Stef Harris (DEGANZ) is crowdfunding on Boosted for his latest short film, Sister Josephine.
Inspired by Stef’s childhood in the 70s, the film explores the relationship between Maaka, a frightened boy, and Sister Josephine, a nun who teaches him how to stand up for himself.
The NZ Film Commission and Script initially funded the film with Kōpere Hou – Fresh Shorts in the 2022/23 round. Now, the team needs a top-up to complete post-production and apply for film festivals. They aim to raise $10,000 to complete the edit, colour grade, music competition, and sound design and mix. This will also provide them with a budget to submit to international film festivals.
Television is the bread and butter of the screen industry.
More; What we see on our screens reflects who we are as a nation and its peoples.
News and current affairs play a vital role in this, telling us what’s going on in our little corner of the world, as well as elsewhere. It informs, educates and sometimes entertains us.
I have to admit to being a news junkie.
At one point, I worked for a short time at the global video news agency Visnews before getting a job at the global news and financial information provider Reuters. I have over the years counted a number of journalists as my friends, and have worked with many former journalists in television, corporate communications and PR. Journalists are driven by what they do and fervently believe in providing balanced coverage as well as in-depth analysis to help us all learn about and or understand issues. I believe they and their work are vital to any society.
The devastating loss of Warner Bros. Discovery’s Newshub has been compounded by the proposals at TVNZ to reduce news programmes and eliminate both SUNDAY and FAIR GO.
I was confounded when I heard that the TVNZ board had rejected Warner Bros. Discovery’s proposal to establish a NZPA-like shared news-gathering service before either of them announced their cuts. It seemed somewhat like cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face.
While Radio New Zealand provides an excellent source for news, current affairs and other factual and entertainment programming, it’s not really screen content even though they throw cameras in the studios and on location—it’s still radio, and as such still has a very important place. We need New Zealand news and current affairs beaming into our living rooms, otherwise we face the cultural domination that has for decades taken over our entertainment programming.
While I personally had issues with the proposed merger between TVNZ and Radio NZ—mainly with the outlined implementation and not the strategic intention—it could have helped ensure a strong and vigorous news and current affairs approach for screen, done properly.
Colin Peacock with his Mediawatch column of 10 March here, gives an excellent perspective on the situation, including a very salient interview with Tracey Martin, the chair of the board charged with getting the merged entity up and running.
Is there hope for news and current affairs in New Zealand? Tracey Martin thinks the bureaucrats need to go back to all the work that was done by her and that board as there are potentially a lot of answers there, which this government doesn’t seem to have at this point
What surprises me however in all the kerfuffle going on, is that scant attention is being given to Whakaata Māori, which has a strong news gathering service of its own and commitment to news and current affairs programming.
Maybe they have some of the answers everybody’s looking for.
http://degnz.sensedesign.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/View_from_the_top_new.png7361280Tui/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/DEGANZ_logo_home.pngTui2024-03-14 10:54:102024-03-14 10:54:10News Blues
We are excited to announce the six participants for the 2024 Emerging Women Filmmakers Incubator.
This marks the eighth annual Incubator, DEGANZ’s year-long programme, designed to help talented emerging women directors accelerate their careers and selected projects. Across five day-long workshops, participants will engage with highly experienced industry professionals, feedback on their projects, career advice, networking opportunities, and mini-workshops on specific topics.
Speakers in the Incubator are drawn from the best screen-making talent in New Zealand and Australia and sometimes further afield, funding agencies, and others with pertinent knowledge and experience to share.
2024 DEGANZ EMERGING WOMEN FILMMAKER INCUBATOR PARTICIPANTS
Blandine Massiet du Biest
Blandine was born in France and studied literature, film studies, and art history in Paris. Eighteen years ago, she moved to New Zealand with her Kiwi husband. While working as an editing assistant for New Zealand and American dramas and series, she created short and medium-length documentaries, as well as short videos about digital artists for Digital Art Live. Over the past four years, Blandine has worked on a feature documentary about the expatriate New Zealand artist Frances Hodgkins. The film was selected for Doc Edge 2023, and Blandine was awarded Best Emerging NZ Filmmaker.
Miryam Jacobi
Miryam is a director, producer and writer based in Kirikiriroa/Hamilton. She trained as an actor at Toi Whakaari; NZ Drama School, graduating in 2015 with a Bachelor of Performing Arts. Miryam has produced and directed commercial content for the likes of WellingtonNZ, Sir John Kirwan Foundation, Fonterra, Look Good Feel Better and Auckland Theatre Company, alongside producing music videos for artists such as Diggy Dupé, Israel Starr and Dick Move. Miryam has shown work at international film festivals such as Show Me Shorts, Galway Film Fleadh, Vail Film Festival and Melbourne Women in Film Festival. Other highlights of her filmmaking career to date include second unit directing on Amazon’s feature Don’t Make Me Go and creating the highly-acclaimed NZ On Air funded documentary Disorder.
