December is upon us again. Before we hit the beaches or mountains, it’s time to reflect on what has been a tumultuous year for the New Zealand screen industry.
On the positive side, we’ve had a great crop of New Zealand films and television, none more so than the Premium Fund drama series After The Party. It swept the NZ TV Awards in all categories and has been extremely well-received internationally. Like the other Premium Fund projects, After The Party shows what we can do when our films and TV have higher levels of investment over what is normally available. It’s truly unfortunate therefore that the Premium Fund, which we lobbied for to continue, has ceased. Premium Fund projects could well do with a review of Return On Investment (ROI), both economic and cultural, as they may highlight to the current economically-focused government the benefits such investments can bring to the coffers and the country.
There has been a lot of content produced this year as thankfully NZ On Air’s funding has not been cut, although how it spends it now creates its own constrictions. Our DEGANZ directors and editors continue to appear in good numbers in films and TV shows going into production, gaining solid box office, good ratings and/or festival accolades. We report on them in our newsletter and encourage you to notify us of any successes for inclusion as we don’t always catch everything.
International productions coming into New Zealand have been a bit up and down over the last year, but the country is reasonably flush with projects now and into the first quarter of 2025. The NZFC has recently returned from their LA promotional tour in a positive mode. We look forward to an update as well as real results from their work, both in regard to international productions shooting here as well as investment into domestic content.
On the downside, the blood-letting continues at TVNZ. Our colleagues there are undergoing another round of job losses as TVNZ fights a losing battle against the tide of advertising going to international platforms. We can only hope that its efforts to become a digital-first media entity help to stem that tide. Unfortunately, I think we are going to see further retraction there in 2025 before we see any semblance of righting the ship, which at this rate is more likely to become a smallish launch.
We finish the year on a positive note funding-wise, though.
According to the NZFC’s annual report just out, they have $13.5 million more in the kitty than anticipated. The NZFC had budgeted for a deficit of $6.2m, but had a surplus of $7.3m instead, so have $13.5m more than budgeted. This is largely due to the fact they spent $12m less on Script Development & Production Funding. They also had $1.25m more interest income than budgeted. However, they plan to spend this and the reserves over the next 4 years. This is good news for the film sector, which has frankly been somewhat depressed. There’s a general feeling in the ether now that we do have a positive and refreshed film commish to deal with, who are making warm fuzzy noises. The results of their industry meetings around new approaches to development and financing—expected to be in place 1 Feb 2025—are much anticipated.
I’m currently in Wellington, post Xmas event here. There was a massive turnout last night and the vibe was surprisingly up with members from all the guilds and associations in attendance. Perhaps the most positive thing I heard though was in the taxi on the way into town from the airport. Wellington, which was decidedly dour when I was last down because of all the job losses, reportedly came alive when the hikoi arrived. It showed the government and New Zealand the depth of feeling towards unity in Aotearoa, and the opposition to the divisiveness that the Treaty Principles Bill is fostering. I hope that invigoration continues here, not just around the passage of the Bill through select committee, but also in regard to the city’s spirit, which has taken quite a battering economically and needs reviving.
The new board and staff at DEGANZ wish you a safe and enjoyable time over Christmas, New Year and the holidays. And we look forward to the ongoing work to represent your creative, cultural and financial interests in 2025.
http://degnz.sensedesign.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/View_from_the_top_new.png7361280Tui/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/DEGANZ_logo_home.pngTui2024-12-05 10:31:222024-12-06 13:44:52That Time of the Year
Welcome to the 2025 DEGANZ Board, elected at the AGM on 23 November!
Thank you to returning members Ben Powdrell (President), Rāhera Herewini-Mulligan (Ngāi Tūhoe/Ngāi Tai/Te Whānau a Apanui) (Vice-President), Phil Gore (Treasurer), Chris Dudman, Celia Jaspers, Te Rurehe Paki, Robyn Paterson, Justin Scott, Rebecca Tansley, and Gaysorn Thavat for taking on another year of advocating for Aotearoa’s directors, editors, and assistant editors. We also warmly welcome new member Martin Brinkler onto the board.
Congratulations to Ben and Rāhera, who have been elected into new roles as President and Vice-President respectively.
