The New Zealand International Film Festival kicked off last night with the screening of Big Girls Don’t Cry, directed by Paloma Schneiderman. A very accomplished and cinematic execution by a first-time feature filmmaker. The programme has expanded from last year’s, with more than 130 films showing in Auckland. Prior to COVID, the number of films […]
The Big Screen Symposium has run its course for another year. This time around, it had an emphasis on local content makers on the big and small screen, with micro-budget productions getting a good share of the limelight. I moderated a session with DEGANZ director member Callum Devlin and actor and director Chelsea Preston-Crayford, who […]
Last night I attended the Doc Edge Awards 2026, which recognised the best New Zealand and international documentaries submitted to the fest, along with some special awards for contributions to documentary. Chief among those was the Raye Freedman Legacy Award that went to DEGANZ board member and documentary maker Kim Webby. This award recognises outstanding […]
Every once in awhile we get contacted at the guild by producers or other individuals wanting recommendations for directors, editors or assistant editors. And I can tell you, we do get contacted about Hollywood projects as well. To be fair to all of our members, we are unable to make recommendations to these inquirers. Rather, […]
So… Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Paul Goldsmith (Minister for Public Service; Digitising Government; Arts, Culture and Heritage; Media and Communications) got together and announced that the government is embarking on a fundamental overhaul of the public service to improve services, lift productivity and deliver better value for money. Government departments will be merged, public […]