Made with Pride: A list of LGBTQIA+ Content Made by Members

Look no further for LGBTQIA+ content to check out this Pride Month! We’ve compiled a list of LGBTQIA+ projects by or featuring DEGANZ members:

Films

Fiona Clark: Unafraid

This feature documentary celebrates one of Aotearoa’s most renowned and radical photographers, Fiona Clark. Best known for her portraits of the drag community in the 1970s, Fiona’s work challenged prejudices and gave visibility and voice to the socially marginalised. Fiona reveals the stories behind her iconic and haunting art and the personal stories that underpin them all. DEGANZ member Shailesh Prajapati worked as the film’s assistant editor.

Watch it now on NZ Film On Demand.

Daughter of God

DEGANZ member Maza White‘s short explores the familial relationship of an Iranian-Kiwi daughter. When her parents spring an arranged marriage on her, Zarah calls her girlfriend for help but is forced to choose between family and the love of her life.

Don’t miss the film’s premiere at NZIFF in New Zealand’s Best programme.

Nathan Joe: Homecoming Poems

Directed by DEGANZ member Nahyeon Lee (Incubator 2021), this short film meditates on poet Nathan Joe’s sense of home and homecoming. Through three poems, he explores queerness, being Chinese-Kiwi, and feeling caught between Christchurch and Auckland.

Available to watch on Nathan’s website.

Joey’s Heart

This short, directed by Louise Lever (DEGANZ), follows Joey, a self-proclaimed ‘gay Bridget Jones’ who’s rapidly losing hope of finding her special someone. Then she meets Alice, and suddenly she thinks maybe her luck will change.

Watch the trailer and keep an eye out for any screenings near you.

Series

Rūrangi

Burnt-out trans activist Caz Davis returns to the rural dairy community of Rūrangi to reconnect with his estranged father, who hasn’t heard from him since before Caz transitioned. While there, Caz finds himself swept up in the environmental fight that politically divides the town, and reconnects with old friends. Not only is it Aotearoa’s first transgender drama series, but the production also has one of the most gender-diverse casts and crews in the industry. The series is directed by DEGANZ member Max Currie.

You can find seasons 1 and 2 on Neon now.

What’s the Disabili-Tea

Executive produced by DEGANZ Board President Robyn Paterson and edited by fellow member Brendan Chan, this docu-series explores the lives of queer and disabled people in Aotearoa. While highlighting issues of accessibility, like being misgendered in the healthcare system, the series ultimately celebrates and uplifts the queer disabled community.

Catch the series on Attitude.

n00b

Current Incubator participant Victoria Boult‘s TikTok series opens strong with gay fan fiction. This part of the anthology series, set in the early 2000s, dives into Nikau’s fantasy of his crush, Tāmati, and revels in the embarrassing and awkward moments of teen love. The show is now heading to ThreeNow and Three as a new comedy series with Great Southern Television.

Check out season 1 on TikTok for more Y2K shenanigans.

The Creature

Jake Tabata (DEGANZ) is making his directorial debut with this coming-of-age horror web series. Aidan is ecstatic when he matches with his ‘dream man’ after being stuck in the online dating rut of endlessly swiping with no results. But in order to leave for his date, he must first face the perturbed Creature that lurks in the dark. The series explores grappling with relationship anxiety in the digital era.

The Creature is currently in post-production with plans to release later this year. In the meantime, you can follow the project’s Instagram.

Self Help

This web series, co-directed by DEGANZ member Michelle Ang (Incubator 2020), comedically unpacks the growing pains that stem from young heartache. After being dumped by his boyfriend, Nikau fumbles through the advice of his friends and whānau as they try to pull him out of the heartbreak rut. He tries everything from getting ripped to floating in a sensory deprivation tank as he navigates the healing and self-improvement journey.

Watch the eight-part series on YouTube now!

Inky Pinky Ponky

When a young fakaleiti (transgender) high school student falls in love at St Valentine’s Highschool, she must navigate her way through a world of intolerance and bigotry to find happiness – in an unexpected place. This single hour-long episode co-directed by DEGANZ member Ramon Te Wake, offers a new take on the classic high school romcom, cementing itself in the hearts of young LGBTQIA+ and Pasifika viewers.

View it now on MĀORI+2 before it streams internationally on The Coconet TV on 20 July!

 

Are you a DEGANZ member and have worked on LGBTQIA+ content? Flick admin@deganz.co.nz an email, and we’ll add you to this list!

Happy viewing!

Last updated on 6 July 2023

/by

Ow’s New Sitcom ‘Homebound 3.0’

The new Kiwi sitcom Homebound 3.0, co-directed by DEGANZ member Hweiling Ow (Incubator 2021), is streaming on ThreeNow.