Jo Luping
Jo has been working in the creative industry for the past 20 years in film, television and design. She has worked on a diverse range of projects including directing two magazine lifestyle series (26 Episodes), a documentary titled Reframe for television broadcast and creating animation for live action short Huminodun. Her film Don’t Eat The Rice was selected to be pitched as part of the Frontieres Co-Production 2020. She has created impactful environmental films for UNICEF for the past three years. She is currently the animation director on Classics Explained a UK web series (15 Episodes). Jo’s feature animation Anavau and the Legend of Nunuk Ragang has been selected to be presented at the MIFA project market at the prestigious Annecy Animation Film Festival in France 2024. Proudly a mix of Kadazan and New Zealand Pākehā ancestry, her dream is to combine the indigenous stories she grew up with together with contemporary New Zealand.
Nicole was born in Suva, Fiji and raised in New Zealand. She directed and co-wrote the Fijian vignette which opened the feature film Vai. She holds a Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts and is well known for her work as a Theatre and Screen Actor. Nicole is the Founder and Acting Coach at Point Chevalier Drama Club, Acting School for Youth. She has worked as a Role Model for Duffy Books in Schools, bringing her joy of reading and performing to children in low-decile schools. She directed and acted in Seasons 1 and 2 of The Feijoa Club a children’s series for the TVNZ/NZOA ‘Hei Hei’ platform.
Siobhan Marshall
Siobhan’s directorial debut, Manny and Quinn (2022), a short film shot during Covid, was selected as one of ‘New Zealand’s Best’ at the NZ International Film Festival. It was also an official selection at various festivals including LA Shorts; Show Me Shorts (NZ), the Newport Beach Film Festival and the Austin Film Festival. Siobhan has written and produced the animated series, Slow Pete, for TVNZ on Demand, based on her own IVF journey, served as co-writer on The Lonely Hearts Motel for TV3 and Darryl, A Beach to Snow Story for TVNZ, and is currently a writer for South Pacific Pictures. Siobhan spent the last two decades working as an actress and is perhaps best known for her role as Pascalle in all six seasons of the TV drama series Outrageous Fortune. She has been nominated for three best supporting actress awards and one best actress award.
Maza White
Maza is an Iranian-born writer and director whose directorial portfolio includes numerous short films and a web series. Her latest NZFC-funded film, Daughter of God, was recognized as a finalist in the ‘2023 New Zealand’s Best’ category at the NZIFF. Additionally, it won the Best Script award at 2023 Show Me Shorts festival. Having recently completed a Master of Creative Writing with First Class Honours from AUT, Maza is actively engaged in various writing projects, collaborating with other seasoned professionals. She is also participating in the FilmUp 2024 mentorship programme by Script to Screen, dedicated to refining and directing her feature film, Ruptured. Maza’s writing and directorial voice reflect her deep understanding of human psychology, informed by her multicultural background and global perspective. Through her intricately woven narratives, she aspires to captivate audiences worldwide with the depth of human experiences and emotions.
The Emerging Women Filmmakers Incubator is made possible with the financial support of the New Zealand Film Commission.
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Long-anticipated Kiwi features The Convert and The Mountain are coming to local cinema screens this March, both with DEGANZ members credited as editors.
The Convert
Edited by Luke Haigh (DEGANZ), The Convert comes out in Aotearoa on 14 March. This local release follows its successful international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last September.
The historical epic follows an English preacher arriving in Aotearoa to minister to the first British colonies in the 1830s. When he becomes entangled in a long-standing conflict between two Māori iwi, his violent past is called into question and his faith is tested. As tensions escalate, he must determine if he is being pulled to serve a different purpose.
The Mountain
The Mountain, edited by Cushla Dillon (DEGANZ) and Carly Turner, hits cinema screens on 28 March.
The film is a nostalgic and heartfelt drama about three children who embark on a mission to Taranaki Maunga. Sam, a young girl raised outside of her Māori culture, is determined to connect with her mountain in the hope of curing her cancer. Along the way, she meets misfits Mallory and Bronco, each on their own missions. As they journey further off the beaten track, they learn the true spirit of adventure and the magic of friendship.
Congratulations Luke, Cushla, and the teams of The Convert and The Mountain!
Four DEGANZ members have been selected for Script to Screen’s 2024 Story Camp feature film lab.
The lab fosters the craft, voice, and vision of the eight selected screenwriters or creative teams for the development of their feature film screenplays. They workshop their projects with advice from local and international mentors in a rigorous week-long experience. The programme accepts projects in both early and advanced stages, providing the development requirements of projects across various stages.
Jesse Griffin (DEGANZ) will attend the lab as the writer/director for Childish, which has previously received script development funding from NZFC.
Fellow members Nic Gorman and Cushla Dillon will be working on their project, Null, another script in the advanced stages of development. Nic is one of two writers with Cuhsla on board as producer and script editor.
Member Matthew Saville will participate in the lab as co-writer and co-producer for Shadow Boxer.
All the best to Jesse, Nic, Cushla, and Matthew at camp!
http://degnz.sensedesign.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Story-Camp-2024.jpg4561200admin/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/DEGANZ_logo_home.pngadmin2024-03-14 10:15:442024-03-14 10:26:51DEGANZ Members off to Story Camp
