Bouchet, Mayow, and Boult Win Big at MIFF

Congratulations to DEGANZ members Prisca Bouchet, Nick Mayow, and Victoria Boult for their recent wins at the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF)!

Prisca and Nick won the City of Melbourne Grand Prix Award for Best Short Film for Lion Rock, one of three short films from Aotearoa to screen at the festival.

Inspired by a trip through Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s spooky Waitākere Ranges, Lion Rock is a unique take on the coming-of-age drama, transforming a routine drive into a mysterious thriller told from the boy’s perspective. The film was produced as part of Jane Campion’s A Wave in the Ocean film school, and premiered at Venice in 2025.

The jury commented on the win, saying,

From its opening frame, Lion Rock draws us completely into a world of striking natural beauty and quietly mounting unease. Within a beautifully contained dramatic structure, Prisca Bouchet and Nick Mayow craft a subtle yet deeply affecting portrait of the shifting balance of power between a son and his mother. The narrative unfolds with remarkable restraint, while the wild coastline of Aotearoa New Zealand becomes an active presence rather than a mere backdrop.

Prisca and Nick both attended the MIFF Accelerator Lab along with a cohort of other Kiwi filmmakers, where they all pitched feature films.

Through the Lab, fellow member Victoria took home the Pitch Competition’s top prize, earning her both bragging rights and a cash prize.

DEGANZ is proud to have supported the attendance of Aotearoa’s filmmakers at MIFF and the Accelerator Lab again this year.

Last updated on 27 August 2026