NZIFF: Masterclasses with Emmy-Award Winners Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine

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Film directors Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine (Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song) will lead a Masterclass for filmmakers in Auckland and Wellington as part of NZIFF 2022.

NZIFF is delighted to welcome Dan and Dayna back to New Zealand to present these Masterclasses designed for industry practitioners, thanks to an Artistic Development Partnership with Creative New Zealand and in association with the Directors & Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand (DEGANZ).

The Auckland Masterclass will take place on Saturday 6 August and the Wellington Masterclass takes place on Wednesday 10 August and is supported by Wellington UNESCO City of Film.

Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine will take filmmakers inside their craft and uncover how their filmmaking process shifts from project to project.

For more than 25 years, the Emmy-award winning directors-producers have created critically-acclaimed multi-character documentary narratives that braid their characters’ individual personal stories to form a larger portrait of the human experience.

In addition to Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song, their credits include acclaimed The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden (NZIFF 2014), the award-winning Something Ventured (NZIFF 2011) and Ballets Russes (NZIFF 2006). Dan and Dayna were admitted to the Documentary Branch of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2014.

Masterclass attendees are encouraged to see Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song at NZIFF beforehand.

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Auckland Masterclass with Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine

Date: Saturday 6 August 10.00am to 1.30pm
Venue: Wintergarden, The Civic, Cnr Queen and Wellesley Sts, Auckland CBD
Tickets: $30 Full price / $25 Industry guild concession

Limited to 50 participants

Click here to purchase tickets >

Wellington Masterclass with Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine

Date: Wednesday 10 August 10.00am to 1.30pm
Venue: Massey University College of Creative Arts (Room Mārama 1D08, Block 1 College of Creative Arts, Massey Entrance C), Wallace St, Mt Cook, Wellington
Tickets: $30 Full price / $25 Industry guild concession

Limited to 60 participants

Click here to purchase tickets >

Last updated on 26 July 2022

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DEGANZ members invited to 2022 MIFF Accelerator Lab

Members Kath Akuhata-Brown and Bala Murali Shingade will soon head off to the MIFF Accelerator Lab at the Melbourne International Film Festival. Kath and Bala will be attending the Lab’s programmes this August with the financial support of the NZFC.

The Accelerator is an acclaimed lab for promising short filmmakers to assist in their transition into feature filmmaking. Each year, MIFF selects by invitation up to 25 directors from the festival’s short film programme.

The programme provides four days of seminars, workshops, screenings and networking opportunities on the screen industry’s business and creative aspects. These events occur in August alongside the films’ public screenings in the specifically tagged Accelerator Screenings selection. This concludes with the MIFF Shorts Awards. The award winners of the Best Short Film, Best Australian Short Film, Best Documentary and Best Animation will be eligible to enter the Oscars.

Kath Akuhata-Brown

Kath will be attending the MIFF Accelerator Lab for directing Washday, a short film inspired by an ancient Māori story of the wind and the power of a child’s love for a parent. Eight-year-old Hine devises a plan to wash away her father’s grief for her passed mother. The film highlights simple rituals of daily life and the constant spiritual presence of gods and ancestors in a small Māori family.

This touching story has screened at multiple other festivals and crowned NZIFF’s Best Short Film in 2021. Additionally, Washday will be screening at the Smithsonian’s Native Cinema Showcase in Santa Fe, New Mexico, this August.

Bala Murali Shingade

Bala was invited to the programme with his film Perianayaki, edited by fellow DEGANZ member Shailesh Prajapati. Titular character Perianayaki, a recent Sri Lankan immigrant, is forced to reconcile with the bittersweet realities of her life on the day of her wedding anniversary. The film encourages empathy and provokes audiences to reconsider their assumptions of often ignored immigrants and service industry workers. The slice-of-life film will premiere at NZIFF this year as part of the Whānau Mārama: New Zealand’s Best selection.

We wish Kath and Bala a great time at the Accelerator Lab!

Last updated on 22 July 2022

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Our COVID Responsibilities

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I’ve been at three screen events in the last week where people close by are sniffing, coughing and doing it without masks.

Why are they even there?!

At our events and many others, organisers ask for people who have COVID-like symptoms, which include those of colds and flu, to stay home. They absolutely should.

