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Wednesday 7 October 2020
Savage Hits One Million at New Zealand Box Office
Savage took over one million dollars at the New Zealand box office in its third week of release and remains in the top ten on the charts in its fourth week.
Only 31 New Zealand films have previously passed $1M at the New Zealand box office.
Savage writer/director Sam Kelly said, “I am proud of the Savage team for crossing this milestone... for all their hard mahi, passion and creativity. It’s been rewarding to see the film land with New Zealand audiences.”
Written and directed by Sam Kelly and produced by Vicky Pope, Savage was inspired by true stories of New Zealand’s street gangs across 30 years and follows Danny at three critical moments of his life as he grows from a boy into the violent enforcer of a gang. More...
Screen Sector Capability Funding
Screen Sector Capability Funding supports the New Zealand screen sector to develop the business and technical capability to meet the challenges of a COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 environment.
The NZFC has allocated up to $550,000 until June 2021, available as a grant across these two strands:
- Support for screen sector organisations.
- Sector wide skills and industry development programmes.
Support for screen sector organisations
This funding will support the vital work that New Zealand screen sector organisations and guilds undertake, enabling them to continue to provide services to their membership and the wider industry.
Applicants can apply for funding to cover costs incurred due to COVID-19 including the loss of income, cancellations of events and other COVID-19 related costs.
Sector wide skills and industry development programmes.
This funding will meet the current and developing needs of the sector that will enable talent to develop, upskill and flourish in a COVID-19 and post COVID-19 world. Industry partners and screen sector organisations may apply for funding to either enhance and/or expand existing programmes or deliver new bespoke programmes of skills and talent development. More....
Congratulations to producer Tweedie Waititi and writer-director Cian Elyse White for their film, Daddy's Girl (Kōtiro) receiving the Department of Post Best NZ Film Award. Congratulations also to Fred Renata, the film's cinematographer who received the Panavision Best Cinematographer award. You will find the full list of award winners here.
Eight short films supported by the NZFC are screening in this year's Show Me Shorts Film Festival which will travel New Zealand through October and November. These are:
Kōpere Hou Fresh Shorts
- Daniel, written and directed by Claire van Beek
- Pain, written and directed by Anna Duckworth
- Daddy's Girl (Kōtiro), written and directed by Cian Elyse White
- Democracy, written and directed by Finnus Teppett
He Kauahi Catalyst Short
- Frankie Jean and the Morning Star, written and directed by Hannah Marshall
Premiere Short
- Zealandia, written and directed by Bruno du Bois
In addition, Aitu (supported through the Māorilands Native Slam programme) and Oranges and Lemons (which received development support through the Fresh Shorts Development Lab) will also screen.
Screen Production Recovery Fund
The Screen Production Recovery Fund Guidelines were published on 17 August 2020. To date,12 applications have been approved.
- Nude Tuesday, produced by Emma Slade, Nick Batzias and Virginia Whitwell, directed by Armagan Ballantyne and written by Jackie van Beek.
- Cousins, produced by Georgina Conder, Ainsley Gardiner and Libby Hakaria, directed by Ainsley Gardiner and Briar Grace-Smith and written by Briar Grace-Smith.
- Reunion, produced by Nadia Maxwell, Ainsley Gardiner and Georgina Conder, written and directed by Jake Mahaffy.
- The Gulf - Series 2, produced by Philly de Lacey, directed by Charlie Haskell, Robert Sarkies and Caroline Bell-Booth and written by Paula Boock and Donna Malane.
- Poppy, produced by Robin Laing and Alex Cole-Baker, written and directed by Linda Niccol.
- The Girl on the Bridge, produced by Cass Avery and Alex Reed, written and directed by Leanne Pooley.
- Whina, produced by Matthew Metcalfe and Tainui Stephens, directed by James Napier Robertson and Paula Whetu Jones, written by James Napier Robertson, Paula Whetu Jones and James Lucas.
- Millie Lies Low, produced by Desray Armstrong and Angela Littlejohn, directed by Michelle Savill, written by Michelle Savill and Eli Kent.
- Rūrangi, produced by Craig Gainsborough, directed by Max Currie and written by Cole Meyers.
