international newsletter

For Your Consideration

The Dead Lands (2014)

Toa Fraser’s epic action adventure The Dead Lands released in New Zealand cinemas this week, opened at number one at the box office, ahead of Fury. Written by Glenn Standring and produced by Matthew Metcalfe for GFC Films, The Dead Lands is New Zealand’s submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category for next year’s Oscars®. 

The Dead Lands premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and the London Film Festival. Screen Daily said “Toa Fraser has crafted an exhilarating action romp, punctuated by stylish and crunching tight sequences” and The Hollywood Reporter said the “performances are intensely involving as the fiery cast spit out their lines with Shakespearean passion.” New Zealand national newspaper, Sunday Star Times, proclaimed “The Dead Lands is the single most exciting and unashamedly rip-roaring film to come out of New Zealand. Ever.”

International sales agents XYZ Films have closed deals in North America, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Benelux, Turkey, China and the Middle East.  Magnet Releasing will release the film in the US.

Screenings for AMPAS and HFPA members are:

Wednesday, 19 November, 7.30pm at iPic Theatre, 10840 Wilshire Blvd, Westwood

Friday, 28 November, 4pm at Wilshire Screening Room, 8670 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 112, Beverly Hills

If you would like to attend one of these screenings, please RSVP to thedeadlands@gmail.com
tel: +1 212 206 0118

Watch The Dead Lands trailer here

DGA Directors Finder Screening

The Directors Guild of America and the Directors and Editors Guild of New Zealand (DEGNZ) will screen The Dark Horse as part of the DGA’s Directors Finder Screenings. 

Written and directed by James Napier-Robertson and produced by Tom Hern, the film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Lead actor, Cliff Curtis, has been nominated for the Best Actor Award at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards, to be held in Brisbane, Australia on 11 December.

International sales agents Seville have closed deals in Germany, the UK, Benelux, Scandinavia, Turkey, Colombia, Israel, the Middle East and Switzerland.

The Directors Finder Screening is at 2pm on Friday 14 November at DGA theatre 2 on Sunset Blvd. 

If you would like to attend this screening, please email jasmin@nzfilm.co.nz

Watch The Dark Horse trailer here

Antarctica Documentary Submitted to Oscars

US distributor Music Box Ltd has submitted New Zealand documentary Antarctica: A Year on Ice for consideration in the Documentary Feature category for the 87th Academy Awards.   

The film will commence its US theatrical release on 28 November in New York and LA. 

The film was shot by director/producer Anthony Powell using specially modified cameras and time-lapse photography.  Huffington Post’s Michael Sigman, said the film was “Breathtaking! A deeply moving experience. I urge you to see this film."

Watch the Antarctica: A Year on Ice trailer here

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. 

Watch the Hip Hop-eration trailer here

NZ Films In Production

Shooting is currently underway in Manali, India on Beyond the Known World, New Zealand’s first official co-production with India.  A pacey drama, the film tells the story of a New Zealand couple’s search for their missing daughter in the Indian Himalayas. Directed by India’s Pan Nalin and written by New Zealander Dianne Taylor, the film is produced by Matthew Horrocks, Kristian Eek and Gaurav Dhingra.  

Beyond the Known World stars David Wenham, Sia Trokenheim and Emmanuelle Beart. Key support cast include Chelsie Preston-Crayford, Ashok Dhawan, Monish Dev Mohan, Kehar Singh and newcomer Emily McKenzie.

The international sales agent is Arclight. The film will be distributed in New Zealand and Australia by Curious Distribution. 

Production is also underway in Auckland, New Zealand on Born to Dance, a coming-of-age tale about an aspiring hip hop dancer who is invited to audition for the best crew in the country. The film will be directed by Tammy Davis, and eight-time World Hip-Hop Championships winner Parris Goebel will choreograph. 

The US’s Kherington Payne, principal dancer for Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream tour and star of reality show So You Think You Can Dance, will headline alongside film newcomer Tia Maipi, a member of world championship hip hop crew The Royal Family.

International sales agents are Cinema Management Group. The film will be distributed in New Zealand and Australia by Vendetta Films.

And The Award Goes To...

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.”

If you would like to view The Tide Keeper, please email marketing@nzfilm.co.nz

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

International sales are being handled by Film Sales Company. The film was distributed in New Zealand and Australia by Madman for SPP.

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.

If you would like to view Eleven, please email marketing@nzfilm.co.nz

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.

Announcing the award, the international jury said: "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."

If you would like to view The Lake, please email marketing@nzfilm.co.nz

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 ceremony will be held in Brisbane on 11 December.

Work For Us - International Relations Manager (Incentives)

In December 2013, the New Zealand Government announced changes to the structure and level of support for overseas and New Zealand film and television productions to ensure the further development of New Zealand’s screen industry.

The Large Budget Screen Production Grant (LBSPG) and Screen Production Incentive Fund (SPIF) have been combined to form a single scheme called the New Zealand Screen Production Grant (NZSPG). The new grant offers a rebate of twenty per cent for international productions, with an additional five percent grant available for applicants that can meet the significant economic benefits test. So far, Avatar and Power Rangers have entered into agreements to access the five percent uplift and we expect more international productions to be able to benefit in future.  

To assist international productions with accessing the five percent uplift we are seeking to employ an International Relations Manager (Incentives). If you are interested in learning more about this vacancy, please see our website here

If you are interested in learning more about the new incentives structures, please see our website here