Dive into ‘Secrets at Red Rocks’

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New family drama series Secrets at Red Rocks, directed by David Stubbs (DEGANZ), is out now on Neon and Sky Go.

The eight-part show is an adaptation of the award-winning novel of the same name by NZ author Rachel King.

Set on the rugged Wellington coast with a distinctly 80s feel, the story follows Jake who is drawn into a world of mythical creatures and adventure. While feeling lost and ignored by the adults in his life, Jake entertains himself by exploring the unique Red Rocks at Ōwhiro Bay, where he stumbles across a sealskin hidden on the rocky shores. He takes it home to keep under his bed and unknowingly tangles himself into a journey of selkie mythology. The show weaves Māori and Celtic mythology into Jake’s coming-of-age tale, connecting nature’s mysterious ways into his path of discovering where he fits into the world around him.

Check out Secrets at Red Rocks on Neon or Sky Go for a fun adventure the whole family will enjoy.

 

Last updated on 9 April 2025

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‘The Stolen Children of Aotearoa’ Premiering Soon

This news piece contains references to systemic child abuse. Please proceed with care.

The Stolen Children of Aotearoa, edited by DEGANZ board president Ben Powdrell and fellow member Trinity Ludlow-Hudson, is premiering later this month at Māoriland Film Festival, followed by a wider release on Whakaata Māori and Māori+.

The feature documentary unearths the chilling history of the systemic abuse of an estimated 250,000 children, many of whom were Māori, between 1950-2019. Led by veteran journalist Aaron Smale, the film investigates the origins of this mass injustice, tracing back to Aotearoa’s colonisation which stripped Māori of their language, culture, and land. Embedded systemic racism led to the forced removal of Māori children from their homes and into the state’s care where they endured rampant and unchecked abuse. The film also exposes the horrors of Lake Alice Hospital, where children were subjected to electroconvulsive therapy and drug-induced punishment—an act now recognized as torture.

Survivors recount their stories, stolen childhoods, and lifelong scars left by trauma. The film also reflects on how the harm caused by the state led to greater issues down the line, highlighting that many young men who endured life in borstals later turned to gangs or spent their lives behind bars.

By highlighting the survivors’ long and brutal fight for justice, the documentary questions if the government’s apology is too little, too late.

The Stolen Children of Aotearoa is premiering at the 2025 Māoriland Film Festival on 28 March. The film will screen on Whakaata Māori on Monday, March 31st, 8.30pm and on Māori+ from April 1st, 2025.

 

Last updated on 13 March 2025

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DEGANZ Members Selected for Melbourne Women Film Festival

Five films from DEGANZ members are in this year’s Melbourne Women Film Festival (MWFF) programme. MWFF showcases work from women and gender diverse filmmakers from Australia, Aotearoa, and the Pacific Islands. This year marks the ninth run of the annual festival and will include retrospective screenings, Q&As with filmmakers and creative personnel, diverse short film sessions, engaging panels, public forums, networking events, and practical workshops.

Congrats to all those selected!

The Almost Midnight Movie Marathon

Grafted

Director: Sasha Rainbow

Writers: Mia Maramara & Hweiling Ow

In a back-to-back screening with the Australian feature T Blockers, Grafted is featured in a night of schlock, horror, gore, and goo!

Grafted is Sasha Rainbow’s debut feature where Mean Girls meets Face/Off. When a brilliant but disfigured Chinese scholarship student is shunned by her fellow classmates at a prestigious New Zealand university, she decides to achieve the popularity she so desperately craves by putting her science studies to a new and terrifying use.

Freshly Squeezed Shorts 1

Cold Feet

Writer/Director: Isla McLeod

Producer: Miryam Jacobi

A six-minute continuous take following a bride-to-be who is having doubts just before she walks down the aisle.

Taurewarewa

Editor: Amanda Mulderry

An inquisitive approach to bipolar disorder in Aotearoa New Zealand, Taurewarewa – a Māori word describing the pressure building as a wave rises – positions the ocean’s moods behind those of the interview subjects as they recount and describe phases of experiencing the disorder.

Bottle Money

Writer/Director: Rebekah Tyler

Co-Editor: Sam Small

16-year-old Nelson plays parent to his younger siblings while their unstable and unreliable Mum wreaks havoc on the household. As the chaos of their world increases, Nelson must decide: how much longer can he stand to love her?

Freshly Squeezed Shorts 2

Lǎo Lao Lǎo Le

Writer/Director: Julie Zhu

Editor: Brendon Chan

When a young boy is left home alone with his increasingly unwell grandmother, he is forced to come to terms with her deterioration

 

Last updated on 8 April 2025

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DEGANZ Watch List: Iwi Politics and Highlighting the Unseen

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This week’s DEGANZ Watch List features a tense drama series centered on Iwi politics and a fun-hearted factual web series highlighting blind and low vision young folks living in Aotearoa.

DEGANZ member Huhana Ruri-Panapa edited the new drama series, End of the Valley while fellow members Julie Zhu and Sheldene Seth co-directed Sight Unseen.

End of the Valley

Drama Series

Editor: Huhana Ruri-Panapa

When a land claim faces opposition, Kaea Williams is drawn into a world rich in heritage and mystery, unravelling the secrets of Ngāti Kiokio. The past and present collide in unexpected ways in this season of End Of The Valley.

 

Sight Unseen

Factual Web Series

Directors: Julie Zhu & Sheldene Seth

Blind rangatahi highlight their (un)sensationalised day-to-day lives, and their honest, funny, silly and serious conversations.

 

To see more recent work from DEGANZ members, check out our last DEGANZ watchlist!

 

Last updated on 28 May 2025

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