- Impossible, produced by Belindalee Hope, written and directed by Gabriel Reid. (short film)
- Boyo & Bunny, produced by Tara Riddell, written and directed by Oscar Enberg. (short film)
We are keen to see more applications underway and encourage productions to register their interest in applying to the Fund.
Extension to COVID-19 Policy
The NZFC COVID-19 Policy has been extended for a further six months until 30 June 2021.
In May 2020, in response to COVID-19 restrictions, the NZFC issued a variation to its policy in relation to the Terms of Trade and Production Funding Guidelines. The policy was to apply to applications up and until 31 December 2020.
The variations were to support producers to continue to package productions in an environment of uncertainty around distribution and financing.
In Cinemas
Coming Soon
Filmmaker Opportunities
Upcoming Finance & Co-Production Markets
United Kingdom & New Zealand Producers Exclusive - Coaching Session on Chinese Market
Online - Free of Charge
16 October 8:30pm
Application deadline: 9 October 2020
Apply here.
Queries: info@bridgingthedragon.com
Bridging the Dragon’s China Project Manager Zhang Fan will give an update on the current landscape of the Chinese film market and Chinese expert Ming Beaver Kwei (Gravity Pictures, THE MEG) will answer participants' questions and give advice.
This informal coaching session is aimed at UK and New Zealand producers who would like to have an update of the latest landscape and a general understanding about the Chinese film market. A maximum of 12 producers will be invited in order to maintain interaction within the group. It would be an advantage to have prior experience in producing feature films and international co-production.
Upcoming Festival Deadlines
Aspen Shorts Fest – Regular deadline Oct 5 / Late deadline Dec 2
Flickerfest International Short Film Festival – Late deadline Oct 9
Rotterdam International Film Festival – Feature film deadline Oct 14
Santa Barbara International Film Festival – Regular deadline Oct 16 / Late deadline Dec 11
Florida Film Festival – Earlybird deadline Oct 16 / Regular deadline Nov 13
San Francisco International Film Festival – Earlybird deadline Oct 19 / Regular deadline Nov 16
Tribeca Film Festival - Earlybird deadline Oct 21 / Official deadline Dec 2
Palm Springs International Film Festival – Late deadline Nov 1
Berlin Film Festival – Feature film deadline Nov 3 / Short film deadline Nov 17
Hong Kong International Film Festival – Earlybird deadline Nov 13
DOCVILLE International Documentary Film Festival Belgium - Regular deadline Nov 30
Tampere Short Film Festival – Deadline Dec 1
CPH: Dox Film Festival – Films completed after Sep 1 2020 deadline Dec 1
Melbourne Queer Film Festival - Regular deadline Dec 4
Doc Edge – Regular deadline Dec 15
Festival and Market News
Shadow in the Cloud had its world premiere in the Midnight Madness section of the Toronto International Film Festival and received the People's Choice Award in the section. Directed by New Zealand's Roseanne Liang and produced by Tom Hern, Shadow in the Cloud stars Chloë Grace Moretz as Flight Officer Maude Garrett. When she boards a B-17 Flying Fortress, clutching a radio bag with top secret contents, strange happenings begin to occur and she finds there’s more to fear than the tormenting crew and encroaching enemy bombers, as she is terrorised by something lurking within the clouds.
The film will follow its Toronto premiere with screenings at AFI Fest in October.
Eight New Zealand film and VR projects have been selected to screen with imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival (Oct 20-25). NZFC funded feature The Legend of Baron To’a and Fresh Shorts funded Daddy's Girl (Kōtiro) will screen in the film programme, along with Māoriland NATIVE Slam short Atua (Brown Bitty, Chantelle Murray, Bailey Poching), Loading Docs short Te Wao Nui (Ngariki Ngatae) with Pluck (Kirsty Griffin, Vivienne Kernick) and Purea (Kath Akuhata-Brown).
VR projects Mataatua (Kat Lintott, Tama Kawha, Nancy Brunning) and NZFC Interactive Development Post Production Fund supported Whakakitenga (Wiremu Grace, Miriam Ross, Paul Wolffram) will be presented in the iNdigital Programme.
Lowdown Dirty Criminals will have its international premiere at the Busan International Film Festival's World Cinema section.