The series follows the trainwreck schemes of two thirty-somethings still living at home trying to get their parents less involved in their love lives. In exchange for free rent, Henry, a struggling unpublished writer who’s going through a breakup, must go on dates arranged by his parents. But, he may be able to catch a break when paired with the foul-mouthed dermatologist Melissa, played by fellow DEGANZ member Michelle Ang (Incubator 2020), who also faces threats of being kicked out. Together, they must fake a relationship to keep their beds at home and get their parents off their backs. The show comedically analyses adult parent-children relationships and offers new meaning to the cliches of the ‘overachieving Asian’ and ‘helicopter parents.’

The series premiered on NZ Three and ThreeNow on 15 June with the first three episodes. A new episode will come out weekly until the eight-part series is complete.

Watch the first four episodes now!

Last updated on 22 June 2023

/by

From the Fire Nation to the Wellness Cult: A Sneak Peek at Liang’s Upcoming Projects

Sneak a peek into DEGANZ member Roseanne Liang‘s upcoming projects.

The Season 2 trailer of TVNZ’s dystopian dramedy Creamerie is available online now. Set eight years after a deadly virus seemingly brings on the extinction of the entire male population, the show follows three dairy farmers when they stumble across a male survivor, Bobby. Immediately following the first season’s cliffhanger, this season will follow trio Alex, Jamie, and Pip, accompanied by Bobby, on their journey to take the Wellness cult leader down and reveal the truth about the ‘mandemic’.

The first season, which premiered in 2021, quickly became a beloved and critically-acclaimed series and was picked up by the streaming service Hulu. Season 2 will come out on TVNZ+ on 14 July before releasing on Hulu and SBS Viceland on 28 August. Roseanne created the show along with JJ Fong (Jamie), Perlina Lau (Pip), and Ally Xue (Alex) and is the show’s sole director.

Meanwhile, Netflix released the first teaser trailer and first look stills of the highly anticipated live-action adaption of Nickelodeon’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. The teaser features familiar imagery from the original cartoon, with the four nations’ emblems carved from their respective terrains and elements. It also confirms for the first time that the series will debut in 2024. The character sneak peeks reveal the real-life reimaginings of the iconic characters Aang, Katara, Sokka, and Zuko.

Roseanne directed episodes five and six and was a co-executive producer on the series pilot.

Keep your eyes peeled for Roseanne’s work as it hits your TV and laptop screens!

Last updated on 21 June 2023

/by

Brooks’ Bounty of Birds Selected for NZIFF

NZIFF released the Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts selection, featuring Kōkako, written and directed by DEGANZ member Douglas Brooks (Te Ati Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Kahungungu, Ngāti Pākehā).

The short film studies grief through the perspective of an aspiring ornithologist as she braves the Aotearoa wilderness to search for an extinct bird, the kōkako. However, when a brief moment of cell phone coverage delivers the news of her grandmother’s passing, Ashley must process her loss alone in the forest.

One of the curators of the programme, Leo Koziol, commented on the film:

The underlying theme is dark and mournful, but this bounty of birds is a fantastical delight from start to finish, never will I think the same again when I visit my Ngāhere.

All finalists in this programme are eligible for the Wellington UNESCO City of Film award for Best Film with a $3,000 cash prize. NZIFF audiences will also vote for the $1,000 reward Letterboxd Audience Award, announced at the festival’s closing night in Te Whanganui-a-Tara.

Best of luck during the festival to the Kōkako team!

Last updated on 5 July 2023

/by

NZ’s Godfather of Genre Cinema Returns with ‘Night Freaks’

Aotearoa’s godfather of genre cinema, David Blyth (DEGANZ), returns with his new quirky musical docufiction, NIGHT FREAKS. The genre mashup feature is based loosely on his own experience of alien encounters and was filmed across the pandemic lockdowns on a shoestring budget.

The genre piece stars Yvette Parsons and Andrew McLennan and features guest appearances from Geeling Ching, Ian Mune, and Tom Sainsbury.

The film premieres on 1 July in Roswell, New Mexico, a town best known as the home of the first UFO crash site in 1947. NIGHT FREAKS will screen in the Roswell Daily Record Film Festival, celebrating UFO, Paranormal, and Cryptozoology-centred cinema.

This feature is part of a trilogy of David’s work that looks at tears in the fabric of everyday reality, along with WOUND and GHOST BRIDE. David is best known for exploring the taboo in his work and has a strong inclination for horror. He has been credited as a key director during the development of Kiwi Gothic cinema in the 70s and 80s.

Congratulations to David on the premiere!

Last updated on 19 June 2023

/by