ShowNews

Cradle & Grave, campaign closes
2024-05-30
They couldn’t get along in life. Now, 22-year-old Olivia must help her mum’s ghost cross over, or she’ll be stuck with her forever.
Cradle & Grave is a fantasy/comedy that delves into the complexities of mother and daughters, shifting perceptions, and death administration (aka ‘sadmin’).
After 6 years in development and disruptions due to everyone’s fave pandemic, our film is finally taking flight! Cradle & Grave has received support from the NZ Film Commission as part of the Fresh Shorts cohort of 2020.
Cradle & Grave is directed by Tema Pua, written by Malinna Liang and produced by Alyssa Medel

How to Make Heads Explode: Imaging for VFX - Auckland
2024-05-29 18:00 - 20:30 (Pacific/Auckland)
Whether you’re a seasoned filmmaker, an aspiring creator, or simply curious about cutting-edge technology and VFX join Tristan Simpson, Post Operations at The Rebel Fleet, in conversation with Aliesha Staples, founder and director of StaplesVR, and Tim Capper, Senior VFX Supervisor to explore the power of photogrammetry and cyber scanning processes.
See the tech in action.

Kickstart your cinematography career - Auckland
2024-05-29 18:00 - 20:00
You’re invited to join us for an evening with a panel of accomplished cinematographers on the subject of how to build your career in cinematography.

Aimed towards early-stage to mid-level DPs, our discussion will cover tried-and-tested strategies, shedding light on the pathways that lead them to success and the stumbling blocks encountered along the journey.
No two people have the same path into cinematography as a career, so this event promises to be both enlightening and inspiring. Attendees will get a rare opportunity to glean wisdom from the diverse experience of the panel.
Guest panellists include: Jake Mokomoko (cinematographer and director), Ben Cunningham (cinematographer), Kelly Chen (emerging cinematographer), Joe Machart (wears many hats, from cinematography to VFX compositing to sound design) and Pepe De Hoyos (cinematographer).
Sony will also be showcasing a range of their Cinema Line cameras, allowing you to get hands-on experience with cutting-edge gear before the discussion begins.

ShowNews Academy - Purple Rain
2024-05-28 19:30 - 22:00 | Academy Cinema, 44 Lorne St, Auckland, New Zealand
Each month ShowNews presents a film at Academy Cinemas picked by a special film industry guest. For May, director Miriama Toms has chosen the classic 80s rock musical PURPLE RAIN starring Prince, also coinciding with the film’s 40th anniversary.
Tickets only $10!
Happy Hour drinks from 7pm.
Screening 8:30pm.
111 mins | Rated M (Offensive language) | Drama
Directed by Albert Magnoli | Starring Prince ., Morris Day, Apollonia Kotero, Clarence Williams III, Olga Karlatos
Winner of Grammy® and Academy Awards®* for its pulsating song score, PURPLE RAIN marks the electrifying movie debut of Prince as The Kid, a Minneapolis club musician as alienated as he is talented. The Kid struggles with a tumultuous home life and his own smoldering anger while taking refuge in his music and his steamy love for sexy Apollonia Kotero.
Prince and the Revolution scorch with the iconic tunes Let’s Go Crazy, I Would Die 4U, When Doves Cry and the title song in what Rolling Stone calls “the smartest, most spiritually ambitious rock-’n’-roll movie ever made.”

Bogged, campaign closes
2024-05-27
This korero is a confusing and contradictory navigation of youth and growing up in Aotearoa. An attempt to observe and articulate the volatile complexities within our little young lives, as well as the frustration of growing up and not knowing what it means to be an adult.

Post Production Drama Lab with Annie Collins
2024-05-27
The Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand welcomes filmmakers to our Post Production Drama Lab with Annie Collins.

Up to five Producer/Director/Editor teams will be selected to participate, and up to 10 observers from any of the three skills including Assistant Editors. Each team will also receive one x 1.5-hour post-lab mentoring session with Annie Collins.

Applications close Monday 27 May.

This is a one-of-a-kind Lab for Producer/Director/Editor teams working on drama projects that include both short or feature drama films and series.
The two days will cover the different stages of the post process and tools and mechanisms for creative, long-lasting relationships within a team including:

Introductions, approach, and expectations
Before you get started
During the shoot
During post
Receiving and dealing with feedback
Handovers
Post scheduling
Post technical requirements and equipment
Handling VFX
Pickups and found footage, including archival

Directing Diversity - Auckland
2024-05-25 09:00 - 12:30
With a call for content to become more diverse, DEGANZ has invited directors Ramon Te Wake, Max Currie and Anna Rose Duckworth to discuss their experiences on set. This half-day workshop is an opportunity to open a dialogue between filmmakers and empower and equip directors (particularly those outside LGBTQIA+ communities) to up-skill on LGBTQIA+ terms, best practices when casting, how to make set a safe space, how to direct characters from these communities, and everything in between.

