So Where Do We Stand?

View from the Top banner

As we come to the end of 2025, it’s worth taking a look at where the NZ screen sector stands.

Global market pressures have been buffeting the New Zealand screen sector for years, and our hair is a little more than tussled.

Our industry has been in reactive mode for at least the last 10 years, at times trying but always failing to play catch-up as the constant winds of change sweep through the international film and TV business. This, of course, has been exacerbated by the damage wrought by Facebook (now Meta), Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google (now Alphabet) [FAANG], the digital platforms hoovering up all the advertising dollars, the streamers, and the change in viewer habits.

The latest attempt to address the imbalance has been the changes to the international rebate that will take effect on 1 January 2026:

  • A lowering of the minimum qualifying spend for feature films from $15 million to $4 million
  • The reduction of the threshold for the 5% “uplift” from $30 million to $20 million
  • Allowing the 5% uplift to become available for Post-Production, Digital, and Visual Effects (PDV)-only projects and removing of the cap on “above-the-line” costs.

It wasn’t until the NZ line producers, studios, and other service providers started screaming that their side of the industry was falling off a cliff that the government did something about it—attracting offshore money is something our economic growth-focused government can understand.

Of course, these are welcome changes for crew, post outfits, and international productions looking for incentives for their next projects. Our service industry gets to survive a little longer.

But where, frankly, is the additional funding that’s going to support our domestic production sector?

There’s always going to be some form of limited funding available to make films and programmes with. However, it just won’t be enough for anything more than the cottage industry we seem to be rapidly becoming.

Over in Australia, they have at least made an effort to do something about it.

The Albanese Government has pushed through the Communications Legislation Amendment (Australian Content Requirement for Subscription Video On Demand (Streaming) Services) Bill.

The new laws, coming into effect on 1 January 2026, require streaming services with more than one million Australian subscribers to need to invest at least 10% of their total programme expenditure for Australia, or 7.5% their revenue, in new local drama, children’s, documentary, arts and educational programs.

While not the panacea everybody over there was hoping for, it’s generally perceived as a positive start.

Additionally, their government has added AUS$50 million over three years to the ABC funding pot to support the production of new Australian children’s and drama content.

Here, we have talked about the streamer levy for some time now. When the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Heritage released the Media Reform Discussion Document for feedback in February this year, proposals included that local and global streaming platforms would have local content investment “obligations”. At the time, MCH Minister Paul Goldsmith was reported as saying that the options would be looked at.

Coming off the Media Reform document and feedback, the launch in August this year of Amplify, the government’s five-year strategy for the creative and culture sector, is full of words and short of dollars. Here’s what it has to say about increased funding:

Action 1.2 – Leverage alternative funding sources for the sector to support sector sustainability and provide more jobs and opportunities for creative practitioners
Supporting activities
Increase philanthropic and wider private investment in the creative and cultural sectors using lessons learned from previous initiatives.

    • Timeframe: 2025–28

Action 3.6 – Explore initiatives to support increased investment in and access to local screen content; to grow the contribution of the screen industry to New Zealand’s economy and ensure it reflects and develops our cultural identity
Supporting activities

Increase reporting on the sector’s current involvement in local content to encourage further investment.

    • Timeframe: 2025–2030

While there are many wonderful, soft and fuzzy objectives in Amplify, a number of which, if achieved, could help the overall creative sector, there’s nada in it about direct, increased production funding for screen.

Meanwhile, the Fair Digital News Bargaining Bill and the merger of NZ On Air and NZFC have been put on hold. And it’s looking very much like the local content investment “obligations” have been put on hold, too.

In a recent chat with Minister Goldsmith, he told me that the government is looking at tweaking the domestic NZ Screen Production Rebate to make it work better for the local sector. But as I have also said to him repeatedly, we need more funding to make TV and film for the now highly international and competitive market we are in. His reply to date has always been that there won’t be additional funding coming any time soon out of government coffers.

So, how’s 2026 looking for us? Well, not all bad despite what I’ve written so far.

The recent Round Rua funding announcements from NZ On Air have given some production companies Xmas presents and a lifeline into 2026.

The changes in approach and personnel at NZFC are still being welcomed by the industry.

