Fighting with ‘Stylebender’ at Tribeca Film Festival

Israel Adesanya lays with eyes closed in a bath sprinkled with flower petals

Stylebender, directed by DEGANZ Incubator alum Zoe McIntosh, will premiere at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival in New York City. Out of the 28 documentaries in the programme, this is one of the 19 female-directed features.

Zoe, well known for her work on Netflix’s docu-series Dark Tourist and her short The World in Your Window, strikes again with this moving and inspirational story. The film follows Israel ‘The Last Stylebender’ Adesanya, a Nigerian-born New Zealand-based MMA fighter and recent UFC middleweight champ, through his tumultuous life and career path.

Israel reveals his internal struggles of trying to become the man he has always wanted to be despite his demons. Through the healing power of dance, Zoe and Israel explore themes of masculinity, mental health, and the consequences of bullying. With production starting in 2018, before Israel’s rise to fame, his personal and career growth unravel right before the lens.

In a statement to NZFC, Zoe shares:

My goal was always to get under the gloss and hype to unlock the poetry, emotion, and contradictions inherent in Israel. I wanted to make a film that spoke not only to MMA fans but to a wider audience who would connect with Israel’s authenticity and the importance of being your own ‘freaky’ self.

Tribeca Film Festival is an annual event founded by Robert De Niro, featuring about 600 screenings. Zoe will attend the festival with support from the New Zealand Film Commission.

Last updated on 20 April 2023

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The Interminable Wait Is Nearly Over

View from the Top banner

It was close to a year that the NZ Film Commission was without a permanent CEO. That was resolved when Head of Sky Originals Annie Murray was announced as the new CEO, replacing David Strong. The response from the industry has been overwhelmingly positive. Annie comes from a lengthy background in TV commissioning at Sky, Whakaata Māori and TVNZ. It will be interesting to see how she adapts to the very different world of film and what that means for the greenlighting of features going forward. Every NZFC CEO brings their own take to what gets funded. David Strong wasn’t around long enough for us to find out what his was. With Annabelle Sheehan, it was Māori and female-driven projects to the fore. With Dave Gibson, it was essentially genre. Graham Mason was a mix of auteur and commercial. Annie will most likely and rightly shepherd more Māori and indigenous films into existence—They are repeatedly proving themselves at the box office, after all, and there are Ti Tiriti obligations. But it will be interesting to see what else gets across the line.

Another major hindrance for the screen industry was the lack of information about what was going to happen with the funding taken from NZ On Air and given to the cancelled ANZPM (TVNZ – RNZ) entity. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins’ statement that more would go to public media funding when the merger was called off was decidedly opaque. Broadcasting Minister Willie Jackson didn’t provide any further clarity at the recent Ngā Aho Whakaari hui when he told everyone there that RNZ funding would be dealt with first and NZ On Air funding would become clear by June. Thankfully, last Thursday, Jackson revealed the funding for both entities, with NZ on Air getting all its funding back, plus a $10m increase for 2023/24 which will focus on reaching new audiences. NZ On Air has revised the strategy it put out when the money was taken away, but it’s still very much targeted to minority communities and under-represented voices. (New investment strategy here.) There was a collective sigh of relief, but frankly, we are only back to where we were before, but with a different strategy. We are still way behind the eight ball when it comes to the opportunities in the global screen industry. The golden age of TV drama has now reached its peak and is retracting, and NZ is still not participating in it while Australia is going great guns. Strategically in this area, we are either an ostrich with our head down a hole or a chicken running around headless.

