NZTV Awards Wins

DEGANZ members swept up multiple awards at the New Zealand Television Awards on 22 November this year.

After the Party, directed by Peter Salmon (DEGANZ), had a particularly successful night winning a record nine awards in total. Peter was acknowledged specifically, winning Screen Auckland’s Best Director for a Drama/Comedy Drama award. The show went on to win NZ On Air’s Best Drama award as well as seven others for acting, cinematography, editing, and script.

Fellow DEGANZ member Jeremiah Tauamiti’s Family Faith Footy: A Pasifika Rugby Story won both the NZ On Air Best Documentary and Best Pasifika Programme awards.

Give Me Babies, part of the Motherhood anthology series, created by members Ankita Singh (writer) and Calvin Sang (director) took home Best Comedy.

Congratulations to Peter, Jeremiah, Ankita, and Calvin on the wins! It’s great to see DEGANZ members getting their kudos at such a significant local industry event.

After the Party

Penny loses everything when she accuses her husband of a sex crime against her daughter’s teenage friend, and no one believes her.

  • NZ On Air Best Drama
  • Screen Auckland Best Director: Drama/Comedy Drama awarded to Peter Salmon
  • Best Actress awarded to Robyn Malcolm
  • Best Supporting Actress awarded to Tara Canton
  • Best Actor awarded to Peter Mullan
  • Best Supporting Actor awarded to Elz Carrad
  • Best Editing: Drama/Comedy Drama awarded to Denise Haratzis
  • Images & Sound Best Cinematography: Drama/Comedy Drama awarded to Dave Cameron NZCS ACS
  • Best Script: Drama awarded to Dianne Taylor

Family Faith Footy: A Pasifika Rugby Story

Celebrating Pasifika rugby players and their communities. A story about small islands, big dreams and the sacrifices made by many to produce some of the world’s greatest players.

  • NZ On Air Best Pasifika Programme
  • NZ On Air Best Documentary

Give Me Babies

Follow the wild ride of a young MMA fighter battling in an illicit underground match for cash to flee New Zealand, all to dodge her mother’s relentless baby demands.

  • Best Comedy

 

See the full list of winners here.

 

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Off to Palm Springs

Aotearoa feature films Tinā and The Moutain, edited by DEGANZ members Luke Haigh and Cushla Dillon respectively, are off to the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival!

This year marks the 36th year of the festival showcasing work from around the world and bringing together filmmakers and film lovers alike. The festival is hosted by the Palm Spring International Film Society, which aims to cultivate and promote the art and science of film through education and cross-cultural awareness.

Tinā

Editor: Luke Haigh

When grief-stricken Mareta takes a substitute teaching role at an elite prep school, she forms a choir to unite the privileged yet disconnected students. As they prepare for an all-school competition, her passion for life is reignited, transforming her students forever in this rousing crowd-pleaser.

 

The Moutain

Editor: Cushla Dillon

Led by the courageous Sam, a trio of enthusiastic young misfits embark on the quest of a lifetime to scale the majestic Mt. Taranaki and unlock its fabled healing powers. Along the way, the brave ragtag crew discovers profound truths about friendship, cultural heritage, and the thrill of adventure.

 

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DEGANZ Watch List: Holiday Edition

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Even though DEGANZ is beginning to wrap up for the year, our members are still dropping new work! Check out this list of new films and series to watch over the holiday period. From drama series to documentaries, there’s plenty of local mahi to keep us entertained until 2025.

A Remarkable Place to Die

Drama Series

Detective Anais Mallory returns home to picturesque Queenstown, only to be faced with shocking homicides. Amongst the mysteries and idyllic scenery, disturbing echoes from her own past emerge.

Directors: Caroline Bell Booth, Peter Burger, Josh Frizzell, and Charlie Haskell

K Road Chronicles (season 4)

Factual Web Series

K Road Chronicles delves into the gritty reality of those living within the margins of society, shining a critical eye on overlooked issues and sharing deeply personal stories of hope and inspiration from our street communities.

Editor: Brendan Chan

Myths and Maidens

Documentary

A rich tapestry of stories from women across Pasifika, delving into the sticky issues of colourism, fat-phobia, and how our societies have been taught to view women of colour across the ages.

Editor: Cushla Dillon

Ram Raid Mums

Documentary

Three resilient mothers struggle to raise their children amongst dwindling support and systemic failures. With nowhere to turn, they discover Mana Inc., a lifeline that sparks hope.

Editors: Te Rurehe Paki and Ben Wildish

Unmasking the Monsters

Documentary

With unprecedented access to NZ Customs’ Child Exploitation Operations Team, this documentary reveals the complex & lifesaving work of our investigators at the frontline of online child abuse crimes.

Editor: Margot Francis

 

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Music to Our Ears: Luping’s ‘Classics Explained’ Wins Best Animated Web Series

Animated web series Classics Explained, directed by DEGANZ member Jo Luping (Incubator 2024), won Best Animated Web Series at the UK Online Web Fest in London this year with its episode on composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. The festival praised the series for its “creative brilliance and [how it] bring[s] characters to life in extraordinary ways.”

The series is a collection of ‘edutainment’ videos exploring the stories and inspirations behind some of the world’s greatest compositions. Through fast-paced and witty episodes, it aims to make the world of classical music more accessible.

Classics Explained is an international effort created in the UK, produced from Aotearoa, and animated in Malaysia by Jo’s animation company, Siung Studio.

You can watch the episode on Sergei Rachmaninoff and more on YouTube.

 

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‘PleasureDora’ PÖFFs Off

PleasureDora, directed and edited by Mark Prebble (DEGANZ), is continuing its successful international festival run. In November, the sci-fi short screened at PÖFF Shorts in Talin, Estonia.

It was aptly selected for the Night Cinema programme, showcasing a range of films where relationships are complex and isolation is crippling, but that every once in a while, we can come together to be better people. PleasureDora fit right with its focus on morality, second chances, and life on the scrap heap when a glitchy AI love companion from the ‘semi-mature’ range meets her final customer.

PÖFF Shorts, part of the Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), is one of Europe’s biggest short film and animation festivals. The Academy Award and BAFTA-qualifying festival highlights bold shorts from international cutting-edge talents. This year, PleasureDora was the only film selected from Aotearoa New Zealand.

Congratulations to Mark and the team for the international recognition!

 

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