DEGANZ is thrilled to have everyone on board to shape the guild’s strategy and actions for the year to come.
Ben Powdrell
President
Ben is a freelance film and television editor with over 20 years of experience in post-production alongside a grounding in fringe theatre and comedy. He recently took a baptism of fire in visual effects editing, working for Wētā FX for 5 years, Mr Corman for Apple TV and Wellington Paranormal Season 3, before returning to his passion for narrative storytelling. He completed his Masters in Creative Writing (Scriptwriting) at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University in 2020, has several projects in development and has a series of digital interactive children’s books with Rascality Media. 2023 saw the premiere of Red, White and Brass a feature comedy Ben edited for Piki Films alongside Damon Fepulea’i, and River of Freedom, an independent feature documentary he edited alongside regular television duties.
Rāhera Herewini-Mulligan (Ngāi Tūhoe/Ngāi Tai/Te Whānau a Apanui)
Vice-President
Rāhera is a field director and editor who is a fluent speaker of te reo Māori with 20+ years of experience in the television industry. As an editor, she has a wealth of experience across documentary, reality, children and magazine-style genres. From Police Ten 7 (TVNZ) to Moving Out with Kanoa (Three) and a lot of shows for Māori Television. She is also passionate about Kapa haka and is an event/stage manager for Primary School, Secondary School (ASB Polyfest) and Senior Kapa Haka competitions across Tāmaki Makaurau.
Phil Gore
Treasurer
Phil is a chartered accountant and production accountant with extensive experience in the screen industry. Since 2008, Phil has been working with the chartered accountancy firm, Acclime New Zealand Ltd (previously VCFO Group Ltd), which has a strong focus on the film and television industry and is a sponsor of DEGANZ. Prior to this, Phil worked as a freelance production accountant for 8 years in NZ and Australia.
National Executive
Martin Brinkler
Martin has established himself over recent years as one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most exciting film editors, successfully working with both art-house auteur filmmakers and mainstream entertainment. Credits include critically acclaimed Omar, a political thriller directed by Oscar-nominated & Golden Globe winner Hany Abu-Assad. It won the Special Jury Award at the Cannes Film Festival 2013 and a nomination for the Best Foreign Film Oscar at the 2014 Academy Awards. His long-time collaboration with horror genre Director Johannes Roberts includes Other Side Of The Door (Twentieth Century Fox) and the box office smash hit 47 Meters Down (Entertainment Studios) which was the highest-grossing independent film of 2017. Martin recently co-edited American ballerina bio-pic Joika, directed by James Napier Robertson (Dark Horse) and Aotearoa New Zealand-based historical drama Ka Whaiwhai Tonu, directed by Mike Jonathan. TV credits include the first season of costume drama Becoming Elizabeth (Starz/Lionsgate) and comedy-drama Madam (TV3/Warner Bros. Discovery). Between time in the editing room, Martin is also a panellist for numerous film school scholarship funds, a visiting tutor at the National Film and Television School and most recently, an editing judge for the NZTV awards.
Member of the American Cinema Editors and DEGANZ.
Chris Dudman
Chris’s film-making career started in 1990 when Blackwater Summer, his graduation film at the Royal College of Art in London, was nominated for a Student Oscar and went on to win numerous international awards. He spent several years directing and editing arts documentaries for television in the UK before moving back to New Zealand. He has written and directed one-off documentaries and documentary series for New Zealand television including New Zealand at War, Zoo, Protecting the Border and the critically acclaimed, The Day That Changed My Life. He directed two NZFC short films – The Graffiti of Mr. Tupaia and Choice Night – and he was also the lead director and co-writer of Harry, the gritty TV3 crime series starring Sam Neill and Oscar Kightley. More recently, he directed two episodes of James Patterson’s true crime anthology drama series Murder Is Forever for Discovery ID USA and the dramatic sequences in the award-winning TVNZ docu-drama By the Balls. Chris has also directed Television commercials throughout his career, firstly with Silverscreen and then through his own production company Robber’s Dog Films. His latest offering is New Zealand’s favourite ad of the moment, the three-legged dog for Trustpower.