The one ray of possible sunshine in the whole mess is the outcome of the New Zealand Screen Production Grant (NZSPG) review, which has also been going on for close to a year. The Hollywood studio lobbying group, the Australia-New Zealand Screen Association, put its best foot forward last week with the Sweet Tooth roadshow in Wellington, touting the positive economic impact of the production on the New Zealand screen industry. (See the report here.) This is another clear example of the benefit international production brings to New Zealand and the need for the international rebate to continue. However, what continues to be ignored is the opportunity to grow New Zealand talent, IP, and exports of it to global markets. Shows such as SPP’s Brokenwood Mysteries and a number of others from other production houses do find markets overseas, but the Government, their ministries, and our funding bodies aren’t doing enough to stimulate what is potentially a good revenue earner and a great cultural export. The SPG review, with the right outcome, could help change that. However, the industry’s collective voice on this seems to have fallen on deaf ears. I only hope that my pessimism about this is crushed by jubilant celebration when the review outcome is announced. Whenever the hell that is.

 

Tui Ruwhiu
Executive Director

Last updated on 13 April 2023

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‘Ahikāroa’ is Keeping it Lit

Web series Ahikāroa is back for season five with great kudos to DEGANZ member Onehou Strickland. This season Onehou worked as an editor, writer, storyliner, and script editor. She first began working on the show in season 2 as assistant editor and storyliner and has since become increasingly involved with each season, adding additional credits to her name. Additionally, fellow member Maza White worked as first and second AD this season.

The show is a bilingual drama series that follows the lives of a group of city-based rangatahi. This season continues to explore the complex and intertwined character relationships, highlighting the strength of the ensemble cast and the writing team.

Since the show’s inception in 2018, it has gone on to gain great success and following. In 2021, the series won multiple awards at the NZWebFest, including Best Show (NZ Narrative). In 2022, Ahikāroa also earned itself Best NZ Trailer and Best Director (NZ Narrative).

Congrats to Onehou for all the hard work that paid off on this series.

Watch season five here.

Last updated on 13 April 2023

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‘My Cyclone Gabrielle’: Confronting the Aftermath

In the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle sweeping across Aotearoa communities, multiple DEGANZ members worked on the new RNZ docuseries, My Cyclone Gabrielle. With a new director, location, and story in each episode, they share their personal experience and give voice to the residents’ tragedies. The four episodes look at the cyclone from a community perspective and depict their struggles and bravery.

The first episode, Aftermath, edited by DEGANZ member Jai Waite, tells the story of Hawke’s Bay families picking up the pieces of their lives after the destruction. The families reunite on the region’s ruins and share their pain with viewers.

The final episode, Lifeline, featured Kim Webby (DEGANZ) as director and fellow member Ben Murray as assistant editor. It depicts a hard-working community of Ruatoria, supporting each other and fearing a lack of governmental support. The other episodes examine similar themes of loss and grief in Muriwai and the Waitakere Ranges.

All four stories are different, isolated in their personal losses but united in their communal pain. The series reveals previously unheard voices and shows what is hard to ignore. It forces viewers to re-evaluate their perceptions of the cyclone and be motivated to address the existing restoration challenges.

You can watch the full series here.

Last updated on 13 April 2023

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‘Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead’ and She’s Off to Bootcamp

Jaya Beach-Robertson, DEGANZ member and current Incubator participant, has made the cut for Script to Screen’s Series Bootcamp 2023. She is credited as a co-writer with Roo Reihana-Wilson on the drama/comedy entitled Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead.

Series Bootcamp aims to nurture emerging and mid-career writers and producers, selecting six teams to undergo a three-stage development process. The teams will forge pitch decks and scripts, starting with an intensive two-day workshop with guest speakers and advisor sessions. They will receive feedback from a script developer on the quality, originality, and viability of their concept and pilot episode before the final pitching day to industry professionals. They also have the opportunity to pitch in front of commissioners who could help bring their ideas to life.

While not much is available about the projects, Jaya’s protagonists are often outsiders, othered, flawed, and land somewhere from unusual to outright strange. Her previous series work includes her self-funded web series, PSUSY, and RNZ’s TAHI Point of View. We are excited to see how her voice and perspective are reflected in this project.

Best of luck to Jaya and the team for Bootcamp!

Last updated on 13 April 2023

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