Documenting Winners

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Last night I attended the Doc Edge Awards 2026, which recognised the best New Zealand and international documentaries submitted to the fest, along with some special awards for contributions to documentary.

Chief among those was the Raye Freedman Legacy Award that went to DEGANZ board member and documentary maker Kim Webby.

This award recognises outstanding female storytellers in the documentary film industry. Kim is a deserved winner.

I’ve known Kim for more than 30 years, from the time she was a current affairs reporter at TVNZ, prior to her move into documentary-making.

As a reporter, she was principled and relentless. As a documentary maker, she has proven herself time and time again as a director and producer of factual TV and feature documentary. Her latest film Unlikely Kin, co-directed with DEGANZ member Mike Jonathan, is showing at Doc Edge over the next month. Don’t miss it.

There were many other notable acknowledgements, but the one I’d like to point out is the Doc Edge Superhero Award 2026 that went to editor Tim Woodhouse. Tim is the long-time collaborator of DEGANZ member, former board member, and NZ doco powerhouse Leanne Pooley.

Tim and Leanne have been a creative team across many of her films and her latest factual series, Choir Games. Perhaps most notable because of the recent passing of Kiwi icon Dame Jools Topp was their work on feature The Topp Twins: Untouchable Girls, which won the hearts of NZ and international audiences alike.

Other key awards that stood out were those that went to Best New Zealand Project Desiderium: What Stood Here, created by Ellie Adams, and Best International Project The World Came Flooding In, created by Van Sowerwine and Isobel Knowles.

I haven’t kept my eye on immersive projects, even though I first noted them at the 2017 Cannes Film Fest when Alejandro González Iñárritu made history with his groundbreaking virtual reality project, Carne y Arena (Virtually Present, Physically Invisible). It was the first immersive work ever presented as an Official Selection at a major film festival.

Immersive has clearly come a long way. You can see the 12 projects on offer at Doc Edge, including the winners, at the Smith & Caughey’s building in the Auckland CBD. It runs daily from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM until July 12.

Even in these difficult times for the screen industry both domestically and internationally, it’s heartening to see that documentary is alive and well, as exhibited through the shorts and features selected for Doc Edge.

The struggle and passion for documentary storytelling, and the heartbreaking stories that get revealed through this medium, were on display last night. None more so than the film that won the Best New Zealand Documentary and Best New Zealand Editing Awards, featherStrength. Filmmaker John Earle, who documented his own journey to meet the relentless demands of raising a child with severe developmental challenges, was near wordless and close to tears both times he was acknowledged for his achievements.

I’ve yet to see the film, but it’s undoubtedly worth watching.

 

Tui Ruwhiu
Executive Director

Last updated on 2 July 2026

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Webby and Cluka Honoured at the 2026 Doc Edge Awards

The 2026 Doc Edge Awards were a successful night for DEGANZ members, with DEGANZ board member Kim Webby receiving the Raye Freedman Legacy Award and fellow member Aaron J Cluka winning the Best Tertiary Film Award for Stoats’ Last Stand.

Held at the Grand Millennium Hotel in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, the awards celebrated outstanding documentaries, immersive projects, and filmmakers from around the world, with more than 30 accolades presented across the evening. The winners were selected by an 11-member jury from Aotearoa and overseas, including DEGANZ board member and documentarian Rebecca Tansley.

After its debut last year, the Raye Freedman Legacy Award is in its second year of honouring a woman who embodies the spirit of Raye Freedman, a passionate supporter of education, music and the arts. Kim was recognised not only for her documentary Unlikely Kin, which screened as part of this year’s festival, but also for her decades-long contribution to documentary filmmaking and journalism. Alongside the award itself, Kim will receive a $5,ooo cash prize.

Aaron received the Best Tertiary Film Award for Stoats’ Last Stand, a short documentary exploring Waiheke Island’s community-led efforts to eradicate stoats, an invasive predator that has devastated Aotearoa’s native birdlife. Backed by iwi, local communities, and sponsors, the project highlights the positive impact of these conservation efforts, with stoat numbers declining and native bird populations beginning to recover.

Executive Director Tui Ruwhiu attended the awards, which he reflected on in his blog ‘Documenting Winners‘ this week.

Congratulations, Kim, Aaron, and all the Doc Edge Award winners!

 

Last updated on 2 July 2026

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DEGANZ Members Represented Across the Latest NZFC Funding Slate

Congratulations to the DEGANZ members among the latest recipients of New Zealand Film Commission funding!

From feature film development and production investment to short film funding and feature film finishing grants, DEGANZ members are represented across an impressive range of projects at every stage of the filmmaking journey.

While many of the projects in development remain under wraps, some of the finishing grant recipients are already reaching audiences. The Weed Eaters has enjoyed a successful festival and theatrical run, while Be Merry is set to celebrate its world premiere at the 2026 Whānau Mārama NZIFF.

We look forward to hearing more about the rest of these projects in due time.

