Rehearsal & Performance for Pan-Asian Directors & Actors

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DEGANZ and the Pan-Asian Screen Collective welcome screen directors and actors of Pan-Asian heritage for this Rehearsal & Performance workshop, led by actor/director Jennifer Ward-Lealand.

Pan-Asian participants will get to practise their craft in a fun, supportive environment; expand their knowledge of rehearsal processes; and discover language for rewarding collaborations.

Jennifer (Te Atamira) Ward-Lealand, CNZM, has worked extensively in theatre, film, television, musical and radio for 40 years. She is also an accredited Intimacy Coordinator (Intimacy on Set, UK) for stage and screen. Jennifer is a co-founder of The Actors’ Program and President of Equity New Zealand (since 2007). She is a patron of Q Theatre, Theatre New Zealand and the Te Manu Tīroriori Trust, and a trust board member of the Actors Benevolent Fund.

Her film work includes Desperate Remedies, Vermilion and Dead. TV and web series include Friday Night Bites, Xena: Warrior Princess and intimacy coordinator for Creamerie. She has directed a number of theatre productions and in 2021, directed her first short film, Disrupt, which has been accepted into three international festivals thus far. She is now in post-production as a co-director for the te reo children’s series, Poniponi.

Workshop Details

When: Saturday 18 June, 9:30am – 4pm

Where: St Luke’s Church and Community Centre, 130 Remuera Road, Remuera, Auckland

Cost: DEGANZ / PASC / Equity NZ members – Free
Includes lunch and tea/coffee

Our Cancellation Policy

Open to directors and actors of Pan-Asian descent who are members of either DEGANZ, PASC and/or Equity New Zealand.

Spots are limited as participants will break out into groups to rehearse scenes. We will be taking in five directors and ten actors. These include three standby and observer spots for one director and two actors.

If your name is selected, DEGANZ will contact you directly to confirm your participation.

Preparation

DEGANZ will provide scenes for the class at least one week in advance. Both directors and actors will be expected to do some script prep beforehand.

Orange Traffic Light Notes

For the safety of yourself and others:

  • Do not attend if you are sick with COVID-19, cold or flu symptoms or have been asked to self-isolate.
  • You must wear a surgical or medical-grade mask or higher when indoors. You do not need to wear a mask when acting, eating or drinking, or if exempt from wearing a mask. DEGANZ will supply you with a mask if you need one.
  • Please observe 1 metre physical distancing during scene work.
  • We may organise Rapid Antigen Testing at the start of the day. We will assess this closer to the date.

Register Your Interest

Registrations close Tuesday 7 June, 11AM.

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The Rehearsal & Performance Series is hosted by Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand with the support of Equity New Zealand and funding from the New Zealand Film Commission

This workshop is part of a DEGANZ initiative aimed at supporting the development of new and emerging Pan-Asian, Pasifika and Māori directors

Presented in association with Pan-Asian Screen Collective

Logos NZFC, PASC and Equity NZ

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Members’ Films Head to Sydney Film Festival

The 69th Sydney Film Festival (June 8-19) will be back in cinemas across 12 days and nights, promising to showcase the greatest, strangest and most exciting works cinema has to offer, with a number of DEGANZ members featuring.

Anthology film We Are Still Here will open SFF as well as have its World Premiere. The film is an unparalleled First Nations celebration, interweaving eight stories by 10 directors from Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. That includes DEGANZ members Tim Worrall, Chantelle Burgoyne and board member Renae Maihi.

Conceived as a cinematic response to the 250th anniversary of James Cook’s arrival in this region, We Are Still Here is a poetic and powerful statement of resistance and survival. The other directors involved are Beck Cole, Danielle MacLean, Dena Curtis, Richard Curtis, Miki Magasiva, Mario Gaoa and Tracey Rigney. We Are Still Here is a joint indigenous initiative between Screen Australia’s First Nations Department and the NZ Film Commission.

Nude Tuesday is set to have its World Premiere at the festival as well, featured in the Special Presentations programme. Directed by our member Armagan Ballantyne and written by fellow DEGANZ member Jackie van Beek, the unique comedy, filled with eccentric characters and a made up language, follows a conservative middle-aged couple who try to rescue their failing marriage by attending  a new-age relationship retreat.

