ShowNews

ShowNews Academy - It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World
2025-01-28 20:00 - 23:00 (Pacific/Auckland) | Academy Cinema, 44 Lorne St, Auckland, New Zealand
Smiler Grogan, a recently released convict, crashes his car on California State Route 74. With his dying breath, Grogan tells a group of motorists who stop to help him about $350,000 (equivalent to $3,483,261 in 2023) buried in Santa Rosita State Park under “a big W.” Failing to negotiate a satisfactory way to split the money, the four cars begin a mad dash to the park, having several mishaps along the way:
Melville Crump, a dentist on a second honeymoon with his wife Monica, charters a rickety biplane to Santa Rosita. Despite arriving in Santa Rosita first, they get locked in a hardware store’s basement. After several attempts to break out, they blow out the wall of the basement with dynamite, and hire a cab to get to the park.
Ding Bell and Benjy Benjamin, two friends on their way to Las Vegas, charter a small airplane. When their alcoholic pilot knocks himself out, they struggle to land the plane themselves; once on the ground, they also hire a cab to get to the park.
J. Russell Finch, a businessman traveling with his wife Emmeline and her mother Mrs. Marcus, crashes into the furniture truck of Lennie Pike, another witness of Grogan’s crash. Finch persuades British Army Lieutenant Colonel J. Algernon Hawthorne to drive them to Santa Rosita. After a nasty argument, Mrs. Marcus and Emmeline exit the car to hitch their own ride. Hawthorne crashes the car while driving through a tunnel, and he and Finch come to blows.
Pike stops motorist Otto Meyer for a ride and tells him about the money; the greedy Meyer decides to search for the treasure himself, and abandons Pike, convincing two service station attendants to detain him. Pike destroys the station, steals a tow truck, and picks up Mrs. Marcus and Emmeline. Mrs. Marcus calls her son Sylvester, who lives close to Santa Rosita, but he misunderstands and drives to meet her. Eventually, the group reunites with Russell and Hawthorne, and continues to head to the park.
Meyer stops to help a stranded miner get back to his very rural cabin. Trying to get back to the highway, Meyer fails at crossing a deep river and his car is swept away, leading him to steal another motorist’s car.
Meanwhile, Santa Rosita Police Captain T. G. Culpeper, hoping to tie up the Grogan case before his impending retirement, secretly has the motorists shadowed throughout their various adventures. After a furious argument with his wife and daughter, Culpeper learns that his pension will be a pittance and has a mental breakdown.
The entire group, now consisting of fourteen people, arrives at Santa Rosita at nearly the same time, and searches frantically for the “big W”, which turns out to be a gathering of four palm trees. Culpeper arrives shortly after and observes the group. After the group digs up a suitcase full of cash, Culpeper identifies himself and informs the group that they are wanted by the police. He convinces them to turn themselves in and hope for leniency.
The motorists realize that Culpeper is not returning to the police station with them, but is stealing the money for himself. The men chase him into an abandoned building and onto a rickety fire escape, which starts to collapse under them. The briefcase containing the money falls open, scattering the cash to the wind. When Culpeper and the men all pile onto a fire department ladder sent to rescue them, their combined weight causes it to spin uncontrollably and fling them all off, leaving them heavily injured.
In the prison hospital, the men bemoan the loss of the money and blame their injuries on Culpeper, who responds that due to his lost pension (which his boss had successfully negotiated back, thus making his illegal actions unnecessary), the ruined relationship with his family, and the likelihood that the judge will probably give him the harshest sentence, he may never laugh again. Mrs. Marcus, flanked by Emmeline and Monica, enters and begins berating the men, only for her to slip on a banana peel and fall. All the men except Sylvester roar with laughter, and, after a brief hesitation, Culpeper joins in.

Combine Guilds Xmas Party - Auckland
2024-12-13 17:30 - 22:00 | Longroom, 114 Ponsonby Road, Auckland
It’s that time again already and you are cordially invited to join us at the annual:
Combined Guild’s Christmas Party! ?
‘Tis the season to be jolly, and what better way to celebrate than to gather together for Christmas drinks and nibbles and share events of our last year!
– Nibbles will be provided on the night
– Drinks will be available for purchase at the bar.
– Book your spot now as our spaces are limited!
We look forward to seeing you all there and hosting the creative forces of our hard working guild members all together under one roof!

