The long-awaited sequel to the 2015 Kiwi cult classicDeathgasm is coming soon! Deathgasm II: Goremageddon, edited by DEGANZ member Brendon Chan, celebrated its world premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, in September. It will visit a few more festivals, such as Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival in Spain andMonster Fest in Australia, before hitting Aotearoa screens with exclusive screenings at Terror-Fi Fest for Halloween.
The film catches up with Brodie a few years after the last demon apocalypse. He’s washed-up, broke, and stuck in small-town purgatory when he learns that a battle-of-the-bands competition is coming to his town. In attempts to redeem himself, he pulls out all the stops to raise his former bandmates from the dead with musical dark magic. With every chord comes blood, guts, and the kind of apocalyptic chaos only Deathgasm can unleash.
Keep an eye out for the wider theatrical release of Deathgasm II: Goremageddon in local cinemas later this year!
DEGANZ members’ work is being showcased across Aotearoa and around the globe at a range of film festivals. It’s always inspiring to see our members’ mahi, whether drama shorts or documentary features, being recognised and shared with wider audiences.
Join us in celebrating these wins by checking out this list of films from 10 members, in both directing and editing roles.
Writer/Director: Agnes Peel-McGregor (professionally known as Bagins)
Agnes’ debut feature Blood and Bark (formerly The Root People) is a quarter finalist for Square Peg Social, the professional development programme from Hollywood heavy hitters Lars Knudsen and Ari Aster. The team behind the wildly popular horror films Midsommar, Hereditary, and more founded the programme to bolster the next generation of filmmakers through one-on-one mentorship and advice from industry professionals.
Set against the brutal backdrop of the Sinai-Palestine campaigns in WWI, the film reveals the unbreakable bond between soldiers and their horses, who were trusted companions that offered comfort, courage, and connection in the face of unrelenting war. Through rich visuals, raw interviews, and immersive reenactments, Devils on Horses brings to life the emotional journey of men who found strength in their steeds.
In rural Aotearoa, Ayala confronts her estranged, conspiracy-obsessed father, Stephen, in his isolated ramshackle fortress — where he now lives as a self-proclaimed lizard person. With her mother’s ashes in hand, Ayala pleads for him to return to reality. But as the line between delusion and belief blurs, Ayala must face a chilling question: what if he’s not entirely wrong?
This narrative short film is continuing its massively successful festival run, heading to the UK for the 44th Cambridge Film Festival, Germany for the Hofer International Film Festival, and continuing its USA run with the Newport Beach Film Festival. The film has travelled to a wide range of festivals across the globe already, including Aotearoa’s own NZIFF and Australia’s MIFF.
In rural New Zealand, a fifteen-year-old girl fights to keep her place among the pack of boys she has grown up with.
This year, 20 short films have been officially selected for the Misty Flicks Film Festival, including three from DEGANZ members!
From heartfelt to haunting, playful to provocative, these shorts celebrate the diversity of voices, genres, and perspectives in Aotearoa filmmaking. They’re proof that powerful storytelling doesn’t need long run times – just vision, courage, and creativity.
PleasureDora
Director and Editor: Mark Prebble
A glitchy AI love companion from the ‘semi-mature’ range and her lonely final customer confront mortality, second chances, and life on the scrap heap.
The Box
Director: Ashley Pitman
Two police officers must lie in wait to ambush their target; however, their mission isn’t exactly what it seems.
Tomorrow
Writer/Director: Christopher Lambert
Middle-aged Marcus feels he is a failure in everything he does. However, one night, while failing in an attempt to end his life, he encounters a mysterious woman in a bar that will change his life forever.
The programme ran in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington across 12 months under the tutelage of industry legends Jane Campion and Phillipa Campbell. As part of the programme, the selected participant directors received funding to create an original short film.
With the festival come and gone, we reached out to our involved members for a reflection on the experience of having their work screened at such a prestigious event.
DEGANZ member Eleanor Bishop wrote, directed, and co-edited her film Girl Time. Inspired by how childhood trauma lives on inside us, the film follows Marianne as she gets ready for a dreaded family dinner. But she is interrupted by two mysterious young girls who appear and ask her to play with them.
It was such an honor to have ‘Girl Time’ screen at Venice and I was so proud to be screened alongside my other Wave in the Ocean filmmakers. It was an inspiring experience seeing brilliant work by other amazing filmmakers and taking part in invigorating conversations with filmmakers and audiences.
Fellow member Brendon Chan edited A Very Good Boy. In the film, a temporarily unemployed father and husband has a visitor while his wife is out of town. A decision he makes to ensure his son’s silence costs him more than he would like, changing their lives forever.
