Monday, 17 October 2022

Alastair Carruthers takes his seat at the Board table

Alastair Carruthers is “honoured and delighted to be a part of the screen sector" as he takes up his new role as the NZFC Board Chair. "It's an exciting and dynamic time in the industry and New Zealand is bursting with talented storytellers through film. The screen sector is a vital and growing part of our economy and maintaining its strength is one of the Board’s key roles” says Carruthers. Following his first board meeting this week, his immediate priority is to begin the recruitment process for a new Chief Executive.

Production Funding Decisions

At an Out-of-Time Board Meeting in September, the NZFC Board approved two new feature films for production financing, totalling over $2.5M.

Grafted (Feature Drama)
Logline: When an awkward but brilliant student wins a scholarship into a prestigious New Zealand University, she finds a new way of achieving the popularity she craves, one bloody body at a time.
Producers: Murray Francis and Leela Menon
Executive Producer: Fraser Brown
Director: Sasha Rainbow
Writers: Lee Murray and Mia Maramara.

fiftyone (Feature Documentary)
Logline: A young Afghan-Kiwi couple journey from New Zealand to Afghanistan to change 51 lives, including their own, in honour of those slain in a terrorist attack in their home town of Christchurch.
Producers: Virginia Wright, Bariz Shah and Saba Afrasyabi
Directors: Gaylene Barnes, Bariz Shah and Saba Afrasyabi
Writer: Gaylene Barnes

Feature Film Finishing Grant
One application to the Feature Film Finishing Grant scheme has been approved since the last newsletter update:
Shut Eye Producer: Eva Trebilco, Writer/Director: Tom Levesque
Logline: To cure their insomnia, a social outcast befriends an ASMR streamer where the lines between friendship and obsession become blurred.

International Co-Development Fund
The ICF aims to support New Zealand producers who are working with an overseas partner on developing feature films and series drama.
One new application has been approved for International Co-Development Funding:
Untitled Jonah Lomu Documentary
Funding Strand: ICF | Feature Film
NZ Producer: Victoria Dabbs, Tahi Productions
NZ Writer: Vea Mafile'o

Extended Screen Production Recovery Fund (X-SPRF)

The Extended Screen Production Recovery Fund – Protection Framework Strand remains open for eligible productions until 31 January 2023. Updates to the Fund criteria to reflect the changes in the operating environment, including the end of the COVID-19 Protection Framework, are under review. Productions that experience disruption during pre-production and the shoot due to COVID-19 events can still apply to this Fund if eligible. NZFC recommend productions continue to adhere to the advice and guidance from ScreenSafe NZ and H&S personnel.

Please ensure you register your intention to apply via email to screenrecovery@nzfilm.co.nz, and carefully read the Guidelines for the Fund before submitting an application.

In September, the COVID-19 Sub Committee approved four applications to the Fund totalling over $780k.

TV SERIES

Tracked: Producer & Writer: Philip Smith, Director: Dean Cornish

My Life is Murder – Aotearoa S2: Producer: Mark Beesley, Writers: Various, Directors: Various

FEATURE FILMS

Te Motu: Producers: Morgan Waru, Polly Fryer, Executive Producer: Carthew Neal, Writers: Maddie Dai, Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu, Director: Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu

Bad Behaviour: Producer: Desray Armstrong, Writer: Alice Englert, Director: Alice Englert

See-Saw Films Masterclass

After delays caused by COVID-19 travel restrictions, the NZFC and See-Saw Films are pleased to announce that a half-day masterclass will take place on Thursday 24 November in Central Auckland and will be conducted by See-Saw Films executives Libby Sharpe (Head of Production, AUS) and Rebecca Hardman (Head of Legal & Business Affairs, AUS). The focus of the masterclass will be on screen producing and financing, using The Power of the Dog and other feature films and series as case studies.

Due to A Wave in the Ocean: Aotearoa Pop Up Film Intensive, Dame Jane Campion is no longer providing a concurrent creative masterclass.

Applications will be open at 1pm Thursday 20 October, and the deadline is 1pm Monday 31 October.

Please ensure you carefully read the updated Guidelines for Applicants before making your application. These will be available to read from Monday 17 October here.

If you have any queries, please contact joel.rudolph@nzfilm.co.nz.