ShowNews Academy - Nashville
2024-11-26 19:30 - 22:30 | Academy Cinema, 44 Lorne St, Auckland, New Zealand
In this acclaimed Robert Altman drama, the lives of numerous people in the Tennessee capital intersect in unpredictable ways. Delbert Reese (Ned Beatty) is a lawyer and political organizer who is having difficulties in his marriage to Linnea (Lily Tomlin), a gospel vocalist. Other performers heavily featured in this renowned ensemble production include country singers Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakley) and Connie White (Karen Black), who are rivals in the city’s thriving music scene.
To this day, the film’s 11 Golden Globe nominations – including four in a single acting category – remain the most for a single film.

2024 New Zealand Television Awards Show
2024-11-22 19:00 - 23:00
The New Zealand Television Awards recognises excellence in television and honours the special skills and unique talents of the companies and individuals who create, produce, and perform in television programmes in New Zealand.
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The Awards are open to linear, subscription and digital broadcast platforms.

2024 New Zealand Television Awards Show
2024-11-22 19:00 - 23:00 | Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland

Misty Flicks Festival
2024-11-22 - 2024-11-24
Misty Flicks is a not-for-profit independent film festival held annually in the Central region of Aotearoa, New Zealand. The festival offers a wide-ranging programme of local and indigenous cinema. It aims to introduce and unite audiences to different voices and cultures through the power of storytelling.
Misty Flicks creates a platform to nurture the careers of tomorrow’s storytellers by providing educational opportunities and workshops. It makes film accessible to its people and creates a sense of community and connectedness through the arts by connecting filmmakers and audiences in discussions and seminars based on the principles of manaakitanga.
The festival runs 22-24 November.

She’s Talking in Island - A Special Taiwanese Film Screening
2024-10-28 16:30 - 18:30 | Bridgeway Cinema Northcote Auckland, 122 Queen St, Northcote Point, Auckland, 0627
Taiwan New Zealand Screen(TNZS) will host a special screening for a writer/director Wang Ming-Hsia from Taiwan on 28/10 (Labor Day) in Auckland.
Wang started as an in-house script writer for a famous Taiwanese production company which produced Ang Lee’s early films including Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.
She then kept writing scripts for many films and TV dramas, lectured script-writing in colleges and filming documentaries.
In May this year, she released her first feature film “She’s Talking in Island”. It’s an indi movie, a female road movie, only took 7 days to finish shooting but amazingly was theatrically released in Taiwan for almost a month.
Encouraged by this film, her next goal is to make second female road movie in NZ!
So this trip and screening is for her to meet with industry here and seek for possible co-production partners.

NZ Cine Awards 2024
2024-10-26 19:00 - 22:00
The NZCS Cinematography Awards will be on the 26th October at the Pullman Hotel, Auckland.
Entry submission for the 7th NZCS Awards will be open from 10th June to the 21st July.

ShowNews Academy - Who Framed Roger Rabbit
2024-10-22 19:30 - 21:30 | Academy Cinema, 44 Lorne St, Auckland, New Zealand
Directed by Robert Zemeckis
Starring Christopher Lloyd, Joanna Cassidy, Charles Fleischer, Bob Hoskins
Each month ShowNews presents a film at Academy Cinemas picked by a special film industry guest. For October, the chosen film is the beloved animation-live-action masterpiece WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? Chosen especially by Academy Cinemas regular Rosemary Woodman, a former animator herself!
Tickets only $10!
Happy Hour drinks from 7pm.
Screening 8:15pm.
It’s 1947 Hollywood, and Eddie Valiant (Bob Hoskin, THE LONG GOOD FRIDAY), a down-on-his-luck detective, is hired to find proof that Marvin Acme, gag factory mogul and owner of Toontown, is playing hanky-panky with femme fatale Jessica Rabbit, wife of Maroon Cartoon superstar Roger Rabbit. When Acme is found murdered, all fingers point to Roger, and the sinister, power-hungry Judge Doom (Christopher Lloyd, BACK TO THE FUTURE) is on a mission to bring Roger to justice. Roger begs the Toon-hating Valiant to find the real evildoer and the plot thickens as Eddie uncovers scandal after scandal and realizes the very existence of Toontown is at stake!
This multi-Oscar(R) winner (Best Film Editing, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Visual Effects, Special Achievement In Animation Direction, 1988) is deliciously outrageous fun the whole family will enjoy.