Screen Acting Workshop, Wellington
2024-05-25 - 2024-05-26
This weekend intensive trains actors to create believable characters and emotionally connected relationships on screen.
Working in pairs with scripts, actors learn the Art of Relating, which maximises creative choices and trains actor to bring their emotional instincts to the screen.

Borders of the Heart, campaign closes
2024-05-25
“Borders of the Heart” is a queer romantic drama short film created by Master’s Screen Production students at the University of Auckland. Written and directed by Weitong Li and produced by Ted Tang, the short film is supervised by industry professional Brendan Donovan (known for “Insiders’ Guide to Happiness [and Love]” and “The Hopes and Dreams of Gazza Snell”

Short Cuts Lab
2024-05-24 - 2024-05-26
The Pan-Asian Screen Collective is proud to announce the fourth iteration of Short Cuts, a development lab for scripted short films under 10 minutes in length.
Designed specifically to improve Pan-Asian representation in the short film space, the development lab will invite up to nine teams in May 2024 for robust development of their projects.
Applications close on 11 March 2024 at 5:00pm.

Young Creators: The Director, 1AD, & DOP Dynamic - Auckland
2024-05-23 18:00 - 20:00
The dynamic of the Director, 1st Assistant Director (1AD), and Director of Photography (DOP) is the crux of any set and establishes the tone for the rest of the cast and crew. But what does that really look like? How do you get your team to work like a well-oiled machine? And how can you ensure that your next project has this kind of successful working relationship?
Join DEGANZ for a Panel Discussion and Q&A with the team from Great Southern’s upcoming comedy series, n00b. The session’s moderator Jack Nicol will chat with Director Victoria Boult, 1AD Mark Harlen, and DOP Daryl Wong about their experience on the set of n00b and how they worked together as a team.

Politics of lighting with John Toon, Auckland
2024-05-22 18:30 - 20:00
NZCS welcomes one its accredited members, John Toon NZCS ACS, to share his depth of experience across the topic of lighting in the world of film and television production.

Join us for an illuminating event in Auckland where we’ll explore the art and science of lighting. With JT as our guide, we’ll dive into a myriad of topics in a laid-back, ‘ask anything’ format.
This is your chance to pick the brain of one of our greatest cinematographers. Wondering what’s changed in lighting technology over the years? Curious about the differences between local and international practices? Or perhaps you’re keen to unravel the secrets of creating natural, believable lighting on screen? No question is too out there!

Floating Rock Pitchfest - info session
2024-05-21 19:00 - 20:00
Floating Rock Studio is making waves in the animation world with their cinematic experiences and visual effects!
And Floating Rock Pitchfest provides such an amazing opportunity for storytellers to bring their ideas to life. With up to $100,000 in development funds and support from their world-class team, creators are sure to make a splash in the market.
Join us on Tuesday, May 21st at 7pm online to hear all about it, RSVP to info@vfxg.nz to get the event link.

DP Intern placement - applications close
2024-05-21
The NZCS has negotiated a DP Intern placement, under our Gender Diversity Program, on the international TV series “Spartacus: House of Ashur”, based in Auckland, made possible with support from the NZ Film Commission Strategic Development Fund and the local production company, Spartacus Productions NZ Ltd.
Mid-career Cinematographer Internship for 15 days. The 15 days on set will commence in Auckland with prep on Wed 26th June and finish around Fri 26th July 2024. This internship includes 5 days of prep, 7 days main unit, 2 days 2nd unit and 1 day grading (at a later date TBC). Please note the 15 days are not continuous but spread over a four week period to accommodate scheduling requirements.
Applications close 21 May.

Masterclasses – Day and Night
2024-05-20 10:30 - 17:00 | Webinar
Nightzone Productions Present – Masterclass – Day and Night
1030 – 1130 – Bob Buck Costume Designer
1200 – 1300 – Brendan Heffernan Production Designer
1330 – 1430 – Mark Ordesky and Jane Fleming Executive Producers
1500 – 1600 – Susie Glass Hair and Makeup Designer
All four masterclasses will run concurrently on the same Zoom feed.
Please click this link to join the webinar:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85986189328?pwd=[REDACTED]
Passcode: [REDACTED]
Webinar ID: 859 8618 9328
If you have any questions that you’d like to ask, please send them to info@shownews.co.nz and we’ll pass them on.