Coming Soon

Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold
In New Zealand cinemas October 20. View the trailer here

In Cinemas

Muru
Currently New Zealand's #1 New Zealand film for 2022 at the Box Office. View the trailer here

In Cinemas

Millie Lies Low
Starring Ana Scotney and Rachel House, In cinemas now. View the trailer here

International News

Middle-earth returned to New Zealand in September with Amazon Prime's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. From costumes to candlesticks, weapons to wigs, the mahi of the predominantly 1,250 Kiwi crew is attracting world-wide praise and attention. The final episode released on 14 October. The series is eligible for NZSPG. (Image Courtesy of Amazon Prime)

M3GAN

We’re excited to see the trailer for Blumhouse horror M3GAN due for release in January. Based on a story by Akela Cooper and James Wan, horror meets sci-fi when toy-company roboticist Allison Williams (Get Out) programs a life-like doll to be her orphaned niece’s companion. Congratulations to the New Zealand crew and cast led by director Gerard Johnstone (Housebound, The New Legends of Monkey), line Producer Jill Soper, casting director Miranda Rivers and DOPs Peter McCaffery and Simon Raby. You can view the trailer here: www.m3ganmovie.com

Festival and Market News

Punch, written and directed by Welby Ings, produced by Robin Murphy and Catherine Fitzgerald, will premiere internationally in the First Feature Competition of Tallinn Black Nights International Film Festival, November 11-27. Short film Rustling, written and directed by Tom Furniss, produced by Morgan Waru, is screening in the festival's PÖFF Shorts Live-Action Competition.

Muru, written and directed by Tearepa Kahi, produced by Reikura Kahi, Selina Joe and Tāme Iti, will have its European premiere at Netherland's Leiden International Film Festival in the Independent: Selections programme. Nude Tuesday, directed by Armağan Ballantyne, written by Jackie van Beek, produced by Emma Slade, Virginia Whitwell and Nick Batzias is also selected, screening in the Bonkers! Competition. The 17th edition of LIFF takes place, November 3-13.

Linda Niccol's Poppy has been acquired by IndiePix Films for distribution in North America. New York based IndiePix distributes a highly curated collection of the best independent films from around the world across all genres. Poppy will be released on a range of digital platforms as well as via the IndiePix Unlimited streaming subscription service (available exclusively through Prime Video). It will also be available for television, educational and non-theatrical distribution.

Following its world premiere at Fantastic Fest, Mister Organ screened to full houses at Beyond Fest in Los Angeles, September 27-October 10.

Whina premiered in North America at the Mill Valley Film Festival, October 6-16.

Mauri, written, directed and produced by Merata Mita CNZM screened at Filmhaus Nürnberg in the Decolonising the Screen programme, September 15-October 26.

Five Aotearoa New Zealand films are selected to screen at the 42^nd Hawai’i International Film Festival running November 3-27.

Kāinga, directed by Julie Zhu, Asuka Sylvie, Michelle Ang, Nahyeon Lee, Yamin Tun, Ghazaleh Golbakhsh, HASH, and Angeline Loo, written by Mei-Lin Te Puea Hansen, Asuka Sylvie, Mia Maramara, Nahyeon Lee, Shreya Gejji, Ghazaleh Golbakhsh, HASH and Angeline Loo, produced by Kerry Warkia, Kiel McNaughton and Shuchi Kothari;
Millie Lies Low, directed by Michelle Savill, written by Michelle Savill and Eli Kent, produced by Desray Armstrong and Angela Littlejohn;
Whina, directed by Paula Whetu Jones and James Napier Robertson, written by Paula Whetu Jones, James Napier Robertson and James Lucas, produced by Matthew Metcalfe and Tainui Stephens;
We Are Still Here, written and directed by Aotearoa New Zealand’s Renae Maihi, Tim Worrall and Richard Curtis, Miki Magasiva and Mario Gaoa, Tiraroa Reweti and Chantelle Burgoyne, and Australia’s Samuel Nuggin-Paynter and Beck Cole, Danielle MacLean, Dena Curtis and Tracey Rigney, produced by Mia Henry-Teirney, Toni Stowers and Mitchell Stanley;
Whetū Mārama – Bright Star, directed and produced by Toby Mills and Aileen O’Sullivan.

United States/New Zealand feature film Ka Pō, directed by Etienne Aurelius, written by Aurelius, Lauren Campi and Mojean Aria, produced by Chelsea Winstanley, Mojean Aria and Etienne Aurelius, is also in official selection.

A Boy Called Piano - The Story of Fa'amoana John Luafutu, directed by Nina Nawalowalo and produced by Katherine Wyeth; Whetū Mārama – Bright Star and We Are Still Here will screen at ImagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, taking place in cinemas October 18-23 and online October 24-30.