SXSW Sydney 2024
2024-10-14 - 2024-10-24
SXSW SYDNEY 2024 DATES ARE NOW LIVE. THE WEEK-LONG EVENT CONNECTS THE WORLD’S LEADING CREATIVES ACROSS THE TECH & INNOVATION, MUSIC, SCREEN AND GAMES INDUSTRIES. DISCOVERY AWAITS THE NEXT WAVE OF VISIONARIES.

SXSW Sydney
2024-10-14 - 2024-10-20
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.‍

ShowNews Academy - CABARET
2024-09-09 19:30 - 21:30 | 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 September, the chosen film is the legendary Bob Fosse musical with a star-making performance from Liza Minelli, CABARET!
Directed by Bob Fosse
Starring Michael York, Marisa Berenson, Liza Minnelli, Helmut Griem, Joel Grey, Fritz Wepper
Rated M
124 minutes
Tickets only $10!
Happy Hour drinks from 7pm.
Screening 8:15pm.
Inside the Kit Kat Club of 1931 Berlin, starry-eyed singer Sally Bowles and an impish emcee sound the clarion call to decadent fun, while outside a certain political party grows into a brutal force.

Auckland Doc Edge Screening + Q&A: Human Forever
2024-09-08 16:00 - 17:30 | The Capitol Cinema, 610 Dominion Road, Auckland
Join us in September for #worldalzheimersmonth with the NZ premiere of “Human Forever” by Jonathan de Jong.
This powerful film follows 24-year-old humanitarian activist Teun Toebes on his mission to improve the quality of life for people living with dementia.
Attend the Wellington, Christchurch, and Auckland screenings for a Q&A with Jonathan de Jong and Teun Toebes, or watch it online nationwide on our Virtual Cinema.
Part of ticket sales support @alzheimersnz, Home 4 All, & Dementia NZ.
Tickets ?https://docedge.nz/film-of-the-month/human-forever/

Christchurch Doc Edge Screening + Q&A: Human Forever
2024-09-04 18:30 - 20:00 | Lumiere Cinemas, 26 Rolleston Avenue, Christchurch Central City, 8013, New Zealand

Day One Shorts Auckland Premiere
2024-09-03 17:30 - 21:00
Get your ticket to the Day One Shorts cinema premiere before they sell out! We will be showcasing the 8 funded short films – followed by a Q&A with our talented up-and-coming filmmakers.?
Come celebrate the hard work of these incredible filmmaking teams from across the motu!
Tickets range from $20-$40 with the option to score slick Day One merch. Every ticket purchased will enable us to support up-and-coming filmmakers, and future screenings. ? ??
Buy your tickets today on humanitix:

Wellington Doc Edge Screening + Q&A: Human Forever
2024-09-01 14:45 - 16:15 | The Roxy Cinema, 5 Park Road, Miramar, Wellington, 6022

NZ Web Fest, final submission deadline
2024-08-31 08:00 - 17:00
The tenth edition of NZ Web Fest runs in November.
Submissions for the 2024 edition are open, with deadlines on 31 May, 31 July and 31 August.
The fest accepts submissions of podcasts, short films, and web series, including pilots.

Dunedin WIFT Jon Kroll Workshop
2024-08-31 | NHNZ Dunedin
In this one-day seminar, Emmy Award-winning TV producer Jon Kroll will take you on a deep dive into the world of international factual production. Jon has worked in more than 70 countries on shows like the Emmy-winning Amazing Race, Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, Never Say Never with Jeff Jenkins, Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper and Appetite for Adventure with Moe Cason.
Making these shows is both fun and rewarding, and the execution of them involves unique challenges, including language barriers, currency fluctuations, permitting, equipment carnets, unpredictable weather, insurance, diseases, safety, casting, scouting and travel delays. Jon will take participants on a journey from the first network country pitch to the final sound mix, and by the end you’ll be ready to take on the world!
This jam-packed workshop will inspire you to think outside-the-box, while giving you tools to implement your dreams – into reality!
Date: Saturday, 31st August
Time: 10am – 4pm
Venue: NHNZ Worldwide, 79 Stuart Street (which is lower Stuart Street), Central Dunedin
Cost: Members $20. Non-members $40. Students $10.
Coffee, tea and biscuits provided. Bring your own lunch.

