by the New Zealand Screen Production Grant.

The Beatles: Get Back streams exclusively on Disney+.

Last updated on 2 December 2021

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Green Wins SAE People’s Choice Award

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A wonderful recognition for writer/director Rachel Ross (2020 Incubator alumna), who has won the SAE People’s Choice Award at the Show Me Shorts Film Festival! Rachel received the award for her film Green, a short comedy drama which delighted audiences nationwide after its world premiere at Show Me Shorts.

Green tells the tale of an estranged father and his daughter Blake who are both diagnosed with life-altering illnesses. The pair decide to smoke weed together for the first time, which becomes healing in more ways than one.

Rachel’s life and her relationship with her father inspired the making of Green. With her father suffering from prostate cancer, and having just been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease herself, Rachel had a simple plan. With some marijuana in tow, she decided to give her father a visit, and ‘light it up’, so to speak.

When speaking of this decision to smoke weed together to alleviate their pain, Rachel called it “a moment that bound us infinitely closer together, a moment I will never forget.”

After receiving the award, Rachel commented, “This film is an incredibly personal story, I knew it was an important story to be told… I want to thank my WONDERFUL creative team who pulled this together so brilliantly and most importantly my Dad, for without him this story wouldn’t exist.”

Last updated on 2 December 2021

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Winner of Piki Pitch Announced, Member Shortlisted

Ankita Singh is this year’s Piki Pitch winner, receiving a $10,000 development prize. A big shout out to our member Hweiling Ow (pictured) for being one of 10 shortlisted writers alongside partner Peter Haynes for their project Jing.

Piki Pitch received 275 submissions, so making the shortlist is no small feat! The selected projects participated in a series of workshops in order to develop their stories and hone their pitching skills. Piki Films is dedicated to maintaining relationships with all of the creatives involved in the workshop programme.

See the full list of shortlisted participants here.

Last updated on 2 December 2021

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