Member Mary-Lyn Chambers’ new short film, KARANGA, is set to have its world premiere on December 13 on Sky Arts. The film is a cinematic exploration of the Māori contemporary dance work of the same name, choreographed by Merenia Gray.

The work is a love letter to Gray’s late mother Tiahuia Te Puea Hērangi Ramihana Gray (Ngāi Tahu, Rangitāne, Tainui), who performed the karanga – an ancient Maori ceremony only performed by women. KARANGA involves dance and the spoken word, led by performer Miriama McDowell.

Normally to be found in the editor’s chair, DEGANZ member Adam-Luka Turjak, also worked on this multidisciplinary dance work as the projections designer.

Watch KARANGA at 8:30pm, December 13 on Sky Arts.

Peter Burger

Decisions are out for the Interim Production Round of Te Puna Kairangi Premium Fund. A panel made up of members from NZ On Air, NZFC and Te Māngai Pāho have made conditional offers to two drama series, one documentary series and a feature film.

We’re excited to see that DEGANZ member Peter Burger will direct the first block of new drama series The Gone (6 x 60 min), a co-production between New Zealand and Ireland.

Michael Bennett, Simone Nathan and Irish screenwriter Anna McPartlin will write the show. The Gone follows an Irish detective Theo Richter and Kiwi cop Diana Henare, who team up to find a young Irish couple after they vanish from an infamous rural North Island town. The project begins pre-production in January 2022.

The $50 million Fund supports the Aotearoa New Zealand production sector recovery from COVID-19 by supporting high-quality productions that tell New Zealand stories for global audiences. The four screen projects in the Interim Round will share over $11.5 million.

Read more

Red traffic light against clouds in the sky

Friday 3 December 2021

Hi and welcome to the Traffic Light system!

The following areas are currently in the RED level: Northland, Auckland, Taupō and Rotorua Lakes districts, Kawerau, Whakatane, Ōpōtiki districts, Gisborne district, Wairoa district, Rangitikei, Whanganui and Ruapehu districts

And these regions are in ORANGE: The rest of the North Island (Waikato, Taranaki, Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa and Wellington), as will the entire South Island.

Note: The Auckland land and air boundaries will remain in place, so until 15 December 2021 people will only be able to travel out of Auckland for permitted reasons. From 15 December 2021, restrictions at the Auckland boundaries ease and personal travel will be permitted for any reason for travellers who have a Vaccine Pass or have a negative COVID-19 test, taken within 72 hours of travel.

The Protocols are currently out for legal and peer review. We were hoping to publish the revised protocols today, but we are still waiting for legal sign-off. Hopefully we will be able to publish in the next few days.

The new Protocols are very similar to the draft guidance provided on 17th November. But for now, the main things to keep in mind are:

  • Make a CLEAR decision whether you are doing a vaccination passport job or not.
  • Discuss your requirements with your safety office prior to commencing work and make clear guidelines to share with your crew.
  • If you need a film permit from a local council or film offices, please get in touch with them. Like everyone else, they are working hard to create clear guidelines for the new system.

Remember to get your My Vaccine Pass if you are double vaccinated or you have an official vaccination exemption. And productions should download the NZ Pass Verifier if you choose to use a vaccination passport on your production.

Finally – be nice to each other. It’s a strange new world for everyone, whether you are vaccinated or not. And it will take a while for everyone to adjust.

Kia kaha!

Sincerely,
The ScreenSafe COVID-19 Group
Email: info@screensafe.co.nz

Download this update in PDF

We are beyond proud and excited for the DEGANZ members who are finalists in the 2021 New Zealand Television Awards. With a total of 117 nominations from more than 530 entries and across 37 categories, this year’s finalists reflect the diversity of content and voices available to Kiwi viewers.

A big congratulations to all DEGANZ members up for awards!

Screen Auckland Best Director Drama

David Stubbs (DEGANZ)
Black Hands
Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand (TVNZ 1)

Roseanne Liang (DEGANZ)
Creamerie
Kevin & Co + Flat 3 (TVNZ 2)

Max Currie (DEGANZ)
Rūrangi
Autonomouse (Neon & NZME)

Peter Salmon
INSiDE
Luminous Beast (Prime, Neon)

Black Hands, Creamerie and Rūrangi are also finalists for NZ On Air Best Drama Series.

Best Script: Comedy

Shoshana McCallum and Roseanne Liang
Creamerie
Kevin & Co + Flat 3 (TVNZ 2)

Best Factual Series

Origins
Peter Bell (DEGANZ), Tash Christie, Meg Douglas, Megan Tucker
Scottie Douglas Productions / Greenstone TV (TVNZ 1)

Fight for the Wild
Peter Young (DEGANZ), Tracy Roe, Dave Hansford
Fisheye Films (RNZ)

Best Camerawork: Documentary/Factual

Peter Young
Fight for the Wild
Fisheye Films (RNZ)

We would also like to extend our congratulations to all the finalists in the directing and editing categories:

Best Editing: Documentary/Factual

Bryan Shaw
Origins
Scottie Douglas Productions / Greenstone TV (TVNZ 1)

Toby Longbottom
Deleted
Stuff Circuit (Stuff)

Simon Coldrick
Six Angry Women
Kindred Films (TVNZ 1)

Best Editing: Drama

Allanah Bazzard
Black Hands
Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand (TVNZ 1)

Eric de Beus
The Gulf – Season 2
The Gulf Productions (Three/Discovery)

Gretchen Peterson
The Gulf – Season 2
The Gulf Productions (Three/Discovery)

Best Director: Documentary/Factual

Anna Marbrook
Loimata: The Sweetest Tears
Anna Marbrook Productions (Māori Television)

Irene Chapple
The Eruption: Stories of Survival
Pencil Productions (Three/Discovery)

Natalie Malcon & Thomas Robins
Heaven and Hell – The Centrepoint Story
Warner Bros. International Television Production New Zealand (TVNZ 1)

Best Director: Multi Camera

Matt Barrett
Battle of Jacks Ridge
Sky Sport (Sky)

Wayne Leonard
36th America’s Cup Match
America’s Cup Events (Am. Cup website/YouTube)

​Nigel Carpenter
Aotearoa Music Awards 2020
Discovery (Three/Discovery)

The NZTV Awards are designed to recognise excellence in television, and honour the special skills and unique talents behind New Zealand television.

Finalists across all awards categories can be read here. Winners will be announced on Tuesday 1 March, 2022 at a red carpet gala event held at Auckland’s Shed 10.

An exciting new film festival is coming to Auckland! Showcasing films featured at this year’s NZIFF, as well as international talent, In The Shade will commence early next year on January 19 and runs until February 1. Fiona Clark: Unafraid is part of the line-up.

DEGANZ member Lula Cucchiara directed the documentary, with Shailesh Prajapati as assistant editor. The film explores radical photographer Fiona Clark and her work, which captured the burgeoning gay liberation movement and vibrant queer scene in 1970’s New Zealand.

The festival will be exclusive to Academy Cinemas and the Hollywood in Avondale, and will include international films sourced from some of the world’s most prestigious film festivals, such as Sundance, Cannes and Toronto.

When speaking of the current state of Auckland’s cinema scene, In The Shade commented that “Auckland is currently in the throes of a big screen drought, the like never seen in our moviegoing lifetimes”. Therefore, quenching Aucklander’s “insatiable hunger for the very best cinema from around the world” is what the festival hopes to do.

Fiona Clark: Unafraid has recently enjoyed a run as part of NZIFF, and will no doubt be an exciting addition to the new In The Shade film festival as well. Other films announced as part of the programme can be found on the festival’s website, with more titles being added in the coming weeks.