Oscar-Nominated and Emmy Award-Winning Editor to Mentor Peter O’Donoghue

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The Directors & Editors Guild of NZ (DEGNZ) is thrilled to announce Peter O’Donoghue as the recipient of our 2017 International Editor Mentorship with Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning American documentary editor Doug Blush.

“I’m thrilled at the prospect of working with someone as prolific and talented as Doug,” said O’Donoghue. “His output is gargantuan and his passion for the craft is truly invigorating. Needless to say I plan to squeeze all I can from this great opportunity.”

“I’m very excited to work with Peter O’Donoghue,” said Blush. “We immediately bonded, talking about our mutual appreciation for great storytelling in documentary and challenging and pushing the genre to try new techniques and ideas in editorial and much more.”

Peter is well known for his work with NZ director Florian Habicht. Their first film together was Land of the Long White Cloud in 2008. Their 2011 co-written feature film Love Story (shot in New York) won Best Film, Best Director (Florian) and Best Editor (Peter) at the 2011 New Zealand Film & Television Awards. Their 2014 collaboration – Pulp: a Film about Life, Death and Supermarkets is a UK production showcasing the iconic Brit-pop band Pulp, their enigmatic front man Jarvis Cocker, and their roots in the northern industrial town of Sheffield. Peter was again co-writer and editor. The film had its world premiere at SXSW 2014 in Austin, Texas, and has played in numerous festivals since. It won Best Music Film at the NME 2015 Music Awards in London. Their latest co-written effort is documentary feature Spookers, completed In September 2016.

Doug is an award winning documentary director, editor, cinematographer, and writer who has edited a wide range of major theatrically released documentaries, including crossword puzzle culture Wordplay, the national debt crisis I.O.U.S.A., the hypocrisy of closeted gay politician in Outrage, corporate David and Goliath battles in Beer Wars, and the adaptation of the popular book Freakonomics. He recently was co-writer and editor of the Sundance 2011 Premiere documentary These Amazing Shadows, and consulting editor for the Sundance 2011 Competition documentary Troubadours, as well as executive producer and co-editor of Superheroes in the 2011 Slamdance Documentary Competition and on HBO. In 2012, The Invisible War, which he edited and associate produced with director Kirby Dick, won the Sundance Audience Award and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary.

“Doug and Peter seemed like the ideal match for a mentorship, with each being at major points in their careers,” said Tui Ruwhiu, Executive Director of DEGNZ. “We are excited to see where Peter goes with the knowledge, expertise and career advice that Doug brings in documentary filmmaking.”

The mentorship is an industry professional development initiative funded by the New Zealand Film Commission and managed by DEGNZ. The overall intention of the International Editor Mentorship is to inspire a promising New Zealand editor and demystify the international film industry. The experience offers genuine insight into creative process and engagement with the industry as a whole, while providing a solid platform upon which to build an international career.

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For further information, please contact:
Tui Ruwhiu
Executive Director
Directors & Editors Guild of NZ
tui@deganz.co.nz
021-659-950

Peter O’Donoghue is an award-winning editor / filmmaker from NZ based in Sydney, Australia. He has been working in film and television since 2006 on projects in Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, the U.S. and the UK.
With a background originally in music and writing, picture editing has now become Peter’s main passion – where storytelling, rhythm, atmosphere, music and sound all come together to bring the most out of a project’s vision and material. He also works as a screenwriter and has directed one long-form documentary and two short dramas.
In 2012-2013 Peter was editor on ABC Australia’s landmark documentary series First Footprints (broadcast July/August 2013), produced and directed by Bentley Dean and Martin Butler. As well as co-editing the ABC series with Tania Nehme, his work included a cut down of the 4 episodes to a 2-ep version for Arte France and a 90 minute festival version.
From 2011 to 2013, Peter directed and edited the 52-minute documentary Happy Everyday: Park Life in China, an upbeat reflection on self-censorship among retirees in the closely monitored public spaces of Beijing and Shanghai. The film was financed by South Australia Film Corporation and released in July 2013. It is represented by broadcast sales agent PBS International.
In 2014 Peter worked as co-editor on Chris Pryor and Miriam Smith’s new documentary feature The Ground We Won., about the exploits of a rural NZ rugby team. The film opened theatrically in NZ in May 2015 amid glowing reviews.

