DEGANZ members were selected for the 10th annual FilmUp Mentorship Programme!

Kim Webby(writer/director/producer)

Kim is a documentary maker with over 30 years of experience and a dozen documentaries and long-form television series. The Price of Peace, her first feature doco, won four international awards in 2015. Her recent work includes directing three modern art documentaries for television and two features in development.

Marina Alofagia McCartney (writer/director)

Marina is an award-winning filmmaker and scholar. Her last film Vai, an anthology feature that explored 9 Moana Pasifika wahine, opened the NATIVE programme at the 2019 Berlinale and screened in NZIFF, SXSW, Edinburgh Film Festival, MIFF, and more. Additionally, she is a PhD candidate studying Moana Pasifika film.

Tom Augustine (writer/director)

Tom is a well-known Tāmaki Makaurau writer and filmmaker. He won the NZ Writers Guild Seed Advanced Grant (2020) and participated in Script to Screen’s Story Camp (2020) to develop Arsonist, his debut feature screenplay. Other credits include directing and producing The Story of Te Awe for Auckland Museum, his short film Long Time Coming, and many music videos.

This six-month professional development programme, run by Script to Screen, for writers, directors, and producers selects eight filmmakers each year. The participants are supported to take the next steps in their careers through mentorship with an experienced industry professional, group work, and round tables. See the full list of participants.

Congratulations to all our members selected!

Learn professional best practices in this introduction to directing on-screen intimacy.

Participants will receive training on considerations and respectful processes when working on a range of ‘intimate scenes’ in this one-day workshop on September 10. The workshop will be led by intimacy coordinator, actor and director Jennifer Ward-Lealand.

We will start the day with discussion, real world examples and demonstrations. Afterwards, we will practise working with actors on developing intimate scenes in a safe, supportive and creative space. Participants will learn how these processes ensure that the work is consensual, engaging and best serves the story.

Who’s it for?

All drama directors – professionals and film school graduates – welcome. Producers and First Assistant directors are also invited to attend.

Breakout Directors

DEGANZ welcomes directors to apply for 1 of 4 places to direct a scene in the breakouts. Other directors can elect to observe the breakouts.

Breakout directors will take turns directing pairs of actors on an intimate scene under the tutors’ guidance. Upon selection, breakout directors may submit a short, intimate scene for two characters – either with or without dialogue – for consideration ahead of the workshop. We can also provide scene options if preferred.

Breakout directors must have experience directing actors for screen, but don’t need experience with directing intimacy.

About Jennifer Te Atamira Ward-Lealand

A founding member of Intimacy Coordinators Aotearoa, Jennifer is one of the first fully accredited intimacy coordinators in NZ beginning her training with Ita O’Brien (Intimacy on Set, UK) in 2018. As Equity NZ President, she co-authored the Intimacy Guidelines for Stage and Screen in NZ.

Jennifer has taught intimacy workshops for Toi Whakaari, Te Pou theatre, The Actors’ Program, Pan-Asian Screen Collective, Proudly Asian Theatre, Covert Theatre, South Seas Film and TV School, Howick Little Theatre, Catch Casting and The Equity Foundation. She regularly gives seminars at the SWAG/Screensafe Professional Respect Training workshops and other events.

Her intimacy coordinator screen credits include The Wilds (Disney); Creamerie; Heaven and Hell – the Centrepoint Story (Warners); Ahikāroa series 3 & 4; One of Us is Lying (NBC/Universal), Don’t Make Me Go (Amazon) and numerous short films and web series.

Jennifer is also an experienced actor of 40 years and a director and teacher of 20 years.

Jennifer Ward-Lealand

Workshop Details

When: Saturday 10 September 2022, 9:30am – 5:30pm

Where: MTG RM, 2 Kingsland Terrace, Kingsland, Auckland

Cost:
DEGANZ member – Free
Member of other Guild/Screen Association – $75
Non-member – $95

Includes tea/coffee and lunch.

Our Payment and Cancellation Policy

Orange Traffic Light Notes

To keep everyone, and in particular our performers safe, directors must abide by the following:

  • Do not attend if you are sick with COVID-19, cold or flu symptoms or have been asked to self-isolate.
  • Wear a face mask unless you have an exemption.
  • Take a Rapid Antigen Test before the start of the workshop. Tests will be provided by DEGANZ.

To Apply

Applications Close: Monday 5 September, 10AM

Please complete the application form below and email your CV to admin@deganz.co.nz. Your CV should clearly list your directing credits and include details such as festival selection and year, commissioners and/or platforms where your work has publicly screened.

DEGANZ will email you to confirm if your application has been accepted.

Application Form

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

NZFC

After being delayed due to covid, the NZ Industry Skills Survey has been released and you can complete it now.

If you are an employer and HOD, industry professional, or an emerging practitioner across film, TV, VFX, animation, radio (creating screen content), interactive, gaming and digital content creation, you can complete the following surveys to provide insight into your education, skills and training needs.

There are two types of surveys you can complete:

Toi Mai Workforce Development Council and NZFC are undertaking this industry survey as part of a wider Workforce Capability and Development Plan for the screen sector in Aotearoa.

The Workforce Development Plan seeks better alignment between the Screen Industry and vocational training provision, with outcomes that will include a national, sector-informed workforce capability scan and advice to the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) regarding longer-term investment in vocational education and training for careers in screen.

We encourage our members to have a say in this online survey.

What’s the Disabili-Tea, edited by DEGANZ member and alum Brendon Chan is available to watch on Attitude! DEGANZ president Robyn Paterson worked as the executive producer with director and producer Justin Scott. It explores the lives of queer and disabled people in Aotearoa as a six-part anthology docuseries, funded by NZOA.

While drag icon Misty Frequency celebrates autistic and Takatāpui excellence, Ari proudly struts down Karangahape Road with his cane, and Cait and Rimu spill the tea on being misgendered in the healthcare system. The series also delves into living with invisible disabilities and showcases queer and disability pride.

This series offers an authentic look into the experience many non-disabled people do not consider. While highlighting issues of accessibility within society, What’s the Disabili-Tea ultimately celebrates the queer disabled community.

Brendon Chan works as a film and television editor for drama, factual, music videos, TV commercials, and other promotional content. His past credits include The Pact, Albularyo, and short film Blood and Gold.

Congratulations to Brendon and Robyn on the release!

Watch the series

The first two episodes of Hair Now, directed by Michelle Ang (DEGANZ), are available on The Spinoff. The series, edited by Kat Kasajima and made with the support of NZOA, features six Pan-Asian wahine and their relationships with their hair.

Episode one follows Yasmine, a Palestinian Jordanian New Zealander, as she navigates contradictory cultural ideas about hair coverage and removal. Since deciding to wear a hijab at 15, Yasmine finds strength and power in how she presents her hair in the world.

She explains, “Hair is a statement […], and it’s the first thing you can take control of in your own life.” The rest of the episodes follow this ethos. They explore how each woman expresses their identity through the growth, grooming, or removal of their hair.

Michelle is well known for her acting career in projects such as Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Vegas, and Fear the Walking Dead: Flight 462. However, she has been making a name for herself as a director and in 2020, she participated in our Emerging Women Filmmakers Incubator. Her directing credits include the animated short series Riddle Me This, the anthology feature Kāinga, and her new coming-of-age series Self Help.

We look forward to watching the rest of the episodes!

Watch the series