Gloriavale, directed and produced by Noel Smyth and Fergus Grady; We Are Still Here and Whina will screen at the Adelaide Film Festival, October 19-30.

Gloriavale will screen at the Byron Bay Film Festival, October 21-30.

Mister Organ, written and directed by David Farrier, produced by Emma Slade and Alex Reed; Gloriavale and Whetū Mārama – Bright Star will screen at the Brisbane International Film Festival, October 27-November 6.

Boy, written and directed by Taika Waititi, produced by Ainsley Gardiner, Cliff Curtis and Emanuel Michael will screen at Kinemathek Bern in the Focus on World Cinema programme, November 16-23.

Short Films

The Ballad of Maddog Quinn, written, directed and produced by Matt Inns, had its world premiere in the Official Fantàstic Competition of Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, October 6-16.

Fetch, written and directed by Sam Gill and produced by Evie Mackay, screened in the My First Slash programme of SLASH Filmfestival Austria, September 22-October 2.

New Zealand director Nathan Morris' My Eyes Are Up Here written by Aminder Virdee, Arthur Meek, produced by Katie Dolan, Vanessa Muir and Naomi Wallwork, screened in The Path of Most Resistance programme of BFI London Film Festival, October 5-16.

Manny and Quinn, written and directed by Siobhan Marshall, produced by Millen Baird and Florence Hartigan, is screening at Newport Beach Film Festival, October 13-20 and Austin Film Festival, October 27-November 3.

Aotearoa New Zealand short films selected to screen at ImagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival are:

Washday, written and directed by Kath Akuhata-Brown, produced by Julian Arahanga, Verity Mackintosh;
A Morning With Aroha, written, directed and produced by Nicholas Riini, co-produced by Diana Baynton;
He Takatāpui Ahau, directed by Alesha Ahdar, produced by Komako A Silver;
The Machine, directed by Isaac Bell, written by Matt Kelleher, produced by Mark J Cassidy;
The Politics of Toheroa Soup, directed by Tiana Trego Hall, produced by Libby Hakaraia, Matilda Poasa, Madeleine Hakaraia de Young;
Chatham Islanders, directed and produced by Kathleen Mantel;
E Rangi Rā (Things Are Different Now), directed by Tioreore Ngatai Melbourne, produced by Libby Hakaraia, Matilda Poasa, Madeleine Hakaraia de Young;
The Brylcreem Boys, directed by Rafer Rautjoki, produced by Mark J Cassidy;
Once Upon a Time in the Bay, directed by Judith Kanatahawi Schuyler,
Te Ringa a Turoa, directed by Bella Wai-Tipene;
Giving Up the Ghost, directed by Libby Hakaraia and Kiel McNaughton, produced by Kerry Warkia;
Disconnected, directed by Maruia Jensen, produced by Angela Cudd;
Manu Masters, directed by Te Waiarangi Ratana, produced by Libby Hakaraia, Matilda Poasa, Madeleine Hakaraia de Young;
fire in the water, fire in the sky, written and directed by Mīria George, produced by Hone Kouka;
Waihere – The Waters that Bind, directed by Matiu Hamuera, produced by Hamuera and Renae Maihi;
The Voyager’s Legacy, directed Bailey Poching, produced by Libby Hakaraia, Matilda Poasa, Madeleine Hakaraia de Young;
The Old Man Next Door, directed by Aidan Otene Dickens, produced by Tamas Molnar.
Short film documentary series The Barber, directed by Kathleen Mantel, produced by Mantel and Orlando Stewart is also selected.

Aotearoa New Zealand short films currently screening at Show Me Shorts Film Festival, October 7-30 are:

