John Barnett CNZM, ONZM 1945 – 2025

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Producer John Barnett was at the heart of the NZ film and TV industry pretty much from its formative years through to today. He’s made multiple films, documentaries and TV series, employing thousands of above and below the line people along the way.

Starting out as Endeavour Productions, through South Pacific Pictures and full circle back to Endeavour, he’s produced projects with directors and editors including John Laing, Michael Horton, John Reid, Roger Donaldson, Murray Ball, Niki Caro, David Coulson, Chris Graham, Paul Maxwell, Roseanne Liang, Eric de Beus, Allanah Bazzard and many other highly reputed NZ screen pracitioners—a veritable who’s who of New Zealand screen.

Barney was as good a businessman as he was a producer. He joined the mad rush to exploit the tax loophole that witnessed the biggest output of New Zealand films we’ve ever seen in the period from the late 70s to 1984, when the government shut it down. Nearly every Kiwi producer and director at the time was in on this heyday of NZ films, which saw the setup of the NZ Film Commission and the establishment of the industry we have today. Later, he went on to make South Pacific Pictures the dominant New Zealand production company for decades, picking up a stake in Kura Productions, Satellite Media and rescuing hip-hop label Dawn Raid along the way. He eventually sold his remaining shareholding of SSP to the UK’s All3Media, which had acquired a majority of it previously.

Barney was always a force to be reckoned with. He was highly opinionated about what he thought was good and bad about the New Zealand screen industry. He went a long way in pursuit of his vision for the industry—sometimes too far—but he approached it with a passion for film and TV that was undeniable.

Across his successful career, he earned the friendship and respect of many, and the enmity of a few. I’ve encountered him many times over the years, but I wouldn’t say I knew him well. He was, though, always cordial to me whenever we ran into each other.

He seemed as active as he ever was before he passed, chairing the Vista Foundation, producing his latest TV series Dark City, lobbying government ministers to see things his way about NZ screen, actively developing projects, and I’m sure a multitude of other screen matters I have no knowledge of. Social media posts by screen industry people over the last couple of weeks highlighted the many good turns he did for them.

At his funeral service, I became aware of some of his other pursuits and the esteem in which he was held by those from different communities he belonged to. His wife made a remarkable speech that so eloquently spoke of the man she knew and loved.

John Barnett was certainly indefatigable. And he’s left an indelible mark on New Zealand’s screen industry.

Moe mai rā, John.

 

Tui Ruwhiu
Executive Director

Last updated on 4 September 2025

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The DGA’s Visit to Aotearoa

Last month, the Directors Guild of America (DGA) President Lesli Linka Glatter and Executive Director Russell Hollander visited Aotearoa to connect with the local screen industry. While only here for six days, their schedule was packed and took them to both Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington and Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

While here, Lesli and Russ met with DGA members living in Aotearoa, such as James Cameron and Roseanne Liang, and with local DEGANZ director members.

DEGANZ was thrilled to host Lesli for a special DEGANZ Selects event, moderated by local director and DEGANZ member Rob Sarkies. Lesli and Rob discussed her stellar directing career and creative process. Lesli emphasised “the importance of knowing the story you are telling” when approaching different projects. Her career evades being put in a box with credits including everything from gothic mysteries like Twin Peaks, political thrillers like Homeland and Zero Day, to dramas like Mad Men and Gilmour Girls.

Rob and Lesli speaking at DEGANZ Selects

She also shared insights into the Hollywood and international screen industries, underlining the importance of community in tough times. Lesli began her directing career under the tutelage of Steven Spielberg and is now giving back to the screen community, both through the DGA and by personally mentoring other directors.

Fittingly, Lesli and Russ’ visit coincided with the NZ government’s current review of the Copyright Act 1994. Lesli, Russ and DEGANZ Executive Director Tui Ruwhiu met with the Minister for Arts, Culture, and Heritage, Paul Goldsmith, to inform him of the current situation of the US screen industry and the importance of domestic production.

Pictured from left to right: DEGANZ ED Tui Ruwhiu, DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter, MCH Paul Goldsmith, and DGA ED Russell Hollander.

The current Copyright Act only allows screen directors moral rights to their work, while copyright goes solely to the producer. With the Act under review, Tui and multiple local directors, including Zoë McIntosh, Aidee Walker, and Caroline Bell Booth, have spoken up and advocated for change with both the NZ Herald and The Post.

While speaking with The Herald, Tui commented on the matter,

We have been working for over 20 years now to get directors recognised as one of the authors for economic rights under the Copyright Act. It’s an anomaly that directors are recognised as authors, but only in regard to moral rights. That doesn’t make a lot of sense. There’s a conflict, because the director as the author should also have the economic right associated with it as well.