Zahra, no H

Feature Film Development Funding

Writer/Director: Rouzie Hassanova

The Rebirth of Barbara Luggate

Feature Film Production Investment

Director: Jackie van Beek

This Ordinary Life

He Kauahi – Catalyst Short Film Fund

Writer/Director: Ghazaleh Gol

Tamaiti o le mau

He Kauahi – Catalyst Short Film Fund

Producer: Jeremiah Tauamiti

A Dog’s Show

Feature Film Finishing Grant

Director: Alex Galvin

Producers: Celia Jaspers and Mark Westerby

Be Merry

Feature Film Finishing Grant

Writer/Director/Producer: Gwen Isaac

The Weed Eaters

Feature Film Finishing Grant

Director: Callum Devlin

 

Last updated on 2 July 2026

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DEGANZ Members Speaking at Big Screen Symposium 2026

Several DEGANZ members are taking the stage at this year’s Big Screen Symposium (BSS), sharing insights into their work and creative practices. Covering everything from drama and documentary features to the creative dynamics of comedy, te reo series, and master’s research into AI, these sessions offer a look at the ideas, processes, and experiences shaping their work as filmmakers.

DEGANZ will have a table at BSS, so come along to say hi and touch base during the coffee and lunch breaks.

Truth Diggers

Developing a creative voice across local and international contexts.

Vea Mafile’o (DEGANZ) and Ursula Grace Williams are two of Aotearoa’s rising filmmakers, with documentary work spanning For My Father’s Kingdom, Lomu, and Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua – Two Worlds. In this moderated conversation, they reflect on their beginnings and the trajectories that have shaped their practice, explore how stories are carried forward, the realities of working across local and global contexts, and the persistence required for sustaining a creative life.

Feature Firsts

Two emerging directors discuss contemporary learnings from their recent feature debuts.

Callum Devlin (DEGANZ) and Chelsie Preston Crayford reflect on their debut features, The Weed Eaters and Caterpillar, two works that diverge boldly in tone and style. In this moderated conversation with DEGANZ Executive Director Tui Ruwhiu, they will unpack what it means to step up to long-form directing: expanding vision, navigating constraint, leading collaborators, and embracing the discoveries and compromises that shape a first feature in the realities of making work today.

Friends and Neighbours

Australia – New Zealand Creative Collaboration with Causeway Films and The Weed Eaters.

This session brings together the talented New Zealand team behind The Weed Eaters, including director Callum Devlin (DEGANZ), and their Australian Executive Producers, Causeway Films, to explore the many dimensions of collaboration, from grassroots creative partnerships to the realities and possibilities of working across the Tasman. From production and financing through to distribution and discoverability, the conversation examines what each partner brought to the table and how their collaboration expanded the project’s potential.

Seriously Funny Business

Protecting voice, play and risk when developing Screen IP.

DEGANZ board member Jesse Griffin and fellow member Jackie van Beek join this panel of performer-writer-makers to discuss how creatives can protect their voice as commercial pressures and expectations grow louder. Casting a comedy lens over traditional development and production pathways, the session offers practical insights into shaping original ideas for screen, building sustainable creative partnerships, and translating spontaneous comic energy into viable projects capable of connecting with audiences at scale.

Untranslated Selves

Indigenous-language series creators on the power of cultural specificity in a global market.

Bringing together DEGANZ member Richard Curtis & Lea McLean (End of the Valley), Thomas Paʻa Sibbett (Chief of War), and Kiel McNaughton (Tangata Pai), this conversation explores the creative possibilities and practical realities of developing television series partly or wholly in Indigenous languages. From Native Hawaiian to Te Reo Māori, the panel examines how language and culture shape narrative, character and worldview, and what it means to create work that is accountable to community while reaching audiences beyond it.

AI: In Evidence

Exploring AI through practice, research and film – with Screen Music & Sound Guild of Aotearoa.

Filmmaker-researcher Caroline Bell-Booth (DEGANZ) presents early findings from her Master’s research into classifying AI use in New Zealand screen production. Exploring evolving creative workflows, emerging approaches to transparency and the wider implications of AI adoption, her research considers how practical frameworks could support funding agencies, policymakers, practitioners and audiences to make more informed decisions about the use of AI in publicly funded screen production. Caroline is joined by Future Frames co-founder Graeme Revell’s reflections on the opportunities and challenges AI presents for creative practice; the session then turns to Future Frames: NZ AI Short Film Competition.

 

Last updated on 2 July 2026

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Castelltort’s Coming-of-Age Short Secures Proud Voices on Screen Funding

DEGANZ member Mirene Castelltort‘s coming-of-age short Molletes is one of two projects selected for Proud Voices on Screen’s inaugural short film fund, Rainbow Shorts.

Molletes follows eight-year-old Jimena as she navigates her first Kiwi Christmas, caught between holding onto her Mexican heritage and rejecting it in an effort to fit in.

Mirene wrote and will direct the film, with Jennifer Onyeiwu producing.

As recipients of the Rainbow Shorts fund, the team will receive $40,000 in funding, along with mentorship across development, production, and post-production. Proud Voices on Screen board member Thomas Coppell will also join the project as Executive Producer.

Competition was tough, with Rainbow Shorts receiving 39 applications. Proud Voices Executive Director Eloise Verber commented:

We received such a breadth of heartfelt, funny and visually striking short film concepts. It’s an honour to read scripts that filmmakers have put so much time into and we want to thank all of the applicants for sharing their storytelling vision with us. The future of queer cinema is bright.

Congratulations to Mirene and the Molletes team on the win!

 

Last updated on 2 July 2026

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