Datsun, directed by Mark Albiston, written by Albiston and J. Patrick McElroy, produced by Sharlene George, Gal Greenspan and Andy Mauger;
Perianayaki, directed by Bala Murali Shingade, written and produced by Shreya Gejji; Sista, directed by Chantelle Burgoyne, written by Burgoyne and Leilani Tamu, produced by Marina Alofagia McCartney;
Breathe, written and directed by Stephen Kang, produced by Mhairead Connor.
Small Waves, directed by Matthew Walker, written by Fallstaff Dowling-Mitchell, produced by Maxime Lahaye;
King Tupac, directed by Sebastian Vidal-Bustamante, written by Vidal-Bustamante and Andres Gomez, produced by Jordana Guerra, James Smith-Harvey, Ako For Niños;
Atali’i O Le Crezent (Sons of the Crezent), directed by Brendan Canty, written by Canty and Villa Junior Lemanu, produced by Valentine Taylor, Roberto Nascimento, Belinda Bradley and Perry Bradley;
Time Tourists, written and directed by Ian Sweeney, produced by Arthur Machado;
Out of Service, written and directed by Sean Max, produced by Yunfei Wang;
Disrupt, directed by Jennifer Te Atamira Ward-Lealand, written by Aroha Awarau, produced by Peata Melbourne;
The Difference Between Pipi and Pūpū, written and directed by Tajim Mohammed-Kapa, produced by Angela Cudd;
The Finding, written and directed by Rebecca Tansley, produced by Tansley and Sue Marshall;
Floundering, written and directed by William McKegg, produced by McKegg, Maile Daugherty and Wendie Hall;
Blue Smoke, directed by Ivan Barge, written by Matthew Harris, produced by Barge, Harris and Ferris Bradley;
女儿来了 (My Daughter is Coming), written and directed by Lina Tianyue Hu, produced by Jen U-Win Huang;
Hand in Hand, written and directed by Shelley Waddams, produced by Georgia Hoskins-Smith;
Disconnected, directed by Maruia Jensen, produced by Angela Cudd;
Manny and Quinn, written and directed by Siobhan Marshall, produced by Millen Baird and Florence Hartigan.

An Isaac Bell Spotlight is also screening in the Show Me Shorts online programme, showcasing five of Bell’s short films and music videos.

Congratulations goes to...

Muru is New Zealand’s contender for the 2023 Academy Awards Best International Feature Film category, nominated by the New Zealand Selection Committee. A shortlist of 15 finalists is set to be announced on December 21 with the final five nominees announced on January 24, 2023. Press release here

Muru has been awarded the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA) Cultural Diversity Award under the Patronage of UNESCO. Writer/Director Tearepa Kahi is also participating in the Youth, Animation, Documentary International Jury, for the upcoming 15th Asia Pacific Screen Awards, with the ceremony taking place on Friday November 11.

Rūrangi received an International Emmy Award Nomination for Best Short Form Series Twenty-three countries are represented in the competition across 15 categories and 60 nominees. The International Emmys will take place on November 21 in New York.

Dame Jane Campion and Philippa Campbell are thrilled to announce the ten filmmakers selected to take part in the year-long Netflix-supported Directors' Intensive A Wave in the Ocean Programme: Congratulations to Ana Scotney, Eleanor Bishop, Freya Finch, Hash Perambalam, Mingjian Cui, Nick Mayow, Paloma Schneiderman, Prisca Bouchet, Samuel John Te Kani and Todd Karehana. Participants were selected from 314 applications.

Making the announcement, Dame Jane said “It has been humbling and exciting, experiencing so many beautiful talented humans and their work. We’re grateful to everyone who applied, for giving us a window into their visions as filmmakers and sharing their work with us.”

In response to the depth of talent encountered in the selection process an additional shorter programme Crest will run as a sidebar focusing on long-form projects with four filmmakers: Awanui Simich-Pene, Hiona Henare, Martin Sagadin & Yamin Tun.

2022 Show Me Shorts Awards were unveiled on October 9, including the following winners from Aotearoa New Zealand. Show Me Shorts is an Academy Awards qualifying festival, with the winner of Best NZ Film now qualified to enter the Oscars.

Mark Albiston, Sharlene George, Gal Greenspan and Andrew Mauger for Datsun, Department of Post Best NZ Film

Brendan Canty for Atali'i O Le Crezent (Sons of the Crezent), DEGANZ Best Director

Ian Sweeney for Time Tourists, Final Draft Best Screenplay

Richard Shaw for Breathe, DEGANZ Best Editor

Marty Williams for Datsun, Best Cinematographer

Villa Junior Lemanu for Atali'i O Le Crezent (Sons of the Crezent), Toi Whakaari Best Actor

Zoe McIntosh and Frith Armstrong for Better Daze by Hoss, NZ on Air Best Music Video

Industry News

Government activity in the screen sector

A bill that will reinstate collective bargaining and minimum rights for film and television workers has passed its third reading in Parliament. The Screen Industry Workers Bill passed with support from Labour, the Greens, Te Pāti Māori and independent MP Gaurav Sharma, with National and ACT opposing it.