Celia Jaspers
Celia has over 30 years of experience in the industry she loves. Equally a Director and Editor, the last 15 years have also evolved into Series Producing and Directing. She’s worked all around New Zealand, independently and for networks domestic and international, and for several years in Sydney at Channel 7 and Foxtel. With over 1,100 hours of director credits across many genres primarily in television, she is very experienced in factual and documentary as a regular contributor to NZ’s most beloved programme Country Calendar. She is simultaneously branching into narrative work, completing three short films since 2020, garnering international acclaim. Celia is currently developing feature films and working in drama as a Script Supervisor.
Te Rurehe Paki
‘Ko te ahi whakakakā, ko te ahi whakahikahika, ko te ahi whakakihihī, hei whakahoro kakā i te manawa. Ka tuu ki te mura o te ahi, pae tu, pae hinga, karawhiua ki ngā pari karangaranga, whakapaohotia atu rā, kia haruru ki te rangi, kia rū ki te nuku, ko Te Rurehe tēnei, e tau nei e.’
Te Rurehe is a video editor and owner of The Suite Limited, the post-production facility that has shaped numerous television series and films including 2021 NZIFF Jury Award Winner Washday, 2019 Victoria Film Festival Winner Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen and the 2018 Fifo Film Festival Winner Making Good Men. His career started at ten years old as a performer with the musical Ahorangi-Genesis. Since then he has been applying his skill as a storyteller with his passion for computers and technology. Editing was a natural fit. He promotes opportunities to do this in his first language, te reo Māori, and share with audiences what was nurtured in him – a unique Māori worldview. Past projects he has edited include 2021 NZIFF NZ’s Best Jury Award Winner Short film Washday; 2019 Victoria Film Festival Cultural Currents Award Winner, Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen; Fifo Film Festival Winner, and 2017 NZTV Awards Winner, Best Documentary, Making Good Men.
Robyn Paterson
Robyn Paterson is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and experienced television factual series director and producer. Her first documentary feature, Finding Mercy, premiered at IDFA in 2012, followed in 2019 by her second feature In The Zone. Her debut narrative short premiered at NZIFF in the same year. Robyn’s television work includes Down for Love,Grand Designs New Zealand, Rachel Hunter’s Tour of Beauty, and Attitude, amongst others.
Justin Scott
Justin is a Director and Producer who prides himself in sharing stories from underrepresented communities. As a Queer, Māori, Neurodiverse man living with ADHD, his practice often touches upon stories from these communities and explores intersectionality. Currently, Justin is working for the ABC in Sydney as a Producer and Director. Prior to this, he worked as a Director for the long-running Attitude Series and more recently the Four Go Flatting series for TVNZ. He has also directed various shows including George and Me for HEIHEI, and the intersectional series What’s the Disabili-tea for RNZ. Alongside his directing work, Justin has produced numerous short films with a Te Ao Māori focus including He Hekenga Tūhura and Haka Haha. Both of these films have had successful international festival runs, with both premiering internationally at the world’s largest Indigenous film festival ImagineNATIVE in Toronto. Prior to his work in the documentary space, Justin cut his teeth working in Children’s television including Let’s Get Inventin’ and Sticky TV.
Rebecca Tansley
Drawing on an extensive career across the media, filmmaker Rebecca Tansley has been focused on telling stories for the screen for more than fifteen years, working across documentary and drama with a particular interests in the arts. She is currently in production for her third feature documentary My Name is Pati (wt). Her previous feature documentaries Crossing Rachmaninoff and The Heart Dances have screened at festivals around the world, in cinemas throughout New Zealand and on international platforms. Her film of a live opera, Semele, won a 2022 NZTV award for Best Entertainment Programme while her short film of the same year, The Finding, enjoyed more than a dozen international festival outings. Her second opera film, The Strangest of Angels won Special Mention at the 60th Golden Prague International Festival for Extraordinary Artistic Achievement.
Rebecca is a current board member of DEGANZ and a member of WIFTNZ, NZWG, SPADA and IMZ.
