Fiona Clark: Unafraid to Feature at New Festival In The Shade

An exciting new film festival is coming to Auckland! Showcasing films featured at this year’s NZIFF, as well as international talent, In The Shade will commence early next year on January 19 and runs until February 1. Fiona Clark: Unafraid is part of the line-up.

DEGANZ member Lula Cucchiara directed the documentary, with Shailesh Prajapati as assistant editor. The film explores radical photographer Fiona Clark and her work, which captured the burgeoning gay liberation movement and vibrant queer scene in 1970’s New Zealand.

The festival will be exclusive to Academy Cinemas and the Hollywood in Avondale, and will include international films sourced from some of the world’s most prestigious film festivals, such as Sundance, Cannes and Toronto.

When speaking of the current state of Auckland’s cinema scene, In The Shade commented that “Auckland is currently in the throes of a big screen drought, the like never seen in our moviegoing lifetimes”. Therefore, quenching Aucklander’s “insatiable hunger for the very best cinema from around the world” is what the festival hopes to do.

Fiona Clark: Unafraid has recently enjoyed a run as part of NZIFF, and will no doubt be an exciting addition to the new In The Shade film festival as well. Other films announced as part of the programme can be found on the festival’s website, with more titles being added in the coming weeks.

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Jackson’s The Beatles: Get Back an Epic Documentary

Glowing reviews have poured in for The Beatles: Get Back, the new docuseries from director Peter Jackson (DEGANZ). Described by some reviewers as a documentary epic, Get Back clocks in at almost eight hours in length. Yet, it’s been described as an “addictive” and “immersive” experience.

Jackson has assembled this three-part documentary entirely from never-before-seen footage of the Beatles from 1969, restored at Park Road Post Production and supported by the New Zealand Screen Production Grant.

The Beatles: Get Back streams exclusively on Disney+.

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Green Wins SAE People’s Choice Award

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A wonderful recognition for writer/director Rachel Ross (2020 Incubator alumna), who has won the SAE People’s Choice Award at the Show Me Shorts Film Festival! Rachel received the award for her film Green, a short comedy drama which delighted audiences nationwide after its world premiere at Show Me Shorts.

Green tells the tale of an estranged father and his daughter Blake who are both diagnosed with life-altering illnesses. The pair decide to smoke weed together for the first time, which becomes healing in more ways than one.

Rachel’s life and her relationship with her father inspired the making of Green. With her father suffering from prostate cancer, and having just been diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease herself, Rachel had a simple plan. With some marijuana in tow, she decided to give her father a visit, and ‘light it up’, so to speak.

When speaking of this decision to smoke weed together to alleviate their pain, Rachel called it “a moment that bound us infinitely closer together, a moment I will never forget.”

After receiving the award, Rachel commented, “This film is an incredibly personal story, I knew it was an important story to be told… I want to thank my WONDERFUL creative team who pulled this together so brilliantly and most importantly my Dad, for without him this story wouldn’t exist.”

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Winner of Piki Pitch Announced, Member Shortlisted

Ankita Singh is this year’s Piki Pitch winner, receiving a $10,000 development prize. A big shout out to our member Hweiling Ow (pictured) for being one of 10 shortlisted writers alongside partner Peter Haynes for their project Jing.

Piki Pitch received 275 submissions, so making the shortlist is no small feat! The selected projects participated in a series of workshops in order to develop their stories and hone their pitching skills. Piki Films is dedicated to maintaining relationships with all of the creatives involved in the workshop programme.

See the full list of shortlisted participants here.

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Barnes Wins 2021 South Pacific Pictures Big Pitch

Well done to Christchurch filmmaker Gaylene Barnes (DEGANZ) whose project Ladies, A Knife was selected as winner of the 2021 South Pacific Pictures ‘Big Pitch’. Gaylene was one of six hopeful teams applying for the $2,500 award. The prize will go towards development, in addition to a complimentary registration to the 2022 SPADA Conference.

The judging panel featured Kelly Martin and Andrew Szusterman of South Pacific Pictures, Steve Barr (TVNZ), Jo Smith (NZFC), Thomas Robins (Sky Originals), and guest judge Jon Landau.

Gaylene said that “the idea has been lingering for quite a few years, and it’s perhaps a story New Zealand doesn’t know it needs right now.”

SPP CEO Kelly Martin called Gaylene’s pitch “a potentially multicultural story which can allow us to talk about what’s happening now by looking back into the past.” Martin said Ladies, A Knife has the potential to “develop characters that New Zealanders can really identify with.”

Congrats Gaylene!

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