Some international productions shooting in New Zealand are confirmed, and there are possibly more headed our way next year, thanks in great part it would seem to the changes made to international incentives.

Taika, Cliff and Jason (Momoa) have reportedly bought Auckland Film Studios, so there’ll likely be some help there.

But there is still so much more that needs to be done to get us out of the “red” and into the “black”.

It’s worthwhile having a listen to producer Matthew Metcalfe’s interview on RNZ from the weekend for an additional perspective.

In the meantime, summer is officially here, there has been some good weather, and hopefully more to come.

 

Tui Ruwhiu
Executive Director

Last updated on 5 December 2025

/by

Welcome to the 2026 DEGANZ Board

As we wrap up the year and look ahead to 2026, please join us in welcoming the new DEGANZ Board, elected on 18 October at the AGM!

President Ben Powdrell, Vice President Rāhera Herewini-Mulligan (Ngāi Tūhoe/Ngāi Tai/Te Whānau a Apanui), and Treasurer Phil Gore have been re-elected into their respective roles and will continue to lead DEGANZ into the new year. Thank you to them and the returning National Executive members, Martin Brinkler ACE, Chris Dudman, Celia Jaspers, and Rebecca Tansley, for taking on another year of advocating for Aotearoa’s directors, editors, and assistant editors. We warmly welcome new members Jesse Griffin and Kim Webby.

DEGANZ also thanks and acknowledges Te Rurehe Paki, Robyn Paterson, Justin Scott, and Gaysorn Thavat for their time and mahi as they step down.

We look forward to the new board shaping the guild’s strategy and actions for the year to come.

Ben Powdrell

President


Ben is the current president of DEGANZ and a freelance film and television editor with over 20 years of experience in post-production. He most recently edited the feature documentary The Stolen Children of Aotearoa, premiering at Māoriland Film Festival 2025, Miles From Nowhere (Sky, Neon) and Red, White and Brass for Piki Films. Ben is soon to finish his seventh year at Wētā FX, working both as a VFX editor and, most recently, in the marketing team. In 2020, he completed his Master’s in Creative Writing (Scriptwriting) at the International Institute of Modern Letters at Victoria University and has several original projects in development. He is currently co-producing the animated rural zombie comedy series Bloke of the Apocalypse, released in November 2025 on YouTube.

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 New Zealand’s most exciting film editors, successfully working with both arthouse auteur filmmakers and mainstream entertainment. His credits include the critically acclaimed OMAR, a Political Thriller directed by Oscar-nominated & Golden Globe-winning Hany Abu-Assad. It won the Jury Award at the Cannes Film Festival 2013 and received 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 and the box office smash hit 47 METERS DOWN, which was the highest-grossing independent film of 2017. Martin recently co-edited the American ballerina bio-pic JOIKA, directed by James Napier Robertson and Aotearoa New Zealand-based historical drama KA WHAWHAI TONU, directed by Mike Jonathan. TV credits include the first season of costume drama BECOMING ELIZABETH and NZ dramedy MADAM. 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. He is also a member of the American Cinema Editors and DEGANZ.

Chris Dudman


Chris is an Oscar-nominated, multi-award-winning writer, director and producer whose work spans drama, documentary, and commercial filmmaking across a 40-year career in London and New Zealand. Known for his ability to shape human experience into compelling screen stories, he has written and directed acclaimed projects such as Harry, starring Oscar Kightley and Sam Neill (TV3), the award-winning docu-dramas The Day That Changed My Life, and By the Balls (TVNZ). Most recently, he directed episodes of the U.S. true-crime series Murder Is Forever (Discovery ID). He began his career with Blackwater Summer, his Royal College of Art graduation film, which was nominated for a Student Oscar and won multiple international awards. In the commercial world, he is one of Australasia’s most sought-after directors, with campaigns for brands like Nike, Qantas, and Steinlager, earning accolades at Cannes, D&AD, and beyond. Christopher is currently writing, directing, and producing Anglesea, a six-hour psychological thriller series for SKY TV, as well as a feature documentary on Colin McCahon, New Zealand’s most celebrated artist.