Gaysorn Thavat
Gaysorn Thavat began in the NZ film industry in 1994, working in the camera department where she developed a love for visual storytelling. In 2004, Gaysorn began directing television commercials, working across the US and Australasian markets and is currently represented by Exit Films, Grand Large in the US, and SPY FILMS in Canada. In 2009 she won a Gold Film Lion in Cannes for the Breast Cancer Research Trust. In 2009, Gaysorn’s short film Brave Donkey was selected for numerous festivals including London BFI, Locarno, Melbourne, SXSW, NZIFF, and won Best Actor for Cameron Rhodes at the Show Me Shorts Festival. In 2018, Gaysorn directed episodes of the comedy series Fresh Eggs for Warner Brothers, and episodes of crime, thriller The Gulf for Screentime. In 2019 Gaysorn directed her feature-length film The Justice of Bunny King which debuted in competition at Tribeca in 2021 and garnered a special mention in the Nora Ephron award for the leads Essie Davis and Thomasin McKenzie. The film was also selected for the Melbourne International Film Festival, Edinburgh Film Festival, and Sydney Film Festivals.
Gaysorn was born in Bangkok, Thailand and is of Chinese heritage (Teochew). She identifies as NZ Chinese.
http://degnz.sensedesign.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/2025-Board.jpg4561200admin/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/DEGANZ_logo_home.pngadmin2024-12-04 16:25:022024-12-04 17:05:06Welcome to the 2025 DEGANZ Board
After the Party, directed by Peter Salmon (DEGANZ), had a particularly successful night winning a record nine awards in total. Peter was acknowledged specifically, winning Screen Auckland’s Best Director for a Drama/Comedy Drama award. The show went on to win NZ On Air’s Best Drama award as well as seven others for acting, cinematography, editing, and script.
Give Me Babies, part of the Motherhood anthology series, created by members Ankita Singh (writer) and Calvin Sang (director) took home Best Comedy.
Congratulations to Peter, Jeremiah, Ankita, and Calvin on the wins! It’s great to see DEGANZ members getting their kudos at such a significant local industry event.
Celebrating Pasifika rugby players and their communities. A story about small islands, big dreams and the sacrifices made by many to produce some of the world’s greatest players.
Follow the wild ride of a young MMA fighter battling in an illicit underground match for cash to flee New Zealand, all to dodge her mother’s relentless baby demands.
Aotearoa feature films Tinā and The Moutain, edited by DEGANZ members Luke Haigh and Cushla Dillon respectively, are off to the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival!
This year marks the 36th year of the festival showcasing work from around the world and bringing together filmmakers and film lovers alike. The festival is hosted by the Palm Spring International Film Society, which aims to cultivate and promote the art and science of film through education and cross-cultural awareness.
When grief-stricken Mareta takes a substitute teaching role at an elite prep school, she forms a choir to unite the privileged yet disconnected students. As they prepare for an all-school competition, her passion for life is reignited, transforming her students forever in this rousing crowd-pleaser.
Led by the courageous Sam, a trio of enthusiastic young misfits embark on the quest of a lifetime to scale the majestic Mt. Taranaki and unlock its fabled healing powers. Along the way, the brave ragtag crew discovers profound truths about friendship, cultural heritage, and the thrill of adventure.
Even though DEGANZ is beginning to wrap up for the year, our members are still dropping new work! Check out this list of new films and series to watch over the holiday period. From drama series to documentaries, there’s plenty of local mahi to keep us entertained until 2025.
Detective Anais Mallory returns home to picturesque Queenstown, only to be faced with shocking homicides. Amongst the mysteries and idyllic scenery, disturbing echoes from her own past emerge.
Directors: Caroline Bell Booth, Peter Burger, Josh Frizzell, and Charlie Haskell
K Road Chronicles delves into the gritty reality of those living within the margins of society, shining a critical eye on overlooked issues and sharing deeply personal stories of hope and inspiration from our street communities.
A rich tapestry of stories from women across Pasifika, delving into the sticky issues of colourism, fat-phobia, and how our societies have been taught to view women of colour across the ages.
Three resilient mothers struggle to raise their children amongst dwindling support and systemic failures. With nowhere to turn, they discover Mana Inc., a lifeline that sparks hope.
With unprecedented access to NZ Customs’ Child Exploitation Operations Team, this documentary reveals the complex & lifesaving work of our investigators at the frontline of online child abuse crimes.
