DEGANZ Members are Showing their Shorts

This year’s Show Me Shorts, Aotearoa’s leading international short film festival, features lots of work from DEGANZ members!

Show Me Shorts’ mission is to connect short film audiences in Aotearoa & share local short films with the world. The festival is globally recognized as an Academy Awards and BAFTA accredited festival. This year, you can catch Show Me Shorts screenings nationwide throughout October.

The Sampler

This collection is described as equal parts moving and silly. Here you’ll find stories of triumph, friendship, fantastic creatures, and familial love.

The Sea Inside Her

Fear takes full shape when a loving grandmother is charged with the care of her young grandchild.

Director: Alyx Duncan

Editor: Adam-Luka Turjak

*The Sea Inside Her is nominated for Toi Whakaari Best Actor and DEGANZ Best Director awards.

Aotearoa – Ka Awatea

The characters in this collection of homegrown short films are making sense of the world after a difficult time or crisis.

What’ll It Be Today?

Two men meet, but struggle to greet.

Director/Writer/Producer: Pulkit Arora

*What’ll It Be Today is also featuring in Auckland & Wellington opening nights.

Honey Kaha

When dinner with her son is ruined by seafood poachers, Honey Kaha must hunt down the colonisers who are responsible and bring them to justice.

Writer/Director: Te Waiarangi Ratana

*Honey Kaha is also featured on Wellington Opening Night and is nominated for Department of Post Best New Zealand Film, Toi Whakaari Best Actor, DEGANZ Best Director, and Studio Butter Best Cinematographer awards.

Payback

When a welfare department’s insidious prejudice can no longer be tolerated, a group of unlikely heroes must decide whether or not to stand up for what is right.

Director: Mia Blake

Co-Producer: Miryam Jacobi (Incubator 2024)

Bottle Money

Nelson plays parent to his younger siblings while their unstable and unreliable Mum wreaks havoc on the household.

Director: Rebekah Tyler

Editors: Sam Small & Dan Pavis

Lea Tupu’anga (Mother Tongue)

A young speech therapist disconnected from her Tongan heritage must find a way to communicate or risk her patient’s life.

Director: Vea Mafile’o

*Lea Tupu’anga is nominated for the Department of Post Best New Zealand Film award.

Dystopian Dreams

Imagine the world as you know it has shifted… forward into the future. The characters in this collection of science fiction short films are grappling with a new reality.

PleasureDora

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.

Director/Editor: Mark Prebble

*PleasureDora also features in Auckland & Wellington opening nights.

Deeper Into Love

The stories in this collection of short films pay homage to romantic love of all kinds.

Vivie

Amy has a love-hate relationship with her vagina. Every time she tries to have sex with a new lover, her vagina Vivie, refuses to play ball.

Director: Hweiling Ow (Incubator 2021)

Co-Producer: Mia Maramara (Incubator 2022)

*Vivie is nominated for Department of Post Best New Zealand Film and Best Screenplay awards.

Cold Feet

A continuous take following a bride-to-be who is having doubts just before she walks down the aisle.

Director: Isla Macleod (Incubator 2023)

Producer: Miryam Jacobi (Incubator 2024)

*Cold Feet also features in Auckland & Wellington opening nights and is nominated for the Best Screenplay award.

Generational Threads

When the characters in these stories find themselves adrift, they lean on their whānau to remind them who they are and that they are loved.

Māori Time

A Māori property developer is forced to confront his fear of death when an ancient skull is unearthed, and a tohunga must be brought in.

Director: Tim Worrall 

*Māori Time is nominated for the Toi Whakaari Best Actor award.

Slashers and Splatters

The films will have you cringing, cowering and crowing with laughter. Aliens, slime, serial killers, travel influencers, tofu with teeth, and toys turned terrifying. Bring a hand to hold.

New Followers

Four influencers embark on the Milford Track, New Zealand’s most famous hike. Found footage exposes cracks in their façade, and jealousy turns to terror.

Editors: Guy Pigden & Samuel Wheeler

Defy Expectations

The stakes are high for the characters in these short films as they try to navigate their paths. Friction comes from fellow passengers on the train or bus, teammates on the court, or friends in the backyard or paddock.

Medicine

When Marjorie and Jack offer their help to a passenger and things take an unexpected turn, one wonders who was actually helping who.

Writer/Director/Producer: William Amos McKegg

Congratulations to our 16 members involved in the selections!

Last updated on 26 September 2024