The Legend of Baron To’a screened online at Fantasia International Film Festival, showcased as ‘Closing Night Film’. Director Kiel McNaughton, producer Kerry Warkia and actor Uli Latukefu participated in a live Q&A after the screening. The film has also been selected to screen online to Swedish audiences as part of Lund International Fantastic Film Festival (Oct 28-Nov 1).
Five New Zealand feature films and one short film have been selected to screen at Hawaii International Film Festival (Nov 5-29), which will be officially announced by the festival on Oct 8.
Reunion will have its World Premiere as part of Nightstream Film Festival (Oct 8-11), a virtual event presented by major genre festivals Boston Underground Film Festival, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, North Bend Film Fest, The Overlook Film Festival and Popcorn Frights Film Festival. The film has also been selected to screen in competition for the Mark Urman Award for Fiction Filmmaking at Montclair Film Festival as well as Indie Memphis Film Festival.
The Heart Dances screened with Choreoscope International Dance Festival Barcelona and Golden Prague Film Festival.
The Chills: The Triumph & Tragedy of Martin Phillipps screened as part of In-Edit Film Festival’s online programme for audiences in Brazil and will soon launch for audiences in Spain.
Rūrangi was awarded the AT&T Audience Award for Narrative Feature at the 2020 Frameline Film Festival, the longest-running, largest and most widely recognised LGBTQ+ film exhibition event in the world.
For My Father’s Kingdom has been selected to screen as part of the Centre for Asian Media CAAMFestFORWARD Film Festival (Oct 14-18). The programme will be available online to US audiences.
Mauri will screen as part of the San Diego Asian Film Festival (Oct 23-31) online programme, available for US audiences.
Boy and Eagle vs Shark screened as part of a Taika Waititi Retrospective programme at Cinemateket Trondheim in Norway.
Short film Zealandia has recently screened at La Paz International Film Festival, Cannes Short Film Festival and will next screen online at Grimmfest International Festival of Fantastic Film (Oct 7-11).
Tama Tu will screen CinemaForum Short Film Festival in Warsaw, Poland.
Congratulations go to...
Writer Michele Powles, director Alyx Duncan and producers Lani-Rain Feltham and Emma Slade for Tenderwood being selected as one of the 13 feature film projects participating in the maiden year of ATTAGIRL– a lab dedicated to creating production and distribution pathways for feature films by female and non-binary creative teams. The lab, which began on 10 September, includes three workshops over 10 months focusing on the crafting of innovative story, audience and marketplace strategies aiming to overcome the challenges within an increasingly digitally-focused single market.
Libby Hunsdale, star of upcoming film, Poppy who is a finalist in the Attitude Youth Courage Award. This accolade is awarded to a young person with a disability, whose courage and determination will remind Kiwis of the power of the human spirit, and the quest of young people with disabilities to lead full lives. Attitude Awards winners will be announced at a televised ceremony on 2 December.
NZFC News
Updates to NZFC Rules
The Board have approved a number of updates to the NZFC Rules. These changes include:
- An update to the Conflict of Interest Policy for external contractors. You will find the new Policy here.
- Changes to the Feature Film Finishing Grant. The fund has moved from being administered by the NZFC's Marketing Team to being managed by the Development and Production Team. In addition, the funding cap has reduced from $75,000 to $60,000. You will find the new guidelines for the fund here.
- Changes to the Distribution Grants. The Innovation Grant has been replaced by two grants, Audience+ and Regional Grant and the BOS and VPF grants have been disestablished. You will find the new Distribution Grants guidelines here.
- A sub-committee of the Board has been established to manage certain issues relating to COVID-19. This includes the Screen Production Recovery Fund and Screen Sector Capability Fund.
NZFC Diversity and Inclusion Strategy
The NZFC has an ongoing commitment to increasing diversity and inclusion in the screen industry and is currently in the process of creating a formal NZFC Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. The strategy will address broader issues of diversity and inclusion, focusing on the under representation across the screen sector of, but not exclusively, Māori, women, Pacific Islanders, Asian New Zealanders, LGBTQIA+, gender diverse, those with a disability, those from regional areas and/or from a diverse background.
