newsletter

Now In Cinemas

The Dead Lands (2014) - Now In Cinemas

Directed by Toa Fraser (Giselle, No. 2, Dean Spanley)

Produced by Matthew Metcalfe (Giselle, Dean Spanley, Beyond The Edge)

After his tribe is slaughtered through an act of treachery, Hongi (James Rolleston) – a Māori chieftain's teenage son – must avenge his father's murder in order to bring peace and honour to the souls of his loved ones. Vastly outnumbered by the band of villains, Hongi's only hope is to pass through the feared and forbidden Dead Lands and forge an uneasy alliance with the mysterious 'Warrior' (Lawrence Makoare) a ruthless fighter who has ruled the area for years.

The Dead Lands had a fantastic opening day claiming #1 at the New Zealand box office on 30 October, taking over $80,000.

Showtimes and bookings from Flicks can be made here.

Watch the trailer here.

Rated R16 - Contains graphic violence.

DGA-DEGNZ Directors Finder Screening

The Directors and Editors Guild of New Zealand (DEGNZ) has partnered with the Directors Guild of America (DGA) to provide a Directors Finder screening at the prestigious DGA Theater in Los Angeles on 14 November.

The Dark Horse has been selected to screen, with writer/director James Napier Robertson and producer Tom Hern attending with the support of the NZFC.

The New Zealand Consul-General to Los Angeles, Leon Grice, will host a cocktail event after the screening.

Work For Us - International Relations Manager (Incentives)

The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) is seeking to employ an International Relations Manager (Incentives) to encourage and oversee the implementation of the NZSPG 5% uplift.

For a full job description and details on how to apply please visit the NZFC website here.

Cliff Curtis Nominated for Prestigious Award

Renowned New Zealand actor Cliff Curtis has been nominated for Best Performance by an Actor by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) for his portrayal of Genesis Potini in James Napier Robertson's The Dark Horse. The APSA awards ceremony will be held in Brisbane on 11 December.

Hip Hop-eration In Competition at IDFA

Director Bryn Evan’s documentary feature debut, Hip Hop-eration, will have its international premiere In Competition in the First Appearance section of the 2014 International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). Held from 19-30 November in the Netherlands, IDFA is the world's largest documentary film festival and market.

Produced by Paula Jones and executive produced by Alex Lee, Hip Hop-eration was made with funding from the NZFC. The film follows a troupe of courageous, yet cheeky, senior citizens from Waiheke Island on an extraordinary quest to perform at the World Hip Hop Championships in Las Vegas. 

Hip Hop-eration is showing now in cinemas.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HipHoperationTheMovie Twitter: https://twitter.com/hiphop_eration

In Production

Beyond The Known World

NZ/India co-production

Producers: Kristian Eek, Matthew Horrocks, Gaurav Dhingra (India)

Writer: Dianne Taylor
Director: Pan Nalin

Born To Dance

Producers: Leanne Saunders, Jill Macnab and Daniel Story  
Writers: Hone Kouka, Steve Barr and Casey Whelan
Director: Tammy Davis

Loading Docs CONNECT 2015

Loading Docs is now seeking proposals from New Zealand filmmakers for creative and original three-minute documentary shorts. The theme for 2015 is 'connection'.

Loading Docs aims to produce short documentaries that will captivate and inspire audiences locally and internationally, while also developing and promoting New Zealand filmmaking talent.

In 2015 successful applicants will take part in professional development workshops with support given from Loading Docs producers. Films will be made freely available to view and share online with local and international promotion to achieve maximum exposure for filmmakers.

10 films will be selected. Each film will receive:
• $2,000 production funding.
• An additional $2,000 matched funding to support a crowdfunding campaign. (Loading Docs will match each dollar raised through crowdfunding up to $2,000).
• A colour grade and sound-mix from Toybox and Sale Street Studios up to a value of $1,000.

Proposals must be submitted via the Loading Docs website by 5pm, Monday 8 December 2014.