Directed and co-written by DEGANZ member Michelle Savill, Millie Lies Low, will have its Australian Premiere at SFF. Praised at the Berlin International Film festival and SXSW, Michelle’s dark comedy is a thoughtful exploration of anxiety and imposter syndrome.

Another Kiwi film having its Australian Premiere is biopic Whina. Directed by James Napier Robertson and Paula Whetu Jones, Whina follows the tumultuous personal journey and unshakeable inner strength that led Whinā to become one of Aotearoa’s most formidable leaders.

Congratulations to our members and safe travels to those heading across the ditch to attend!

Learn more at the Sydney Film Festival website.

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LGBTQ+ Film Festival Directors Q&A

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DEGANZ presents an LGBTQ+ Film Festival Directors Q&A

On June 7, join us for a panel livestream with film festival directors James Wooley (Frameline San Francisco), Andrea Coloma (MIX COPENHAGEN) and Spiro Economopoulos (Melbourne Queer Film Festival).

Being some of the oldest Queer film festivals in the world, each have their own rich histories and stories of how they came to be. In this panel, moderated by filmmaker Kayne Ngātokowha Peters (John the Baptist), our international guests will discuss how their festivals began; the social, political and creative landscape of gay cinema; and how New Zealand filmmakers can submit their films and join their global communities.

Towards the end, we will welcome questions from our online audience.

WHEN: Tue 7 June 2022, 7pm – 8:30pm NZST
WHERE: DEGANZ YouTube Channel

Free live streamed event

RSVP/Follow the event on Facebook

Panellists:

James Wooley (he/him/his) is the Executive Director of Frameline San Francisco, which was founded in 1977 and is the longest-running, largest and most widely recognised LGBTQ+ film exhibition event in the world. Originally from Australia, James has over 10 years’ experience working on over 20 large-scale film festivals, including Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane International Film Festivals.

Andrea Coloma (she/her) is the festival director and programmer for MIX COPENHAGEN, one of the oldest LGBTQ+ film festivals in the world, founded in 1986, as well as the leading LGBTQ+ film festival in the Nordics. Alongside MIX COPENHAGEN, Andrea has been involved in different projects from the development of Norrebro Pride in Copenhagen, which centres QTBIPOCs, to starring on the Danish TV web series, Pain in the Ass (Ondt i Roven) by Rikke Kolding which has been referred to as a “queer game change in Danish TV”.

Spiro Economopoulos (he/him) is the Program Director for the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, one of the largest and oldest LGBTI+ film festivals in the southern hemisphere, beginning in 1991. During his seven years in the role, Spiro has lead the curatorial vision of the festival to enlighten, entertain and celebrate, while delivering a world-class queer film festival.

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Fiona Clark: Unafraid Goes International at Inside Out

Congratulations are in order for DEGANZ member Lula Cucchiara whose feature documentary film, Fiona Clark: Unafraid, is about to have its international premiere at Inside Out Toronto 2SLGBTQ+ Film Festival (May 26 – June 5).

Directed by Lula and edited by Anastasia Doniants, Fiona Clark: Unafraid brings attention to notable queer photographer Fiona Clark and her work, which captured the burgeoning gay liberation movement and vibrant queer scene in 1970’s New Zealand. Giving visibility to the LGBTQI+ community, dismantling prejudice and fighting for equality through the lens of her camera would cement her as one of New Zealand’s historically groundbreaking photographers.

Member Shailesh Prajapati was the film’s assistant editor. Well done to everyone involved in the making of Fiona Clark: Unafraid!

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Doc Edge to Screen Whetū Mārama – Bright Star

Among the films at this year’s Doc Edge Festival is Whetū Mārama – Bright Star. Aileen O’Sullivan (DEGANZ) co-directed this film alongside Toby Mills.

Whetū Mārama – Bright Star is the story of Sir Hekenukumai Ngaiwi Puhipi, aka Hek Busby, and his significance for Māori in rekindling their wayfinding DNA and for all New Zealanders in reclaiming our place as traditional star voyages on the world map.

After playing at the 2021 New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF), Whetū Mārama – Bright Star is screening at this year’s Doc Edge Festival.

The 2022 Doc Edge Festival is running from June 1 – July 10 in Aotearoa, and you can view the full programme now.

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