Screen Producers Australia - Industry Briefing. Regulation in the French Screen Industry
2024-08-28 15:00 - 16:30 | online
Join Matthew Deaner, CEO at SPA, and Amanda Borghino, Deputy General Delegate of USPA (Union Syndicale de la Production audiovisuelle) and AnimFrance, as they discuss the regulatory framework in place in France that sees global SVOD platforms invest a portion of their French revenues into local production, split 80/20 between TV and theatrical films.
Speakers
MATTHEW DEANER SPA CEO
AMANDA BORGHINO USPA & AnimFrance Deputy General Delegate of USPA & AnimFrance
For enquiries, please contact:
Screen Producers Australia
info@screenproducers.org.au
SPA is a proud Campaign Associate of the Make it Australian and Australian Made campaigns.

A Tell-Tale Heart, campaign closing
2024-08-28
Gianni Ranzuglia’s short adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s gripping short story The Tell-Tale Heart.
This dark, intense and suspenseful tale follows the descent of a man into madness, as he becomes obsessed with the vulture-like eye of an old man he cares for. Driven by his paranoia and guilt, he ultimately commits a horrific act, only to find himself increasingly haunted by his own conscience, and the psychological torment that follows.
The Tell-Tale Heart is a gothic tragedy that explores themes of repressed guilt, paranoia, and the human capacity for self-deception. Our goal is to stay true to the original story while bringing a fresh visual interpretation that will resonate with contemporary audiences. The focal point of view being the self-deceiving, darkly twisted and menacing intensity of the young protagonist.

ShowNews Academy - Big Wednesday
2024-08-27 19:30 - 22:30 | Academy Cinema, 44 Lorne St, Auckland, New Zealand
Directed by John Milius
Starring Gary Busey, William Katt, Jan-Michael Vincent, Patti D’Arbanville, Lee Purcell
Each month ShowNews presents a film at Academy Cinemas picked by a special film industry guest. For August, the chosen film is the 70s surfing buddy flick BIG WEDNESDAY!
Tickets only $10!
Happy Hour drinks from 7pm.
Screening 8:15pm.
No matter what rolled in on the tides of time, California surfing buddies Matt, Jack and Leory knew they’d stick together. And that they’d be ready when a rare 20-foot swell hit the coast at last. BIG WEDNESDAY celebrates surfing as much as the most dedicated kid who ever waxed a board. It’s also a fascinating 1962-1974 chronicle of friendships and lifestyles in transition. John Milius (APOCALYPSE NOW, RED DAWN) directs and co-scripts with a passion for the ultimate ride and a truthful feel for those turbulent times.
Stars Jan-Michael Vincent and William Katt are accomplished surfers; colead Gary Busey (POINT BREAK, 1991) learned for the role. And the vivid camerawork drops you inside awesome barrels of ocean blue.

Queenstown WIFT Jon Kroll Workshop
2024-08-25 | Te Atamira, Queenstown
In this one-day seminar, Emmy Award-winning TV producer Jon Kroll will take you on a deep dive into the world of international factual production. Jon has worked in more than 70 countries on shows like the Emmy-winning Amazing Race, Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, Never Say Never with Jeff Jenkins, Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper and Appetite for Adventure with Moe Cason.
Making these shows is both fun and rewarding, and the execution of them involves unique challenges, including language barriers, currency fluctuations, permitting, equipment carnets, unpredictable weather, insurance, diseases, safety, casting, scouting and travel delays. Jon will take participants on a journey from the first network country pitch to the final sound mix, and by the end you’ll be ready to take on the world!
This jam-packed workshop will inspire you to think outside-the-box, while giving you tools to implement your dreams – into reality!
Date: Sunday, 25 August
Time: 10am – 4pm
Venue: Te Atamira – Building 11, Dart House, Remarkables Park Town Centre 12 Hawthorne Drive, Frankton – PUĀWAI ROOM.
Cost: Members $20. Non-members $40. Students $10.
Coffee, tea and biscuits provided. Bring your own lunch.

Whispers - campaign closes
2024-08-19
Emily, a grieving widow and mother, confronts her Spanish husband’s death, alongside her children and her supportive mother in law, Sara. As Emily struggles with grief, she is haunted by ghostly apparitions, chilling nightmares, and mysterious whispers, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. Her ordeal intensifies upon encountering a stalker in a forest entrance, a moment that begins to unravel as the source of her terror.
This is a thriller short series born from passion, dedication, and the desire to offer a platform for aspiring talents. Welcoming individuals from all backgrounds can explore their potential alongside diverse professionals, also allow us to showcase the beautiful locations of New Zealand.
WATCH THIS VIDEO to see who are the people involved, and why make this project so unique and special.