Jesse Griffin


Jesse is a director, writer, actor and comic living in Auckland, NZ. He is the co-creator, writer and director of the critically acclaimed TV comedy Educators on TVNZ+. Season 1 won the Bronze award for worldwide comedy streaming at the New York Festivals, and Season 3 won the Silver Award at the same festival, and also the 2023 NZTV award for best comedy. Season 4 is screening on TVNZ+ from November 2025. Jesse was a writer and director on The Office Australia, (Amazon Prime 2024) and is the creator of multi award winning American country music comedy character Wilson Dixon, performing in the UK, Australia and NZ since 2004, writing numerous festival length shows, a comedy series for BBC Radio 2 (The Wilson Dixon Line, 2009) and a comedy special on TVNZ (Wilson Dixon The NZ Tour 2012). Jesse wrote and directed the TV comedy special Last at Eleven (TVNZ 2022); was a director and Creative Executive Producer on comedy series Talkback (TVNZ+, 2021); and writer, director and Executive Producer on Comedy For Cure Kids (TV3, 2012-2015) with the Flight of the Conchords, Taika Waititi, Lorde, Peter Jackson and many more. As writer/director, Jesse has recently finished a short film called Lucky Luke, a comedy about a teenage boy with criminally careless parents featuring Kahukura Royal, Barnie Duncan, Hannah Lynch, Keporah Torrance and Ryan O’Kane. Jesse currently has a feature film in development with the NZ Film Commission titled Childish, about a man with a secret family. It is not autobiographical.

Celia Jaspers


Celia has over 30 years of experience in the industry she loves. She’s equally a director and editor, with the last 20 years producing and directing primetime factual. She’s worked all around New Zealand, independently and for domestic and international networks, 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. She is currently on the national board of DEGANZ and is a judge for the New Zealand Television Awards, The New York Festivals Television & Film Awards and is a selection judge for Dances with Films in LA.

Rebecca Tansley


Rebecca is an award-winning director, screenwriter and producer working across documentary and drama with a particular interest in the arts. She is currently nearing completion of her third feature documentary, TENOR. 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. In 2020, she was awarded a hotly contested NZWG Seed Grant for her screenplay Persistence. Rebecca has written and directed short films, and her film of a live opera won a 2022 NZTV award for Best Entertainment Programme. 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, and IMZ.

Kim Webby


Kim is a veteran documentary director and producer whose career spans over thirty years of film, television, and journalism. Her documentaries and long-form series screen on New Zealand television channels, the UK’s BBC4, and Al Jazeera. As director and producer, her first cinematic feature documentary, The Price of Peace (2015), received four international awards, including Best Documentary at ImagineNATIVE, Jury Prize FIFO in Tahiti, Best Pacific Documentary at the An’u’ru Aboro Film Festival in New Caledonia, and the Rigoberto Menchu Silver Award at the Presence Autotochtone Festival in Montreal. With The Price of Peace, Kim was part of a New Zealand Film Commission female directors’ delegation to GZDOC, the Guangzhou Documentary Festival. The film was also invited to FIPA, Biarritz, and many other international festivals, including the Margaret Mead Film Festival in New York. She is currently co-producing and co-directing the feature documentary Whales, Rats & Kauri with Mike Jonathan and is executive producer on the feature Taiarahia: He Kakahu Tawhito, set in Ruātoki in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. Kim is in development with an ambitious animated hybrid docu-drama, Wandering Ghost, set in the West Coast goldfields in the 1800s and in present-day Wellington.

 

Last updated on 4 December 2025

/by

DEGANZ Members Sweep at NZSA Awards

The New Zealand Screen Awards (NZSAs) took place in late November last month, with a multitude of awards going to DEGANZ members and their work.

DEGANZ was a proud sponsor of two awards this year: the DEGANZ Best Director and Best Editor for Drama Feature. DEGANZ board member Martin Brinkler ACE and Chris Plummer won the DEGANZ Best Editor Award for Joika. The late Lee Tamahori won the DEGANZ Best Director award for The Convert, which was accepted by producers Robin Scholes and Te Kohe Tuhaka on his behalf.

