Wolfe and Davis Take Home Awards from FIFO 2026

The International Oceanian Documentary Film Festival (FIFO) took place earlier this month in Tahiti, with multiple projects from DEGANZ members in competition and screening in the programme. Join us in congratulating members Katie Wolfe and Mana Hira Davis for winning awards at the festival!

Katie’s The Haka Party Incident took home the 2nd Special Jury Award. The feature documentary details the historical events of May 1, 1979, when a group of young Māori and Pasifika activists, which later became known as “He Taua”, confronted engineering students at the University of Auckland who were rehearsing a “mock” haka for their end-of-year parade. The clash that followed forced the entire nation to confront systemic racism and set in motion a process of real change.

Meanwhile, the Best Fiction Short Film Award went to Pākehā, written and directed by Mana. Set in the 1980s in Aotearoa, a young Pākehā mother’s determination to learn Te Reo Māori exposes her struggles, resilience, and courage, in an inspiring true story of cultural reconciliation.

 

Last updated on 26 February 2026

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DEGANZ Watch List: Trailer Time

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This week’s roundup is all about trailers for soon-to-be-released projects by DEGANZ members, including a memorial docu-drama honouring L. Sgt. Haane Manahi DCM, and a sneak peek into the lives of the wahine in a tiny coastal town with a thriving surf community at the bottom of the South Island.

Check out the trailers below. We look forward to seeing these projects when they are out in the world!

Sgt. Haane

Feature Docu-Drama Trailer

Film Editor: Francis Gelnday

The never-before-told true story of Sgt. Haane from award-winning writer and director Tearepa Kahi. This documentary-drama film follows Lance Sgt. Haane Manahi DCM (Te Arawa, Ngāti Raukawa) of B Company, 28th Māori Battalion, a soldier of extraordinary courage, whose actions proved pivotal in the 1943 battle for the fortified summit of Takrouna, Tunisia.

 

Wahine Waveriders

Documentary Trailer

Co-Director, DOP & Drone Pilot: Zyanya Jackson

Wāhine Waveriders is a documentary celebrating 3 generations of the Pou whanau wāhine and their unique relationship with surf culture on the South Island. The film explores their personal connection to the ocean and celebrates its profound impact on physical and emotional recovery. Through the lens of womanhood across three generations, the film highlights the evolving attitudes toward women in surfing.

 

Last updated on 26 February 2026

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DEGANZ Launches Editor Accreditation

The Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand (DEGANZ) is proud to announce the establishment of the Aotearoa New Zealand Screen Editors (ANZSE) Accreditation for the art of editing.

ANZSE Accreditation recognises a master editor with a significant body of work that consistently meets a world-class standard.

The desire to establish ANZSE was driven by editor board members across the years wanting to recognise the world-class calibre of senior New Zealand editors, to acknowledge the mana and artistry that editors bring to their work, to provide a standard to encourage New Zealand editors to strive for, and to help identify to the international screen industry those New Zealand editors to consider for projects in New Zealand and overseas.

“ANZSE Accreditation is a mark of excellence and sets a standard for New Zealand editors to aspire to in their work and careers,” said DEGANZ President Ben Powdrell. “At the same time, it gives domestic and international producers and directors confidence that the accredited editor has a high level of technical and artistic skill.”

Led by a group of senior New Zealand editors, including DEGANZ President Ben Powdrell, Martin Brinkler ACE, Annie Collins, Tom Eagles ACE, Margot Francis, Peter Roberts and Jonno Woodford-Robinson—and with assistance from the New Zealand Cinematographers Society—a kaupapa and process was established across many months of work to make ANZSE a reality.

The inaugural recipients of ANZSE, whose work, careers and contributions were recognised at the October 2025 DEGANZ Annual General Meeting, are:

  • Annie Collins ANZSE
  • Peter Roberts ANZSE
  • Jonno Woodford-Robinson ANZSE

These recipients make up the ANZSE Accreditation Committee for 2026.

Each year, the ANZSE Accreditation Committee will thoroughly review applications from those seeking accreditation.

A maximum of two ANZSE Accreditations will be awarded each year if the committee considers the applicants to have attained the expected standard.

In exceptional and rare circumstances, the committee may award Honorary Accreditation to an editor whose body of work and reputation are well known and speak for themselves.

Applications for ANZSE Accreditation for 2026 open on 12 February and close on 31 May 2026. Accreditations will be awarded at the DEGANZ Annual General Meeting in September 2026.

A full explanation of ANZSE, required documents, and other support information to make an application is available here on the DEGANZ website.

 

Tui Ruwhiu
Executive Director

 

Last updated on 12 February 2026

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Haigh Edits Roaring ‘Jurassic Park’ Super Bowl Ad

DEGANZ member Luke Haigh edited Taika Waititi’s recent Super Bowl ad: A reimagining of the 1993 classic Jurassic Park, with core cast members Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum reprising their original roles.

When the team’s system drops offline, a friendly Comcast Xfinity employee gets the operation back online, allowing the scientists to have a relaxing weekend in the dinosaur wildlife park and resort. Dern’s Dr Ellie Sattler comments on how bad that could’ve gone, a cheeky nod to the original film’s plot.

The ad screened just after Bad Bunny’s halftime show, which The New York Times reported reached 137.8 million viewers. In America, Super Bowl ads are renowned for being just as entertaining as the game, with some non-sports fans opting to tune in just for the commercial breaks.

It’s great to see a member’s mahi showcased on such a massive scale. Congrats, Luke!

Check out the ad below for some Jurassic Park nostalgia.

 

Last updated on 12 February 2026

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Trailer for New Feature ‘Caterpillar’ Released into the Wild

The trailer for Caterpillar, the debut feature from Chelsie Preston Crayford, edited by DEGANZ member Jonno Woodford-Robinson ANZSE, is out now.

Set in Wellington in 2003, Caterpillar is a sentimental, multi-generational drama about three women living under one roof as the delicate balance of their family begins to unravel. When a grandmother’s mind starts to fail, a teenage girl and her single-mother filmmaker are drawn into a journey that will redefine love, responsibility, and what it means to let go.

The trailer offers a first look at the film’s complicated character relationships, early-2000s setting, and introduces the film’s central visual motif – the Monarch caterpillar and butterfly – a metaphor for transformation, fragility, and resilience.

Caterpillar will be released in local cinemas on May 14, 2026.

 

Last updated on 11 February 2026

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