This year’s Big Screen Symposium has started rolling out the names of speakers who’ll be presenting at the event in early July. The first announcement has a strong focus on domestic talent.
Last year’s attendees will be happy to hear that multi-hyphenate Nikki Si’ulepa will return to hosting duties as the conference’s kaitiaki kōrero.
Leading the speakers and sessions announcement is director James Ashcroft in Going Big. In a moderated conversation, Ashcroft will reflect on the craft, instincts and decisions that prepared him for a shift from lower-budget independent titles to directing A-listers in recent feature The Rule of Jenny Pen and his upcoming When Darkness Loves Us, with Emilia Clarke and Natascha McElhone, and The Whisper Man, starring Robert De Niro, Adam Scott, Michelle Monaghan and Michael Keaton.
Directors Ursula Grace Williams and Vea Mafile’o present Truth Diggers. Talking docos, including Williams’ recent Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua – Two Worlds, and Mafile’o’s upcoming Lomu they’ll reflect on their beginnings and the trajectories that have shaped their practice, how stories are carried forward, and the persistence required to sustain a creative life.
Series creators Tom Sainsbury and Holly Shervey present Owning Your Voice, talking about creating work that reflects their own voices, the origins of series including Crackhead and Small Town Scandal, and the creative and collaborative processes that brought them to screen.
BSS 2026 runs 3 & 4 July, in Auckland. Early bird tix are available until 31 May 2026