Visit www.loadingdocs.net to find out more about Loading Docs and to submit a proposal.

Loading Docs is funded by the NZFC and NZ On Air, and is produced by Notable Pictures.

Professional Development Awards

Writer/director Simon Price and producer Georgina Allison Conder have been accepted into the Biennale Cinema College, La Biennale di Venezia with their project, Be Wildebeest.  As one of 12 projects selected out of 200, they each receive a grant of $5,000 to attend. Simon and Allison are the first New Zealanders to participate in this initiative.

Writer/director Alyx Duncan was awarded a Professional Development Award of $5,000 to attend the Busan International Film Festival and Asian Film Market (AFM) in October with her short film, The Tide Keeper. As part of AFM, Alyx was able to attend master-classes by two of her heroes, Bela Tarr (The Turin Horse) and Asghar Farhadi (A Separation) and progress her feature slate.

Writer/director Guy Pigden was awarded a Professional Development Award of $4,777 to attend the screening of, and participate in a Q & A for, I Survived a Zombie Holocaust at the L.A. Screamfest Film Festival in October.  

Writer/director Bryn Evans was awarded a Professional Development Award of $5,000 to attend the IDFA in November in support of Hip Hop-eration.

Actor Cameron Rhodes was awarded a Professional Development Award of $1,900 to attend the Equity 75 Summit of Creativity and Diversity 2014 in Sydney in October. This two-day conference includes workshops, panel debates, and roundtable discussions.

Writer/director David Strong was awarded a Professional Development Award of $2,800 to attend the screening of his short film, The Last Night at the Austin Film Festival in October. 

Ateliers du Cinéma Européen (ACE) Mundus 2015 Call for Applications

ACE is a selective training programme and development centre for experienced independent producers.

The 2015 ACE Mundus programme for non-EU producers will take place from 6-12 April 2015 in Paris, France and Pisa, Italy. This industry event includes consultations, co-production forums, networking meetings, training workshops and one-day seminars, all with a strong European industry focus.

For full details, including eligibility criteria and application information, please visit the NZFC website here.

Screen Industry Survey

A reminder, for those who have received the Statistics New Zealand Screen Industry Survey, to please complete and return it as soon as possible.

The screen industry is a vital part of our economy, contributing over $3 billion last year. The NZFC relies on the information from this survey to provide accurate industry data and to monitor the status of the industry. By contributing to this survey, you are making sure the screen industry has the right information to succeed.

It is essential that anyone contacted by Statistics New Zealand for the industry survey participate. Every screen business is included in the survey, from contractors to production companies to distributors.

If you have any questions, please contact Statistics New Zealand on 0800 333 108 or 64 9 920 9108 or bus@stats.govt.nz.

Kids on Screen

The NZ Children’s Screen Trust and Script to Screen have partnered to present a workshop with Tony Ayres from Matchbox Pictures, Australia, on ‘Writing and Directing for Children and Youth’. The NZFC has supported this workshop with a grant of $2,000. Please see the Script to Screen website for more details on this event. www.script-to-screen.co.nz

Producer International Travel Assistance

Jonathan King received $3,566 to attend Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas with his micro-budget feature, REALITi and to pursue project and career opportunities through meetings in L.A.

Seungsik (Sean) Shin received $3,985 to attend the 2014 KOFIC Industry Forum as part of Busan’s AFM with his proposed Korea-New Zealand co-production, Ghost of Christchurch. 

Emma Slade received $6,000 towards her attendance at the Film London Production Finance Market (PFM) and to pursue meetings throughout Europe and L.A.  

Alex Lee and Paula Jones received $3,500 each to attend IDFA in November to explore slate development opportunities while supporting the screening of Hip Hop-eration.

Due to the increasing number of PITA applications received by the NZFC, we are now ensuring that no one receives further travel support unless full reporting requirements for previous travel support have been met. If producers have received PITA twice within the past two years without any significant progress or outcomes with their project/s, the NZFC is unlikely to support them again without an extremely compelling reason.

