In celebration of Matariki, Doc Edge has organised a special screening of Whetลซ Mฤrama – Bright Star at the Civic in Auckland on Friday 24 June, followed by a Q&A with Toby Mills.
Co-directed by Aileen OโSullivan (DEGANZ) and Toby Mills, this film is the story of Sir Hekenukumai Ngaiwi Puhipi, aka Hek Busby, and his significance for Mฤori in rekindling their wayfinding DNA and for all New Zealanders in reclaiming our place as traditional star voyagers on the world map.
According to the directors, “For us the ultimate underlying focus of Whetลซ Mฤrama โ Bright Star is the story of a culture that understands an inner compass… Hek talks of always knowing where he is – a sense of connection to his ancestors ‘lying just below the surface’. His voyaging has reconnected his crews with their inbuilt GPS systems and they in turn are teaching and inspiring the next generation, building a bridge back into our past to take us forward into the future.”
Whetลซ Mฤrama – Bright Star will be distributed throughout the country from July 7.
http://degnz.sensedesign.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Whetu-Marama-.jpg228602admin/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/DEGANZ_logo_home.pngadmin2022-06-16 16:04:302022-06-16 16:04:30Catch Whetลซ Mฤrama – Bright Star at the Civic for Matariki
Congratulations to DEGANZ member Jack Woon on receiving NZFC Catalyst funding for his short film, Letโs Settle This.
The filmโs logline: Two Kung fu masters meet in a Chinese diner via a dating app. They must settle the bill – and an ancient vendetta – to consummate their fateful encounter.
Jack will write and direct, with DEGANZ board member Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa producing alongside his sister, Abba-Rose Dinah Vaiaoga-Ioasa.
Catalyst He Kauahi supports New Zealand filmmakers to progress their talents to the next stage and make exceptional, high end narrative short films that will ignite the flame and be the catalyst for change in their career. Teams have been funded $100,000 to go towards their short film and towards the development of the feature film concept.
NZIFF has announced the five finalists for the New Zealand’s Best short film competition, with Perianayaki by DEGANZ member Bala Murali Shingade one of them.
Directed by Bala and edited by fellow member Shailesh Prajapati, Perianayaki follows a recent Sri Lankan immigrant as she begins another day stacking shelves at the local supermarket. With her limited grasp of English, she struggles to understand or be understood by colleagues and customers alike. The short film was written and produced by Shreya Gejji.ย Perianayaki is a slice of life character study that provokes audiences to pause, take notice, and rethink their assumptions about immigrants, particularly those in the service industry who are often rendered invisible.
Congratulations to Bala, Shailesh and the rest of their team on this achievement. The finalists were picked by this year’s Guest Selector, filmmaker Florian Habicht, from a shortlist curated by NZIFF’s Sandra Reid, Senior Programmer, and Michael McDonnell, Head of Programming. The winners of the three jury prizes and Audience Award will be announced during the film festival in August.
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The New Zealand Writers Guild have announced the Seed Grant recipients for the first round of 2022, with some of our members on the list.
The Ordeal by Ghazaleh Golbakhsh and Mia Maramara
Stuck in a hotel quarantine, a desperate writer attempts to finish her screenplay to save her career and marriage but soon becomes mad with mysterious visions that she must solve in order to save her life. Ghazaleh and Mia received one of six Seed Grants of $10,000 to develop a first draft of their joint feature film script.
The Resort by Curtis Vowell and Sophie Henderson
Returning to her island, Avaiki, Tui finds whole beaches have disappeared. Piecing together the cause of devastation, Tui decolonises herself and her island, rehoming locals in the luxury resort built upon her familyโs land. Curtis and Sophie received one of two Seed Advanced Grants of $12,000 to develop their feature film script.
The dates for the second round of seed are yet to be announced, but take a look here for the full list of first round recipients.
Well done to our members! Looking forward to seeing how your projects develop.
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It was 2009 and Iโm working at Unity Books in Auckland, my specialty โ childrenโs picture books and classics of literature. Itโs been 2 years since I quit my career as an art director in advertising with no intention to ever step back into that world. I loved selling books and I still work at Unity from time to time, but in 2009 I was hoping to find a new path.
A friend mentioned a job going at TVNZ. They were looking for creative producers with an advertising background. A โcreative producerโ makes 30-60 second promo videos for movies and shows; you write a script, edit the footage, direct the voice over talent, select music, SFX etc.
My only film editing experience was that once, I made a joke video on iMovie to amuse a friend, but I brazenly applied all the same.
To this day Iโm still not quite sure how I was hired, it was a total accident, didnโt ask for it, fell on my lap. Perhaps a mix of luck and fate. TVNZ sent me on a two-day crash course to learn Avid Media Composer. The next day I started working. It was incredibly hard, I felt like a senior citizen learning computer skills, and back then there were no YouTube tutorials. The first few months Iโd work late nights, Iโd work weekends and study other peopleโs work, frame by frame. Why does one cut on a particular frame? What makes an elegant edit?
One day, my Creative Director pulled me aside and told me that he thought I had the right sense of timing to be a good editor. This encouragement drove me to want to be the best at TVNZ and I continued working late nights and weekends. The work projects became more complex and I was trusted to cut important campaigns, brand montages. I won international awards. In 2015 I became a freelancer. I worked for Sky TV and edited commercials with the ultimate goal in mind โ to edit movies!
Sometime in 2016, I bumped into an old friend โ director Florian Habicht. Heโd recently returned from living overseas and told me heโd noticed my work. “One day weโll work together,” he said. That comment encouraged me enormously. I was determined to make that happen, I just didn’t know how to make the switch from TV to film.
Editor Anastasia Doniants photographed by director Lula Cucchiara / Photo: Supplied
A personal connection helped. A friend of mine, director Jessica Sanderson, asked me to edit her NZFC funded short film, Ways to See. Again, luck was on my side, Annie Collins โ the greatest editor in New Zealand โ agreed to mentor me through this project. My fate was set there and then. Annie taught me everything about long-form: the workflow, the protocols, how to log, the assembly process. Annie also suggested that I trust my instinct, and this is something that canโt be taught, it must be in you as a person. Ways to See and my second short film, Ani by Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu, travelled the world with much success. This gave me confidence to continue to edit.
Educational institutes are not the only paths to knowledge, nowadays. Iโm sure going to film school would have been of great help and, personally, I wouldnโt encourage anyone to follow my path. What helped me is that I was a movie mad kid. Movies and books took up most of my imagination growing up. My advice to young people โ your hours of watching films are not wasted. Be curious. Be generous with your time as youโre investing in your future, if it means working for free โ do it.
Most importantly, you have to love the magic and spectacle of film or else you’re in the wrong industry.
โAstonish me,โย Sergei Diaghilev used to say to his dancers. โAstonish me,โย I say to every person involved in the process of movie making.
About Anastasia Doniants
Anastasia is an award-winning editor based in Auckland. In the last few years, she has edited feature film documentary Fiona Clark: Unafraid, co-edited documentary James & Isey; as well as short films, documentaries and music videos.
How I Got Started in the Industry is a guest blog series from the Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand (DEGANZ). Our members reflect on how they made their way into assistant editing, editing, and directingโwith no two stories the same. They offer advice for those starting out. Get in touch with admin@deganz.co.nz if youโre a member and would like to share your story.
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