The main features of the bill include:

A requirement for all screen production workers to have written contracts which contain mandatory terms.
A framework allowing occupation-wide collective contracts to be negotiated, which will set minimum terms for all contractors in those occupations. Bargaining will also be possible within productions or production companies.
A tiered dispute resolution system to support parties to resolve issues that may arise during the course of a contractual relationship or collective bargaining.

In late September, NZFC's Mladen Ivancic, Catherine Bates and Philippa Mossman joined (virtually) the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Jacinda Ardern in New York for a meeting with executives from the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and industry members.

In an interview with The NZ Herald, Prime Minister Ardern said she was 'encouraged' by the meeting and 'the real discussion amongst ourselves was how do we keep growing the skills? How do we get positive ongoing impact in New Zealand?'

NZFC News

Feedback on Diversity and Inclusion at Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga

We value feedback on matters of diversity and inclusion at the NZFC and understand that having the opportunity to do this anonymously supports cultural safety. An anonymous feedback form has been developed to discover how the NZFC can further achieve the outcomes set out in He Ara Whakarunga Kanorau | Diversity and Inclusion Strategy to advance diversity and inclusion within the organisation. The form will be monitored by the NZFC staff Diversity and Inclusion Committee who will undertake all reasonable steps to take on board feedback received. Please note the form is only for feedback on Diversity and Inclusion at the NZFC, please refer to the relevant department for any other matters. Further information and a link to the form is here.

Board and Staff News

The NZFC Board Chair Dame Kerry Prendergast and director Brett O'Reilly stepped down from their roles at the end of September.

A huge congratulations to Head of Marketing Jasmin McSweeney for being recognised in the 2022 Queen's Birthday and Platinum Jubilee Honours, becoming a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the film industry.

Jasmin was also voted as a Director of the Independent Film and Alliance Board for a two year term (2022-2024). IFTA promotes a greater understanding of why the independent film and televison industry is important economically and culturally, and how the independents' business model creates unique challenges different than that of the major vertically integrated studios.

Melissa Booth has joined the NZFC in the role of Senior Communications Advisor. Melissa has over 20 years’ experience working as a unit publicist on feature films including The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies, King Kong, Mortal Engines and recently The Rings of Power, as well as the Communications Manager at NZIFF.

Linda Travers has joined our Finance Team as the Finance Administrator. Linda has most recently worked as an Accounts Assistant at the Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency. Prior to that she has worked in the legal and education sectors.

NZFC bids farewell to Communications Manager Ellie Campbell and we wish her all the best for her next adventure.

A Tribute to Judith McCann

The NZFC would like to pay tribute to film industry trailblazer Judith McCann who passed away on the 4th of October in Canada.

New Zealand born McCann moved as a child with her family, to Canada. She spent eight years with Telefilm Canada before accepting the position of Executive Director at the NZFC, the third in the role following Jim Booth. After five dynamic years in the role from 1989-1994, during which time the NZFC funded An Angel at My Table, Once were Warriors and Heavenly Creatures amongst others. McCann then took up the role as CEO at the South Australian Film Corporation.

McCann returned to Canada in 1999 co-founding international screen consulting firm MPICS. In 2004 she headed back to New Zealand to take an appointment as the CEO of Film New Zealand overseeing the screen attraction organization through its formative years.

McCann’s extensive work in New Zealand was integral to the growth and progress of the screen sector both nationally and internationally. She was instrumental in the establishment of WIFT in New Zealand and a strong advocate and supporter of female creatives and indigenous voices in the film industry.

Acting CEO Mladen Ivancic reflects “As the third Executive Director of the NZFC Judith was integral in shaping the scope and strategy of the organisation. She was passionate about New Zealand storytelling, a highly capable and at times formidable leader and her legacy in the film sector is admired and respected enormously. We are very sad to hear about her passing and send our condolences to her friends and family”.

NZ Film On Demand

NZ Film On Demand, the NZFC's transactional VOD platform offers over 335 feature and short films ranging from recent cinema releases to digitised back catalogue classics.

Garth Maxwell's Jack Be Nimble is newly available on the platform.

See the full NZ Film On Demand collection and sign up for an account here

Filmmaker Opportunities

Submissions are now open for the following film festivals:

Upcoming Finance & Co-Production Markets

Berlinale Co-Production Market
Click here to see the Berlinale Co-Production Market Flyer, and here to apply.

Application deadlines:
Co-Pro Series Projects: 15 October

Thanks for keeping up with what's going on at the NZFC. Got a suggestion? Email us at feedback@nzfilm.co.nz.

Ngā mihi ki a koutou katoa,

The NZFC Team