Big Screen Symposium Scholarships

The NZFC was pleased to support the following filmmakers to attend the Big Screen Symposium with a ticket to the two-day event and travel grant of $500 each:

• Bonnie Philp 
• Mhairead Connor 
• Paul Glubb

AnimfxNZ Scholarships

The NZFC will support three filmmaking teams to attend a second AnimfxNZ conference this year to be held in Wellington on 21 November. Scholarships will include a one-day pass to the conference and a small travel grant for those from outside the Wellington region.

Further information about AnimfxNZ, including speaker announcements, will shortly be available at www.animfxnz.com

Interested parties should send a letter of application that explains why attendance would be beneficial to you, your projects and your overall career plan. Applicants must also include a brief screen industry-specific CV.

The deadline for scholarship applications is 9am, Friday 14 November. Please email applications to Bonnie Slater bonnie@nzfilm.co.nz.

New Zealand Films On International Screens

Alyx Duncan's The Tide Keeper recently won the Best Animated Short award at the 30th Warsaw Film Festival in Poland. The award was given “for thrilling atmosphere in an oneiric surrounding and visually striking film with a strong intimacy and a wise use of animation”

White Lies (dir: Dana Rotberg) won the Audience Award for Best Overall Film at the 2014 Balinale International Film Festival in Indonesia.

New Zealand short film Eleven (dir: Abigail Greenwood) recently screened at the Uppsala International Short Film Festival (21 October), the Austin Film Festival (26 October, US premiere) and the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival on 30 October.

New Zealand Film Wins Ingmar Bergman Award

Asuka Sylvie's The Lake recently won the Uppsala Award in Memory of Ingmar Bergman at the 33rd Uppsala International Short Film Festival in Sweden.

The festival's international jury had this to say when giving the award: "The Lake is a poetic film about the impermanence of life. In strong images and without words, the film shows us the fragility of our bodies on the one hand, and the strength of our spirit on the other. After parting from his dead wife’s body, an old man washes himself in a lake using the melting water of the ice that has preserved her body, a ritualized way of dealing with her loss and honouring her existence."

International Festivals and Markets

We're always keen to know about the New Zealand presence at international festivals or markets so we can provide any appropriate introductions or other assistance. If you're planning to attend any of the following, please let us know via talentdev@nzfilm.co.nz. 

American Film Market (AFM): 5-12 November 2014

SPA Screen Forever/International Partnership Market (IPM): 16-19 November 2014

International Film Festival Rotterdam/CineMart: 21 January – 1 February 2015

Sundance Film Festival: 22 January – 1 February 2015

Berlinale/European Film Market (EFM): 5-15 February 2015

Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART)/Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF):  23-25 March 2015

Reminder: If you’re travelling internationally, we recommend you download the free KEA app (available for iOS and Android devices) which connects you to Kiwis and NZ-focused events offshore: www.keanewzealand.com

NZ Film On Demand - Recently Released

This week we have launched a new Facebook page for our NZ Film On Demand website. Click here to like the page.

You can now rent/buy the following New Zealand films on the NZFC ON Demand website

Fantail

The Orator

Antarctica: A Year On Ice

Coffee & Allah (short film)

Hope and Wire (2014) Gaylene Preston's three-part drama set in Christchurch after the 2010-2011 earthquakes is also now available as a special presentation. 

Hope and Wire is presented on NZ Film On Demand in three parts, with each part available to rent or buy from $4.99.

Important Dates

2015 Board Meetings (submission deadlines)

17 February - (7 January)
8 April - (25 February)
10 June - (29 April)
5 August - (24 June)
7 October - (26 August)
9 December - (28 October)

2015 Early Development and Documentary Development Deadlines

12 January
2 March
20 April
8 June
27 July
14 September
2 November

Funding decisions are regularly updated on the NZFC website www.nzfilm.co.nz