The NZFC is setting up advisory groups from the Aotearoa New Zealand screen sector to help inform the development and implementation of the strategy; this includes peer reviewing the results of the 2019 Gender, Diversity and Inclusion survey, testing and challenging assumptions and providing advice to the NZFC. The aim is to run these groups in October and November and to engage with screen sector organisations, guilds and regional film offices throughout this process.
Once the strategy is drafted, the proposed priorities of the strategy will be presented to the wider industry for feedback. This will be done online and will be open to all individuals who are interested in providing their insight. Details regarding this stage of the process will be announced in due course.
Updates and results will continue to be shared with the industry as this work progresses.
Kōpere Hou - Fresh Shorts Webinar
The NZFC's Talent Pathways Manager Jude McLaren joined Jackie Dennis from Script to Screen and Fresh Shorts co-ordinator Miriam Smith for a webinar on Thursday 17 September.
The webinar covered the new Fresh Shorts application process, focusing on the first stage and how to put together the best possible Stage One application.
You can view the webinar here.
A second webinar will be held on Thursday 8 October at 5:30pm. You need to register and can do so here.
Screening of Pictures (1981)
The New Zealand Film Heritage Trust - Te Puna Ataata is to host a private screening of the newly-digitised Pacific Films feature, Pictures (1981), in late October at The Roxy cinema in Wellington.
NZ On Screen describes the film as an “…account of pioneering 19th century photographers the Burton brothers, and is set partly in Dunedin during the closing stages of the New Zealand Wars. Produced by veteran John O'Shea…the tale of art, commerce and colonisation was largely well received as a thoughtful essay at revisionist history.”
Invitations have been sent to many of those involved in the original productions, and we have had some lovely feedback with people’s memories of working on the film. The Trust did have difficulty tracking down contact details for some, so if you are aware of someone we may have overlooked, or would like to be invited along yourself, please get in touch with the Film Heritage Trust Coordinator, Amy Tarleton, at info@filmheritagetrust.co.nz.
Staff News
Vicki Jackways has joined the NZFC's Development and Production team as Special Projects Manager, overseeing the Screen Production Recovery Fund.
Vicki began her film industry career in 1984 with TVC production company Flying Fish and has most recently been Head of Marketing for Park Road and Stone Street. She has been on the Board and is the current president of WIFT NZ.
Tom Kelly is working with Vicki as Projects Coordinator.
Tom began his career in the Scotland as production manager of shorts and factual television. Since becoming a New Zealander he has worked on local and international films including Mulan, Coming Home in the Dark, Shopping, and Second Hand Wedding, as well as a wide range of documentary television shows.
Q & A on Screen Production Recovery and Capability Funding
On Thursday 20 August the NZFC hosted its 4th live Q & A event on the recently launched Screen Production Recovery Fund and the four key areas of support to be offered by the new Capability funding.
NZFC CEO Annabelle Sheehan, Head of Development and Production Leanne Saunders and Head of Talent Development Dale Corlett answered over 25 questions posed by moderator Molly Littlejohn (Marketing Coordinator & Social Media Advisor).
You can view the Q&A here.
Board Meeting Dates for 2021
Funds Opening and Closing
The Strategic Training Fund is now open. The application process is now in two stages with the first stage being an expression of interest. The deadline for Stage One of the Strategic Training Fund is 1pm, 12 October 2020. Shortlisted Stage One applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal. You will find more information, including the guidelines here.
Two Te Rautaki Funds, He Ara and Te Aupounamu Māori Screen Excellence Awards are open now. The deadline for both funds is 1pm, 2 November 2020.
You will find the information and guidelines for He Ara here, and that for Te Aupounamu Māori Screen Excellence Award here.
NZ Film On Demand
NZ Film On Demand, the NZFC's video-on-demand platform, offers over 180 feature and short films ranging from recent cinema releases to digitised back catalogue classics.
New releases to the platform include newly digitised classics Middle Age Spread, Sons for the Return Home and Snakeskin, recent releases Vai, Herbs: Songs of Freedom and For My Father's Kingdom, and independent features Camino Skies, Stray and Hilary: Ocean to Sky.
See the full NZ Film On Demand collection and sign up for an account here.
Thanks for keeping up with what's going on in New Zealand film. Got a suggestion for us? Email us at feedback@nzfilm.co.nz.
Ngā mihi,
The NZFC Team