The Art of Drug Theft, campaign closes
2024-05-20
‘The Art of Drug Theft’ is an 8 minute comedy/coming of age short film about two friends experiencing the highs and lows of friendship as young people. Their friendship is tested when one of them makes the other a willing accomplice in a small-scale drug heist.
The film is made by Victoria University 3rd year students as a part of our final Short Film Production paper. Our crew of creative and aspiring filmmakers are ready to make use of every drop of experience this opportunity grants us, and create a film that we can all be collectively proud of contributing towards.

Kōpere Ake webinar
2024-05-19 10:00 - 11:00, 2024-05-14 18:30 - 19:30
Applying for Kōpere Ake? Need help or advice?

Experienced TV creator and NZWG Vice President Rachel Lang can give you top tips about what to include in your series proposal (and what not to) and answer all your curly questions.

Rachel will cover tips and tricks in creating your best Kōpere Ake application, including:
– Title
– Logline
– How many hours / how many episodes / what genre
– If it’s adapted – where from?
– How your story begins / why it’s a great yarn
– Where your story might go
– A description of the characters
– The world of the show
– Tone and Style

Online Workshops
6.30pm -7.30pm, Tuesday 14 May and 10am – 11am, Sunday 19 May

RSVP through the link below for your preferred workshop: https://forms.gle/tzdtowA17MUbWZxD7

Home By Now, campaign closes
2024-05-18
“Home by Now” is a heartfelt exploration of resilience, compassion, and the transformative power of human connection. Through its authentic portrayal of trauma and healing, the film offers a poignant reminder that, even in the darkest of times, we are never truly alone.

Vista 48Hours, shoot weekend
2024-05-17 19:00 - 2024-05-19 19:00
The Vista Foundation 48Hours is NZ’s largest guerrilla filmmaking competition! There is nothing quite like it.
Over 500 teams of filmmakers enter each year with just 48 hours to write, shoot and cut a film with a given genre and some random elements. Filmmakers compete for awards and the title of Grand National Champion, culminating in a Grand Final event.
Around 10,000 shorts have been produced for 48Hours over the years. This will be the Vista Foundation’s fifth year as the naming sponsor of the competition. The Vista Foundation, NZ Film Commission and the 48Hours kaupapa are aligned, with a shared vision of supporting filmmaking talent in Aotearoa.

Bodies of Water, campaign closes
2024-05-17
An estranged mother and daughter meet at the place their relationship fell apart. Can they find peace with each other, or are they bound to repeat the roles they’ve always played?
Bodies of Water is a project exploring the intricacies of maternal relationships in a world that often defines motherhood through a narrow lens.
Directed Shelley Waddams graduated from Unitec in 2017. Her acting credits include Shortland Street, Rings of Power and Our Flag Means Death. Shelley has directed the award winning short film Hand In Hand, which was funded by Someday Stories (now Day One). Shelley currently works as full time writer on the story table at Shortland Street, where she storylines and writes dialogue scripts. Bodies of Water will be her second short film.

SXSW Sydney - submissions close
2024-05-16 19:00
The SXSW Sydney Screen pillar includes the Screen Festival, Screen Industry Program and Curated Mentorship Program.
The multifaceted offering brings together creatives across a wide range of specialities from around the world and provides an unparalleled platform for Asia-Pacific creators to showcase their work to those shaping the future of the industry.
Programming spans feature films, shorts, TV premieres, music videos and XR.‍
Enter Your Submission!‍
Submissions for the SXSW Sydney 2024 Screen Festival Showcase close July 25th 5PM AEDT.

Siggraph Asia, XR submissions closing
2024-05-16 08:00 - 17:00
Siggraph Asia has an open call for XR experiences.

Extended Reality (XR) is an umbrella term for augmented (AR), mixed (MR) and virtual reality (VR) experiences. Based on the reality-virtuality continuum first proposed by Milgram, it covers the spectrum of immersion from completely physical to completely virtual.

We welcome submissions that push the boundaries of XR technology in research, development and content creation to offer novel experiences to attendees for the SIGGRAPH Asia 2024 XR Program. This includes state-of-the-art XR for interactive technologies, immersive installation and experiences, storytelling, creative expression, novel displays, collaborative tools, assistive technologies, and any societally and scientifically impactful solutions

There will be 2 categories of submission for SIGGRAPH ASIA 2024 XR Program this year.