The Gone Season 2, directed by Peter Burger, won the most awards of the night, taking home nine accolades in total. The Convert, edited by member Luke Haigh, also swept up an impressive five awards across the evening.

Ka Whawhai Tonu, directed by Mike Jonothan and edited by fellow members Te Rurehe Paki and Martin Brinkler ACE won the NZ Film Commission Best Feature Film award. Meanwhile, Katie Wolfe was awarded Best Director: Documentary Feature for The Hake Party Incident (her victory walk pictured above).

Multiple members’ mahi in factual series were recognised as well. Motuhaketanga, edited by Cushla Dillon, won Best Documentary Series. The Restaurant that Makes Mistakes, co-edited by Steven Chow, took home Best Reality Series. Grit & Glory, directed by Dan Salmon, edited by Emma Patterson, and produced by Peter Book Bell, won Best Sports Programme.

Check the full list of DEGANZ winners down below:

Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand Best Director: Drama Feature

Lee Tamahori

The Convert

Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand Best Editor: Drama Feature

Martin Brinkler ACE and Chris Plummer

Joika

Best Director: Documentary Feature

Katie Wolfe

The Haka Party Incident

Screen Auckland Best Director: Drama Series

Peter Meteherangi Tikao Burger

The Gone Season 2

NZ On Air Best Drama Series

The Gone Season 2

Directors include Peter Meteherangi Tikao Burger

New Zealand Film Commission Best Feature Film

Ka Whawhai Tonu

Directed by Mike Jonathan

Edited by Te Rurehe Paki and Martin Brinkler ACE

NZ On Air Best Documentary – Series

Motuhaketanga

Editors include Cusha Dillon

Best Reality Series

The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes

Editors include Steven Chow

Best Sports Programme

Grit & Glory

Directed by Dan Salmon

Edited by Emma Patterson

Produced by Peter Brook Bell

 

Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!

 

Last updated on 4 December 2025

/by

‘Lea Tupu’anga / Mother Tongue’ Under Consideration for the Oscars

DEGANZ member Vea Mafile’o‘s incredibly successful short film, Lea Tupu’anga / Mother Tongue, is now under consideration for an Oscar nomination ahead of the 2026 awards.

Writer and actor Luciane Buchanan announced this exciting news via a video tribute on social media, chronicling the short’s journey from idea to execution to now.

Luciane wrote the film as a tribute to her grandmother and was inspired by her experience losing the ability to speak a common language with her. Once Vea was on board as director, the team took it through development before receiving Fresh Shorts funding in 2019. After a Boosted campaign and the long journey through production, the film premiered at Sundance in 2024, being the first Tongan film to play at the prestigious festival. Since then, the film has been travelling the world in various festivals, including Whānau Mārama NZIFF, where it won Best Short Film.

The film has now officially qualified for the Best Live Action Short at the 98th Academy Awards. The last short from Aotearoa nominated in this category was Taika Waititi’s Two Cars, One Night in 2005.

Congratulations to Vea and the team on the exciting news! It has been inspiring to see the film’s stellar festival run and now see it considered for such an internationally acclaimed platform.

 

Last updated on 3 December 2025

/by

‘Secrets at Red Rocks’ Nominated for Three Children’s & Family Emmys

Congratulations are due to DEGANZ members editor Alex Boyd and director David Stubbs for their work on the drama series Secrets at Red Rocks, which has received three Children’s & Family Emmy Award nominations!

Alex is recognised in particular, having earned the series a nomination for Outstanding Editing for a Preschool or Children’s Live Action Programme for their work on episode seven, People We Care About. The show is also nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Preschool or Children’s Series, as well as Outstanding Music Direction and Composition for a Live Action Programme for episode 6, Open Your Mind a Little.

Secrets at Red Rocks follows Jake as he is drawn into a world of mythical creatures and adventure when he finds a sealskin hidden on the rocky shores of his father’s seaside home in Wellington.

The Children’s & Family Emmy Awards are part of the National Emmy Awards, presented by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS). In recent years, NATAS has held awards across a variety of television genres to highlight and honour excellence in each sector. 2026 marks the fourth annual Children’s & Family Emmy Awards, which will be held in March in New York City.

 

Last updated on 4 December 2025

/by