Seed Grants: applications close
2024-08-09 12:00
NZWG and New Zealand Film Commission are excited to announce that Seed & Seed Advanced is now open.
Seed & Seed Advanced are screenwriter-only feature film script development grants.
Seed Grants allow writers to be innovative, brilliant, and to create something they own. The writer is the rights holder, and not working with a producer in early development.
Seed is open to emerging writers who haven’t yet written and had a feature film produced.
The initiative offers 6 x Seed Grants of $10,000 – includes $2,500 for script consultation and 2 x Seed Advanced Grants of $12,500 – includes $2,500 for script development.

Top of the South Film Festival, submission deadline
2024-08-05
The Top of the South Film Festival showcases great local and national short films of under 15 minutes running time. We’ve grown from a film festival that caters to a grassroots community of local filmmakers, to an event that filmmakers from the entire nation will want to attend.
One of our aims is to bring people together by providing an event were filmmakers can forge connections. So we invite filmmakers from throughout Aotearoa New Zealand to enter our Aotearoa Screening, while our Heartland Screenings continue to celebrate locally made film from the North of the South Island: Nelson, Marlborough, Tasman, Buller, Hurunui and Kaikōura.
Submissions open 1 May and close 5 August.

Misty Flicks Festival, final submission deadline
2024-08-01
Misty Flicks is a not-for-profit independent film festival held annually in the Central region of Aotearoa, New Zealand. The festival offers a wide-ranging programme of local and indigenous cinema. It aims to introduce and unite audiences to different voices and cultures through the power of storytelling.
Misty Flicks creates a platform to nurture the careers of tomorrow’s storytellers by providing educational opportunities and workshops. It makes film accessible to its people and creates a sense of community and connectedness through the arts by connecting filmmakers and audiences in discussions and seminars based on the principles of manaakitanga.
Early festival submissions close 1 May. The final submission deadline is 1 August. The festival runs 22-24 November.

NZ Web Fest, late submission deadline
2024-07-31

ShowNews Academy - Brewster McCloud
2024-07-30 19:00 - 22:30 | 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 July, Production Designer Mike Becroft has chosen a hidden gem from legendary American director Robert Altman’s (NASHVILLE, THE LONG GOODBYE, McCABE & MRS MILLER) early career: BREWSTER McCLOUD!
Tickets only $10!
Happy Hour drinks from 7pm.
Screening 8:30pm.
Directed by Robert Altman
Starring Stacy Keach, Bud Cort, Sally Kellerman, René Auberjonois, Shelley Duvall, Michael Murphy
Rated R16
105 minutes | Classic
Brewster McCloud (Bud Cort) lives deep within the cavernous underground of the Houston Astrodome, but his dreams rise much higher. He aims to fly. Not in a plane. But with strapped-on wings he’s designing – encouraged by a mysterious woman (Sally Kellerman) who may be his guardian angel. But BREWSTER McCLOUD, Robert Altman’s wild, anarchic cult fave, isn’t about dreams as much as it is about the highs and lows of humanity. It’s a serial-killer mystery. A frenetic car-chase flick. A crazy circus-finale comedy. Shelley Duvall debuts as the tour guide whose seduction of Brewster may lead to his undoing. Ah, love. The thing that at once shapes and unravels us. The thing that may or may not give us wings

10(ish) Things Writers Want Actors to Know, Auckland
2024-07-28 13:00 - 16:00
Come along to this afternoon seminar and learn the 10(ish) things writers want actors to know.
Laura Hill’s experience as an actor and a writer gives her a unique perspective into how actors can, by really engaging with every aspect of the text, maximise their chances of getting a role, and nailing the performance.
Peppered with tips garnered over years of working on both sides of the camera, this seminar will help young actors see that writers are actually trying to help them!
There will also be time to pick Laura’s brains about the ins and outs of working on Shortland Street, approaching audition scripts, and making the move from acting to writing.

Vista Foundation 48Hours Grand Finals 2024
2024-07-27 19:00 - 22:00
The very best films from across the country get awarded and screened at the Grand Final Event.
⭐️Bar open 7:00pm
⭐️Doors open 7:30pm
⭐️Show starts 8:00pm
⭐️After Party TBC
This event will also be live-streamed for those who can’t make it along on our YouTube Channel @48Hoursnz.
