Jaspers Heading to MIFF’s 37ºSouth: PostScript & Direct

DEGANZ board member Celia Jaspers has been selected for the Melbourne International Film Festival’s (MIFF) 37ºSouth: PostScript & Direct. The programme enables directors, writers, and creatives from Australia and Aotearoa to meet with, pitch to, and network with selected producers.

Celia attended the 2023 programme as a producer and is excited to be returning as a director this time around.

PostScript & Direct (PS&D) will take place 8-11 August 2024 as part of MIFF’s 37ºSouth Market. Along with PS&D, the Market delivers a financing market, screenings for Australian and New Zealand films seeking world sales agents and distribution, and opportunities for IP rights holders to pitch their creative assets for screen adaptations.

We wish Celia a great time at the programme!

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Chamber’s ‘The Lads’ Makes The Women’s List

DEGANZ member and 2022 Incubator alum Mary-Lyn Chambers‘ in-development series The Lads has made The 2024 Women’s List.

The Women’s List is an American screenplay competition to bolster women writers in the screen industry. The selected screenplays receive promotion from The Women’s List on their website and social media. Additionally, the selected writers gain access to exclusive development and networking opportunities.

The Lads is a one-hour drama series set in 1981, Wellington. Amidst the violent anti-apartheid protests against the Springbok rugby tour, a former rugby champion’s daughter goes missing, revealing a buried secret about his involvement in the suicide of a young gay violinist. This revelation and disappearance unravel his marriage, friendships, and everything he thought he knew about his glory days on the rugby field.

Mary-Lyn began working on The Lads during her time in the DEGANZ Emerging Women Filmmakers Incubator in 2022. Since then, she’s developed the project further in Keren Green’s Five in a Room writers programme, a writing residency at the Château de La Napoule on the Côte d’Azur in France, and an Auckland Table Reads. She’s now gearing up to present the project to producers for an international co-production.

Congrats Mary-Lyn; we look forward to seeing where The Lads goes next!

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‘Wheel Blacks: Bodies on the Line’ Coming Soon

Check out the trailer for the new docu-series Wheel Blacks: Bodies on the Line, directed by DEGANZ Board President Robyn Paterson and edited by fellow DEGANZ member Jai Waite.

The series goes behind the scenes of Aotaroa’s wheelchair rugby team as they battle to rise above declining resources for the chance to qualify for the 2024 Paris Paralympics. The series lifts the lid on the dramatic, hard-hitting, and compelling sport played by athletes affected by a disability. It captures the highs and lows of life as a Wheel Black, both on and off the court. While other high-level international teams have high-performance budgets in the millions, the Wheel Blacks have to rely on fundraising, charity, and volunteers. This lack of resources is seeing player numbers dwindle locally – not only are the team fighting for a place at the Paralympics, but also for the future of a sport that has transformed their lives and is a source of inspiration for many.

Robyn and Jai co-produced the series for their production company, Sweet Productions.

In a recent press release, Jai, a former Wheel Blacks player who helped take home the gold at the 2004 Athens Paralympics, says,

Wheelchair rugby and the Wheel Blacks is a taonga I carry within me that was pivotal in my own journey from accident, through acceptance, to thriving in life with a disability. This year we celebrate 20 years from the peak of the sport with Gold at the Athens Paralympics – it’s important to me that we shine a light on the game here in New Zealand and encourage more players to come through.

Wheel Blacks: Bodies on the Line premieres on Sky Open on 18 August, 8.30 pm, before airing on Sky Sport 1 on 19 August, 8.30 pm (episodes airing weekly). All episodes will be available on Neon from 19 August.

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Take a Sneak Peak at ‘Time Bandits’

The trailer for the new Apple TV+ adaptation of the beloved 1981 cult classic Time Bandits is out now! DEGANZ members Jackie van Beek and Armagan Ballantyne have directing credits for an episode each on the 10-episode series.

The action comedy series is an unpredictable journey through time and space with a ragtag group of thieves and their newest recruit: an 11-year-old history buff named Kevin. Together, they set out on a thrilling quest to save the boy’s parents — and the world. Together they stumble upon fascinating worlds of the distant past while seeking treasure, depending on Kevin to shed light on each situation.

The series was created by fellow New Zealanders Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, along with Iian Morris, and was shot here in Aotearoa.

Time Bandits premieres globally on Apple TV+ on 24 July.

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DEGANZ Members in the MIFF Mix

The Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) has announced this year’s programme, with DEGANZ members in the mix. Congratulations to DEGANZ members and editors Dan Kircher and Cushla Dillon and fellow member and director Vea Mafile’o!

From 8-25 August, the festival will present over 250 films from over 62 countries. Alongside its screenings, MIFF hosts a series of industry programs including the Premiere Fund, Accelerator Lab, 37°South Market, and Critics Campus program.

Read more about the selections below:

Features

Bookworm

Editor: Dan Kircher

Following her mother’s hospitalisation, 11-year-old Mildred is left under the care of her estranged father. Worried by her despondent state, he decides to distract her by taking her camping in the New Zealand forest. There, they can seek out the Canterbury Panther, a mythical beast that may prove essential to healing their family. But unexpected forces fight to get to them first.

Short Films

First Horse

Editor: Cushla Dillon

In 1826 Aotearoa, a small girl in an isolated rural setting comes in first contact with two facets of colonisation: a foreign infectious disease and the first horse she’s ever seen. The film is shot in sparkling black-and-white for widescreen, featuring a score by lead actor (and acclaimed musician) Troy Kingi.

First Horse will play in the Accelerator Short 2 programme, previewing the next generation of homegrown directors.

Lea Tupu’anga / Mother Tongue

Director: Vea Mafile’o

Hoping to land employment, a Tongan speech therapist tells a white lie – except a headstrong patient challenges her to reconnect with her heritage. Written by star Luciane Buchanan (The Night Agent) and directed by Vea Mafile‘o (For My Father’s Kingdom, MIFF 2019), this Sundance-premiering film is a poignant story of cultural dislocation and language.

Lea Tupu’anga / Mother Tongue will screen in the Accelerator Shorts 1 programme, a selection of bold works from emerging New Zealand and Australian filmmakers.

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