Doug Blush A.C.E. is an award-winning director, producer, editor, writer and cinematographer who has worked on over fifty feature documentaries and TV programmes, and has been nominated five times for Best Editing at the Sundance Film Festival.
Doug’s recent credits include the Oscar-winning theatrical hit 20 Feet From Stardom, directed by Morgan Neville, which won him an ACE Eddie Award for Best Documentary Editing. Doug was editor and associate producer of 2012’s Academy Award nominated and double Emmy Award winning The Invisible War, directed by Kirby Dick, and worked with the same team on the Oscar-shortlisted film The Hunting Ground. His latest films as supervising editor include The Music of Strangers and Jim, which won the Audience Award at Sundance 2016 and aired on HBO.
He also co-directed Of Two Minds with wife Lisa Klein, which won both the 2013 EIC Prism and SAHMSA Voice Awards for excellence in films on mental health issues. He is working on a follow-up film with Lisa, The S Word, highlighting the rising activism of suicide survivors against silence and stigma.
Doug has been a visiting professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, Syracuse University and Malaysia Multimedia University, and has taught across Indonesia with the Sundance Institute.

The Directors & Editors Guild of NZ is a not-for-profit membership organisation that represents Directors and Editors in the New Zealand screen industry. This includes Directors and Editors of feature drama and documentary; television drama, documentary and factual programmes; short films; video art; animation; commercials and web content.
DEGNZ’s two primary roles are advocacy and professional development. We:
• are dedicated to promoting excellence in the arts of directing and editing.
• foster collegiality and unity within the screen industry.
• promote members’ creative and economic rights.
• work to improve industry working conditions and remuneration.
• offer professional advice and information on contracts and industry standards and practice.
• offer professional development events, networking opportunities, career advice, dispute resolution, mentoring, workshops, training, discounts and regular news bulletins for members across all levels of expertise, from novices to seasoned professionals.
• are a voice for Directors and Editors in influencing policy in the interest of our members. We do this through our membership of the pan‐industry group SINZ (Screen Industry New Zealand), and by making submissions to government and public officials.
• internationally work co-operatively with other guilds and we belong to the International Affiliation of English‐Speaking Directors’ Organisations (IEASDO).
DEGNZ is Auckland-based with an office in Grey Lynn.
Contact Details:
Directors & Editors Guild of NZ
Level 2, 66 Surrey Crescent
Grey Lynn
P.O. Box 47-294, Ponsonby
Auckland
+64-9-360-2102
admin@deganz.co.nz
www.deganz.co.nz
www.facebook.com/degnz
www.linkedin.com/in/degnz
@degnz_online

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The Rehearsal Room Wraps for 2016

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Another fun Rehearsal Room went down in Auckland with Peter Feeney back to moderate! It is always a treat to have Peter share his insights and everyone felt supported to get the most out of the day. Check out some photos below.

This marks our last ever Rehearsal Room workshop for the year. Make sure you keep an eye out in 2017 when it returns!

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Cathy MacDonald Selected For Director Attachment On Shortland Street

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The Directors & Editors Guild of NZ (DEGNZ), NZ On Air and South Pacific Pictures Limited (SPP) are delighted to announce DEGNZ member and director Cathy MacDonald as the TV Drama Director Attachment on Shortland Steet.

“Shortland Street is an important training ground for drama directors and I’m so chuffed to be a part of it. Huge thanks to the very generous Geoff Cawthorn and Maxine Fleming for the opportunity,” said MacDonald.

“Cathy has made a significant effort to advance her career as a film and TV drama director,” said Executive Director of DEGNZ Tui Ruwhiu. “This attachment on Shortland Street is another major step toward her achieving her goals, and we are thrilled to be able to assist her in this.”

Cathy has over 15 years experience as a director in short film, television and advertising. She has won nearly 20 international awards for my work as a writer/director of promos and branded content including Young Creative at Promax Europe, Best Director at Promax World, Best Campaign at Promax World, and Best Director nominee at the New York Festivals. Her short films have been selected at 12 festivals including BAFTA and Academy Awards qualifiers Encounters Film Festival (Bristol), London International Documentary Festival, Rushes Soho Shorts (London), and Show Me Shorts (NZ).

A fast-paced serial drama in an urban setting, Shortland Street explores the lives and loves of the patients and staff of a modern metropolitan hospital and contains a heady mix of medical crisis, human drama, comedy, romance and suspense. First airing in 1992, Shortland Street celebrates 24 years on air in 2015. With around 40% of all viewers tuning in every night, Shortland Street is regularly the number one show in target demographics 18-39 and Household Shoppers with children. As well as being New Zealand’s most successful serial drama, the show screens in several international territories including Fiji, Australia and Ireland.