Category 1: Like past years, we welcome XR Demo submissions that are state-of-the-art, highly novel, and presents attendees with demonstrations that they have never experienced before. The main requirements are:

Must present a novel experience, either in the form of an application or artefact
Properly defined space and equipment required
At least one presenter present at all times
It can be any form of XR and its interaction with other sensory modalities (touch, sound, smell and taste)

Category 2: We welcome XR Theater submissions, which are immersive cinematic storytelling and narrative experiences that can be viewed in a VR display theater-like setting. This submission focuses on the quality of the content (story, visual representation, etc) rather than the novelty in the research. The main requirements are:

It is either a seated or standing experience. Physical walking or wide spatial interaction is not possible due to limited space.
It works in a small space with a consumer headset without any custom device.
It can be demonstrated without the presence of a presenter.
It is primarily VR using standard VR hardware (e.g. Meta Quest). AR/MR submissions are inadvisable unless they obey the aforementioned requirement.

Submissions close 20 June
SIGGRAPH Asia runs in Tokyo 3-6 December

Creative Actualisation
2024-05-15 18:00 - 20:00
Join us for a joint event between Proud Voices On Screen and PASC.
Minority creatives can feel a burden in needing to represent their community on screen. On the other hand, it is freeing to be able to create work you and your community want to see. Creating characters and stories that project what you want to experience in the world can bring things into existence – creation as actualisation.
Nathan Joe will moderate a discussion with filmmakers Ramon Te Wake, Rachel Fawcett and Ankita Singh as they explore their approach to creating work that surpasses known tropes and potentially creates new ones.

Dabble, campaign closes
2024-05-15
This Boosted campaign will help to fund a short film aimed to showcase the tone and style of an anticipated tv series project: DABBLE.
DABBLE follows the creative lives of three queer twenty-somethings — Maud, MT, and Mick — as they navigate the come-ups and setbacks of being artists in Tamaki Makaurau.
It’s a struggle-dark comedy balancing an artist’s reality of day-to-day struggles of being broke, millennial queers with elements of magical realism…

Nowhere to Be, campaign closes
2024-05-13
‘NOWHERE TO BE’ is an intimate portrait of humanity shot during the global coronavirus pandemic, pulling back the curtain on those who are usually behind the camera – showing that the need to create will always endure.
It’s April 2020. As the COVID-19 pandemic ravages the world, humanity is brought to a standstill. All ages, races, and genders are suddenly united in experience. As people grapple with the consequences, 31 cinematographers across 21 countries turned to an integral part of human nature: storytelling. They did this in the only way they knew how with a camera in hand. Using their art to look inward. Examining reflections, hopes, dreams and regrets. Uncovering the human experience of a moment in time that will define a generation.
Filmmaker Charlotte Evans is an award-winning documentary, music video, and commercial director. Since starting her career as an editor in London, Charlotte has directed, produced and edited music videos for artists such as Benee, Kimbra and Aldous Harding. She is currently in post-production on her first feature documentary Being Chlöe, developed from her short OK Chlöe.

Homecoming, campaign closes
2024-05-13
Fundraising for a short film that tells the story of a transgender woman, Charlotte, returning home to come out to her parents . But the dinner quickly goes south, as her parents struggle to come to terms with her transition, and Charlotte’s anxieties begin to manifest themselves in dark, sinister ways.
The film is a psychological drama, written and directed by emerging transgender filmmaker Grae Meek, and is an authentic portrayal of the anxieties of coming out to those you love – and perhaps fear – the most.

Screen Acting Workshop 2024, Auckland
2024-05-11 - 2024-05-12

PISA Writers Room, Christchurch
2024-05-11
Our second Writer’s Room for 2024 will be in Ōtautahi (Christchurch) and online, and will be led by award winning writer Victor Rodger ONZM (Sons, My Name is Gary Cooper). The topic of focus for this Writer’s Room will be: Synopsis and Treatments.

Victor Rodger (Iva) is a multiple award winning Otautahi-born writer of Sāmoan and Scottish descent who works in television, theatre and film. His screen credits include Shortland Street, Teine Sa: The Ancient Ones and This is Piki. He currently has two television projects in development, including one that is set in his hometown. In 2021 he was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to theatre and the Pacific arts.

Queer Producers Incubator
2024-05-10 - 2024-05-11
The Queer Producers Incubator is a two-day intensive workshop taking place on Fri 10th and Sat 11th May in Tāmaki Makaurau. The workshop will support and upskill 5 emerging queer identifying producers who have at least one project in development.
Sessions from guest speakers will be tailored to the group and include the following topics:
– Supporting a team through story development
– Upskilling in pitching, funding and financing
– Creating safe spaces in development, production, and marketing.
After the workshop, the 5 participants will receive mentoring in the form of 2 x 1 hour Zoom sessions with a producer mentor, to be completed by the end of June 2024.
The aim is to upskill queer producers, offering tailored support and a network of peers as they progress further in their careers.