I’m so proud to have been part of something screening at Venice, but honestly, I’m really excited about where filmmaking in Aotearoa is heading. The films have such a confident authorship and if this programme keeps running beyond the two years its had so far, it’s going to have a massive impact.
Wrapping up the DEGANZ cohort is Sam Small, who edited Kurī for writer/director Anya Chaya Scotney. The titular Kurī hasn’t been back home to the rainforest, Te Urewera, since she was bitten on the face by a dog as a child. But after the death of her father, she must return and face the uncertainty of grief — whether she is ready to or not.
I’ve always really believed in Ana’s artistic vision, so when she told me her idea for a short film about a girl who was kind of like a dog – I knew I really wanted to work on it! No matter what sort of accolades are acquired along the way, I think I am always most interested in integrity of story, and AWITO is helping to tell these stories at a level that isn’t seen often in NZ, especially not in short films.
http://degnz.sensedesign.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/AWITO-Venice.jpg4561200admin/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/DEGANZ_logo_home.pngadmin2025-09-17 18:05:442025-09-18 13:43:46Reflections of A Wave in the Ocean at Venice
Show Me Shorts has announced the programme for 2025, marking the 20th anniversary of Aotearoa’s leading short film festival!
This year, the festival will run from 7-27 October at 40 cinemas and community venues across the motu. 83 shorts have been selected and will screen across 11 themed collections, many of which include DEGANZ members.
Check out the full list of DEGANZ’s members involved below:
New Zealand filmmakers are known for their iconic coming-of-age stories, lush farmland locations and rich cultural traditions. They are also celebrated for their innovative world-building and bold, original ideas. The short films in this collection demonstrate all of that and more.
As Jeanie comes to terms with moving from the home she’s known for most of her adult life, she begins to believe a cow on her farm is the reincarnation of her dead husband.
Celebrate twenty years of Show Me Shorts by looking back at some of the most successful and best-loved short films. The acclaimed Kiwi filmmakers behind these movies have built enviable careers, garnering awards and screening their work internationally. Take a nostalgic trip down memory lane to revisit classic Aotearoa New Zealand shorts.
A woman craving solitude escapes to a tiny hut in the mountains, but her dreams of isolation are thwarted by a couple that also turns up for the night.
Filmmakers are the ultimate dreamweavers. In this collection of shorts, step through the looking glass to explore their bold visions and ideas. Help us find a mystical bear, meet misanthropic mermaids, and a boy who used to be a dog. Commune with nature, befriend a gravitational phenomenon, and find yourself playing a game in the underworld. It’s a colourful reverie you won’t want to wake from.
Far from their islands in Te Moana-nui-ā-Kiva, three sisters are raised by their father in a small village in Aotearoa. Rei, Upokoina and Matilda G, share a love of basketball.
Show Me Shorts Film Festival is partnering with Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading filmmaker development organisation, Day One Hāpai te Haeata, to host the world premiere of eight short films.
Manaia, a young woman caught between expectation and self-acceptance, finds herself confronting her repressed sexuality when a chance reunion with her first love stirs old feelings.
Amid the nightlife of a new city, a young Māori trans woman reckons with safety, isolation, and the fragile bonds of old friendships outgrown — as the promise of belonging rises just beyond the horizon.
After her gender identity was denied in her homeland, Lee Li, a transgender asylum seeker, embarks on a journey toward belonging, freedom, and self-empowerment.
Single and approaching a mid-thirties birthday, Shamin, a first-generation New Zealander, confronts the question she’s long been avoiding: should she freeze her eggs?
Designed for emerging to mid-career writers, directors, and producers from Aotearoa New Zealand, this initiative offers the opportunity to develop overseas industry networks, learn and refine filmmaking skills, and gain work experience within selected global film companies.
Litia’s award-winning work spans scripted and documentary. She recently completed a director’s attachment on Big Girls Don’t Cry, and her directorial debut series, Still Here, reflects her commitment to bold, indigenous storytelling. Additionally, she has worked in legal advisory roles, helping her secure the spot for the initiative. She will be joining the acquisitions and development team at Protagonist Pictures in London this October.
In the press release announcing the placements, she shared,
I’m delighted to accept a placement with Protagonist Pictures in London! As a freelance filmmaker, I feel incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work within a world-class company, one that will help me grow both creatively and commercially, while building valuable new connections on this side of the world. I’m excited to bring everything I learn back to our screen stories in Aotearoa and the Pacific. Vinaka vaka levu (thank you) to the NZFC and Protagonist Pictures for making this possible!
http://degnz.sensedesign.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/LT-Placement.jpg4561200admin/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/DEGANZ_logo_home.pngadmin2025-09-17 15:47:202025-09-18 13:49:47Tuiburelevu Heads to London for NZFC International Placement