MacDonald is now the fifth DEGNZ member director to attach to a New Zealand TV drama series, and the third woman. Started in 2015, the initiative has seen actor and director Matthew Saville attach to director Ric Pellizarri on Screentime’s telefeature Bombshell: The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, actor and director Aidee Walker shadow director Michael Hurst on SPP’s Westside series, director Jamie Lawrence join director Peter Burger on Filthy Productions’ series Dirty Laundry, and director Helena Brooks shadowed Mark Beasley on SPP’s The Brokenwood Mysteries.

The TV Drama Attachment initiative is an industry professional development activity funded by NZ On Air and the production company involved and managed by DEGNZ. It is intended to give emerging drama directors the opportunity to shadow an experienced director through the pre-production, production and post-production process as a means to improve their craft skills.

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For further information, please contact:

Tui Ruwhiu
Executive Director
Directors & Editors Guild of NZ
tui@deganz.co.nz
021-659-950

Cathy MacDonald was trained by the BBC Academy in Working with Actors, Health and Safety and Directing Drama. She attended screenwriting courses at London’s Raindance Academy, and in 2011 won the $30K International Graduate Scholarship to do a Masters of Screenwriting at Central St Martins College London. In 2012 she was funded by Real Ideas Studio California to create a short documentary and attend the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. Back in New Zealand, in 2013 she attended the Script to Screen Short Film Lab where I developed my short narrative drama The December Shipment. In 2014 she self-funded the film and with it made the final shortlist from a global list of nearly 4000 directors in the $150KLexus Short Film Competition. This year she’s gained representation by Sunday Punch, the TVC production arm of The Downlow Concept.

South Pacific Pictures is New Zealand’s largest screen production company and has an international reputation for producing world-class television and film. The company is in its 28th year of operation and to date has produced more than 5000 hours of programming. Drama series and serials, feature films, and more recently, entertainment, reality programming, factual series and documentaries are all part of the programming mix. The current slate includes work for New Zealand, Australian, Canadian and European broadcasters.

The Directors & Editors Guild of NZ is a not-for-profit membership organisation that represents Directors and Editors in the New Zealand screen industry. This includes Directors and Editors of feature drama and documentary; television drama, documentary and factual programmes; short films; video art; animation; commercials and web content.

DEGNZ’s two primary roles are advocacy and professional development. We:

  • are dedicated to promoting excellence in the arts of directing and editing.
  • foster collegiality and unity within the screen industry.
  • promote members’ creative and economic rights.
  • work to improve industry working conditions and remuneration.
  • offer professional advice and information on contracts and industry standards and practice.
  • offer professional development events, networking opportunities, career advice, dispute resolution, mentoring, workshops, training, discounts and regular news bulletins for members across all levels of expertise, from novices to seasoned professionals.
  • is a voice for Directors and Editors in influencing policy in the interest of our members. We do this through our membership of the pan‐industry group SINZ (Screen Industry New Zealand), and by making submissions to government and public officials.
  • Internationally work co-operatively with other guilds and we belong to the International Affiliation of English‐Speaking Directors’ Organisations (IEASDO).

DEGNZ is Auckland-based with an office in Grey Lynn.

Contact Details:

Directors & Editors Guild of NZ
Level 2, 66 Surrey Crescent
Grey Lynn
P.O. Box 47-294, Ponsonby
Auckland
+64-9-360-2102

admin@deganz.co.nz

www.deganz.co.nz

www.facebook.com/degnz

www.linkedin.com/in/degnz

@degnz_online

 

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Latest Table Read Photos

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Table Read

9 November 2016

While the Rehearsal Room was happening down in Wellington on Saturday, the third round of the Guild Table Reads for 2016 was taking place in Auckland at the NZ Writers Guild headquarters.

The feature length script that was read was written by DEGNZ member writer/director Paula W. Jones thanks to a cast of 6 actors who really brought the characters off the page. Check out some pics below!

The Table Reads are a joint initiative between DEGNZ, NZWG and Equity Foundation.

Table Reads will return for more rounds in 2017! If you have a feature-length script in development you’d like to have read, you can apply to go in the draw for future rounds by contacting NZWG: guildhq@nzwg.org.nz.

Open to members of DEGNZ / NZWG. Names remain for subsequent draws.

 

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Rehearsal Room Success with Kathy McRae

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7 November 2016

Kathy McRae led an excellent Rehearsal Room workshop in Wellington on Saturday. Three of our members -Becs Arahanga, Catherine Bisley and Wendell Cooke – took the opportunity to work with actors on a scene from their current projects. A big thank you to Kathy and all the actors and directors who took part. Check out some photos below.

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