All Blog Posts

Pathways
BlogWe held a successful Screenlink event last night together with Advertising Producers Aotearoa. The topic was the nature of working across TV commercials, scripted and narrative features. It was interesting to hear about the pathways from…

Director & Editor Jack Woon: How I Got Started in the Industry
How I Got Started in the IndustryI made my first film when I was about 8. I hijacked my dad’s chonky Hi-8 home video camera, hit record, stopped, then hit record again. I could make people vanish! In my first year of high school, I made a Star Wars parody about the ozone…

Theatrical Ain’t Dead for Local Films
BlogThe success of director Miki Magasiva’s Tinā in theatres brings into focus theatrical exhibition at a very relevant time with the Ministry Of Culture and Heritage’s Media Reform Discussion document out for feedback. Tinā ranked the…

It’s A Wonderful New World
BlogAs we sit and contemplate if we should reform our funding bodies, how to rewrite their governing legislations, and look to squeeze funding out of the recalcitrant studios and streamers, the wonderful new world we work in moves on. Streamers…

Shake Up
BlogOn Wednesday, the Ministry of Culture and Heritage issued the Media Reform Discussion Document. This is the biggest shakeup to affect our sector next to that of the advent of international streamers, which has forever changed the global screen…

Here We Go
BlogWe’ve got Trump in the White House again and billionaires running that country, LA’s still burning, and the war in Ukraine ongoing, while a tenuous ceasefire has been reached in Gaza. On the domestic front, The Principles of the Treaty…

That Time of the Year
BlogDecember is upon us again. Before we hit the beaches or mountains, it’s time to reflect on what has been a tumultuous year for the New Zealand screen industry. On the positive side, we’ve had a great crop of New Zealand films and television,…

Women and Directing
BlogWe have just wrapped the eighth and last Emerging Women Filmmakers Incubator. This also brings to a close the year-long Incubator programme in its current manifestation as we have been unable to secure funding for it. In reflecting on women…

John Barnett CNZM, ONZM 1945 – 2025
BlogProducer John Barnett was at the heart of the NZ film and TV industry pretty much from its formative years through to today. He’s made multiple films, documentaries and TV series, employing thousands of above and below the line people along…

Editor Jesse Dixon: How I Got Started in the Industry
How I Got Started in the IndustryI didn’t always want to be an editor. I loved film and the moving image, but I was put off by the big crews and the “art by committee” feel of it all. Like many artsy teens, I thought I was a revolutionary artist with something profound…

The Pursuit of Passion
BlogLast night I participated in the first of three sessions of the NZFC-supported Animation Matchmaking Series, put together by ourselves, the Visual Effects Guild and the Writers Guild. One hundred and ten people turned out for the evening.…

A Kōrero with Colourist Damian McDonnell
A Kōrero With..., BlogDEGANZ’s Izzi Hoskyn sat down with award-winning Colourist Damian McDonnell to take a peek behind the curtain of the craft of colour grading. Damian has over twenty years’ experience as a colourist and editor in both Hollywood and Aotearoa.…

Round Two
BlogThe Copyright Act Review is back on, with a proposed Stage 1 set of proposals being finessed for feedback. Although we lobbied long and hard on behalf of directors in the previous review started in 2017, the whole review was ultimately put…

Cannes… One Mountain Too High
BlogThe Cannes film festival is over for another year. And it’s another year where no New Zealand film got into Official Competition, Critics Week, Director’s Fortnight, or the short film competition. The last NZ feature in Cannes was Cristine…