Lesli also spoke with Perlina Lau of RNZ’s Culture 101 to discuss the importance of ensuring the sustainability of screen directors’ careers. She also discussed the recent changes in Hollywood, the impact of AI, and, of course, her illustrious career.

DEGANZ is very pleased to have facilitated the DGA’s visit to Aotearoa and looks forward to opportunities to work together more in the future.

 

Last updated on 4 September 2025

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Fall into ‘Warren’s Vortex’

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New sci-fi comedy series Warren’s Vortex, edited by DEGANZ board member Martin Brinkler and fellow member Alex Boyd, is out now on TVNZ+.

The show was created by the team behind Wellington Paranormal and shares a similar humour and tone to the police mockumentary. In this series, Warren’s typical suburban life is turned upside down when his teenage daughter, Lucy, is sucked into an interdimensional portal in his shed, and he leaps in after her, traversing alternate Lower Hutt realities.

So far, only two episodes have been released, with four more set to follow. In episode one, Warren and Lucy land in an alternate reality where intelligent refrigerators have taken over the world. The next episode sees them transported to a world where every Kiwi backyard is a reality TV competition with raised stakes.

You can find Warren’s Vortex on TVNZ+ with new episodes dropping on Sundays at 7pm.

 

Last updated on 4 September 2025

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‘Invisible Dragons’ to Premiere at Bend Film Festival

DEGANZ member Victoria Boult‘s newest short film, Invisible Dragons, edited by Jack Woon (DEGANZ), is heading to the Bend Film Festival in Oregon, USA, for its world premiere in October.

The short is set in Aotearoa’s remote bush and is included in the festival’s Indigenous Shorts collection. Nineteen-year-old Ayala treks to the isolated hideout of her estranged father, Stephen — a man who now lives in a ramshackle conspiracy-theorist fortress wearing a lizard suit. Ayala attempts to reconnect over cockroach stew and heartbreak, revealing the death of her mother and begging him to return to reality. As Stephen refuses to budge, the film examines what happens when belief and grief collide.

The short’s script, written by Victoria, was developed at the Show Me Shorts Screenwriting Lab. In 2023, the film received funding through NZFC’s Kōpere Hou – Fresh Shorts program.

Congratulations team!

 

Last updated on 4 September 2025

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Day One Showing Shorts at Show Me Shorts

Day One Hāpai te Haeata is partnering with Show Me Shorts to host the world premiere of this year’s eight Day One Shorts, which involve the work of five DEGANZ members.

Day One is a supportive community that provides rangatahi with the tools, guidance, and opportunities to share stories on screen. Each year, it commissions a series of short films by new filmmakers from across Aotearoa that explore cultural, social and political issues by taking story risks, pushing the envelope, and looking to the future.

Show Me Shorts is Aotearoa’s leading international short film festival, connecting local audiences with short films and sharing Aotearoa’s short films with the world. Its annual competitive festival is Academy Awards® and BAFTA-accredited and screens in more than 35 cinemas nationwide.

In the press release announcing the collaboration, Day One Hāpai te Haeata Executive Director Chris Widdup says,

Since 2017, Day One has commissioned over fifty films from new screen voices, and we are very excited and honoured to be partnering with Show Me Shorts to help connect the filmmakers to as broad an audience as possible for our latest crop of films. For the films to be setting out into the world with the stamp of approval that Show Me Shorts represents is an amazing tautoko.

 

Read more about DEGANZ members’ films below:

O Alofa Nei, O Alofa Nā (Love Me, Love You)

Writer/Director: Giselle Ilaoa

Manaia, a young woman caught between expectation and self-acceptance, finds herself confronting her repressed sexuality when a chance reunion with her first love stirs old feelings.

Ata Pūao

Producer: Angel Kameta

Amid the nightlife of a new city, a young Māori trans woman reckons with safety, isolation, and the fragile bonds of old friendships outgrown — as the promise of belonging rises just beyond the horizon.

Fearlessli

Writer/Director: Lee Li

Producer & Editor: Tyler Redmond

After her gender identity was denied in her homeland, Lee Li, a transgender asylum seeker, embarks on a journey toward belonging, freedom, and self-empowerment.

Frozen – My Eggs and Me

Writer/Director/Co-Producer: Shamin Yazdani

Single and approaching a mid-thirties birthday, Shamin, a first-generation New Zealander, confronts the question she’s long been avoiding: should she freeze her eggs?

 

Show Me Shorts will host the Day One Shorts Premiere at Academy Cinemas Auckland on Saturday, 11 October at 3:45pm. Tickets are sold out!

 

Last updated on 4 September 2025

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