Nearly all of us are contractors. If we get sick and have to take days off, we go unpaid. Those people who turn up to events showing symptoms are selfishly impacting on all of us, even though they may think they are no longer infectious.

We now have a new COVID variant to contend with and cases are on the rise. The Government is about to announce measures to try and alleviate the increase in infection numbers and hospitalisation cases. Things are getting worse again, people.

I had one friend recently who caught the flu. He said it’s the sickest he’s ever been in his life. I said he should have gone to hospital.

It’s obvious though that the general public, and that includes many of us, have become increasingly lackadaisical when it comes to COVID prevention. People aren’t wearing proper masks in public places, and those who wear masks under their chins or just covering their mouths are only doing one thing—contributing to the pile of PPE waste. Thankfully, our COVID protocols on set are being strictly managed on professional productions. If they weren’t, producers would likely run out of crew to replace those they are losing now in significant numbers.

Every individual has the right to make a choice about their own health, but you need to be considerate and follow basic health guidelines that help prevent others from getting sick. Please:

    • Wear a mask in public when indoors
    • Don’t attend events if you have symptoms
    • Isolate if you have COVID, a cold or the flu
    • Wash your hands frequently

I at least thank you in advance for doing this.

 

Tui Ruwhiu
Executive Director

Last updated on 15 July 2022

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Premiere Digital Acquires The Girl on the Bridge for Global Distribution

Premiere Digital, a digital media distributor, has acquired The Girl on the Bridge, directed by filmmaker Leanne Pooley (DEGANZ). Audiences worldwide can now rent or purchase the movie on digital platforms, such as iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and more.

The Girl on the Bridge premiered at NZIFF 2020, receiving rave reviews and emotive audience reactions. This was followed by a general release across Aotearoa and Australia in 2020.

The Girl on the Bridge follows 22-year-old Jazz Thornton, suicide survivor and mental health advocate, as she shares the story of the loss of her close friend Jess. This film provides insight into the complex subject of the modern mental health crisis that society is only beginning to understand. While focusing on this often triggering and heavy topic that challenges audiences, the film is ultimately about hope and redemption.

Watch here

Last updated on 14 July 2022

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Members’ Films to Screen at Melbourne International Film Festival

Congratulations to multiple DEGANZ members whose work will be screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival this year, running from 4-28 August.

Member Michelle Savill’s comedy-drama Millie Lies Low will play to audiences. The film follows Millie’s zany scheme to use social media trickery to convince friends and family that she is living her best life in NYC, after missing her flight to her new job. Meanwhile, she chases increasingly desperate plans to source money for a new ticket.

Kāinga, an anthology film set in a single house featuring eight unique stories, will also screen at MIFF. DEGANZ members Michelle Ang, Ghazaleh Golbakhsh, Julie Zhu and Nahyeon Lee each directed one of the eight stories, alongside HASH, Angeline Loo, and DEGANZ alumni Asuka Sylvie and Yamin Tun. Nahyeon, Ghazaleh, and fellow member Mia Maramara also wrote on this project, as well as Mei-Lin Te Puea Hansen, Asuka Sylvie, Shreya Gejji, HASH and Angeline Loo. This work sheds light on the immigrant experience in Aotearoa, NZ, through the lives of eight Pan-Asian women.

After premiering at the Sydney Film Festival, anthology film We Are Still Here will have its Victorian premiere at MIFF. The film is an unparalleled First Nations celebration, interweaving eight stories by 10 directors from Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. That includes DEGANZ members Tim Worrall, Chantelle Burgoyne and board member Renae Maihi.

Directed by Kath Akuhata-Brown, short film Washday will have its Australian Premiere at MIFF. Inspired by an ancient Māori story in which nature intermingles with a child’s love, Washday depicts a grieving father and daughter coming to terms with a significant death in 1960’s New Zealand. Kath has also been selected to take part in MIFF’s Accelerator Lab that provides workshops, screenings, seminars and networking events by leading local and international film practitioners.

Perianayaki, directed by Bala Murali Shingade (DEGANZ) and edited by fellow member Shailesh Prajapati, has been selected for the festival’s short film competition. This slice-of-life character study encourages audiences to pause and rethink their assumptions about immigrants. It follows Perianayaki, a Sri Lankan 56-year-old immigrant, as she moves through the world isolated from her peers at work.

See the complete MIFF program here.

Last updated on 18 July 2022

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