Update: Please see here for the latest update on postponement. The application deadline has been extended to Monday 8 November, 9am.


Call for applications

DEGNZ is delighted to present a workshop for new and emerging Pan-Asian directors, in association with the Pan-Asian Screen Collective. Film and television director Rob Sarkies will share his filmmaking process — from idea development to the edit — revealing how directors can adapt their process from project to project.

This will be a practical, foundational workshop full of practical hints to help you control that beast of a film or series, rather than letting it control you. The focus will be on scripted drama and comedy but documentary filmmakers are welcome.

Sessions will cover:

  • Development process (idea development, script development, working with the funder)
  • Process leading to production (script prep, visual prep, casting)
  • Pre-Production (rehearsal process, binding your collaborators to the same vision)
  • Practical process on set (scene blocking, working with cast, working with your DP)
  • Editorial process (techniques to stop you losing perspective)

About Rob Sarkies

Rob Sarkies

Credit: Matt Grace Photography

Rob’s work spans feature films, series television and commercials. His work includes acclaimed feature Out of the Blue about the Aramoana shootings, Consent based on Louise Nicholas’s fight for justice, Jean about aviator Jean Batten, black-comedy Two Little Boys, Wanted, The Gulf and NZ classic Scarfies.

Workshop Details

When: Dates TBC
Workshop to take place across one weekend; Saturday 9am – 5pm and Sunday 9am – 4pm

Where: TBC

Eligibility

This workshop is open to Pan-Asian members of DEGNZ / PASC. You must be over 18 as of 2 October 2021, and either a Resident, Permanent Resident or Citizen of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Applicants should, ideally, have at least some directing experience on a short film/other screen content OR can demonstrate that they are taking active steps towards directing. If you have a question, please contact tema@deganz.co.nz.

To Apply

Applications Close: Monday 8 November, 9AM

STEP 1: Submit the application form below.

STEP 2: Provide in a max. 2-page PDF:

  • A statement that summarises why you would like to participate and how you might benefit from this workshop as a screen director
  • A brief bio that includes any previous directing experience or training you have done
  • Your filmography

Please email your application to tema@deganz.co.nz. Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.

Application Form

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Made possible with the financial support of the New Zealand Film Commission

NZFC

This workshop is part of a Directors & Editors Guild of NZ initiative aimed at supporting the development of emerging Pan-Asian, Pasifika and Māori directors

Presented in association with Pan-Asian Screen Collective

Here is an update on the Guild’s September workshops and networking events to provide you with a bit of clarity in these uncertain times.

Editors & Assistant Editors Gathering – Wellington (Sep 1)

Cancelled – instead, DEGNZ and our editor board members will host an online gathering for all editors and assistants throughout the motu on September 8. The event will cover the same info we had planned for Wellington and includes time to meet one another in smaller breakouts. Register here >

Table Read Round Three (Sep 11)

Since the Table Read was already planned for online, there are fortunately no changes to announce. With script submissions closing on September 3, there’s still a bit of time to throw your hat in the ring for a chance to diagnose your script with a table read! Learn more >

Directing In the Intimate Zone – Auckland (Sep 12)

Postponed until Tamaki Makaurau is in Level 1. Registrations and applications will reopen once we have a new date.


Thanks for your understanding. This is all the updates we have for now. Stay safe and kia kaha.

We are excited to hear that DEGNZ member Roseanne Liang will serve as a director on Netflix’s live action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender! The series will follow the story depicted in the original Nickelodeon animated show, set in a fictional world of Four Nations, each being home to “benders” who can manipulate elements using martial arts.

Roseanne will direct an unknown number of episodes, alongside Michael Goi (Swamp Thing, American Horror Story) and Jabbar Raisani (Lost in Space, Game of Thrones). She will also serve as co-executive producer according to Deadline.

The series is still very much in pre-production and is reportedly shooting in Vancouver from November.

Congratulations to our member Jaimee Poipoi who has been selected to partake in Write Room Wellington 2021. Jaimee will join the programme’s mentor team as this year’s Producer intern.

Mentors include DEGNZ members Rob Sarkies (Out of the Blue, Scarfies) and Max Currie (Rūrangi, Everything We Loved), as well as Briar Grace Smith (Cousins, The Strength of Water), Karin Williams (SIS, Mou Pirir: A Rarotongan Love Song) and Vicky Pope (Savage, Two Little Boys).

The deadline for submissions to Write Room Auckland has been extended till August 30, 5pm. Write Room Auckland provides industry-leading mentorship for one Auckland-based writer working on a feature film script. Find out more here.

DEGNZ member Rebecca Tansley’s latest short film, The Finding, has been selected for the DC Shorts International Film Festival in Washington DC next month. Written and directed by Rebecca, the short film follows a teenager’s efforts to reconnect with her estranged father, forcing them both to confront a dark secret from their past.

The Finding was shot on 16mm film in Central Otago and Dunedin in between lockdowns last year. It is Rebecca’s second short film, following two feature documentaries and a live opera film.

The Finding is one of only 95 short films selected to screen at DC Shorts, the largest short film festival on the East Coast of the US. The festival runs from September 9-19, both in select cinemas and online (US only).

Congratulations to Rebecca and her team!