DEGANZ Members Selected for Script to Screen’s Story Camp Aotearoa and FilmUp 2026

2026 is kicking off strong with exciting development news! Congratulations to the eight DEGANZ members who have been selected for Script to Screen’s feature film initiatives, Story Camp Aotearoa and FilmUp. Both programmes will take place later this year and offer the filmmakers a stepping stone towards making their first features.

Members Jamie Lawrence, Te Waiarangi Ratana, and Lucy Wigmore will be packing their bags to attend this year’s Story Camp Aoteara. All three are attending the development programme in both writing and directing roles on their respective projects.

Story Camp, which has tikanga and Māoritanga embedded in its kaupapa, is unique in its ability to encourage filmmakers to shut out the noise of their day-to-day lives in order to dig deep into their script’s development. The five-day residential development lab enables participating filmmakers to hone their craft, voice, and vision, deepening their understanding of the needs of their script. In addition to one-to-one sessions with industry advisors, participants also engage in project-based group workshops, panel discussions, sessions with actors, and talks from guest advisors from other art forms. Each team will also work with advisors who are chosen specifically for the needs of the project and where it sits in the development journey.

Meanwhile, Lynda Chanwai-Earle, Liv McClymont, Hweiling Ow, Phillida Perry, and Stella Reid are taking part in the twelfth edition of FilmUp.

The feature film mentorship programme is for writers, directors, and producers who are ready to take the next step towards making a feature film. Across six months, each filmmaker will pair with an esteemed industry mentor, participate in group work and round tables, and receive wrap-around support in the development of their projects and careers.

See more about the projects for both programmes below.

Story Camp Aotearoa 2026

DAZ

Writer/Director: Jamie Lawrence
Producer: Thomas Coppell

Manu Masters

Writer/Director: Te Waiarangi Ratana
Producer: Keisha Castle-Hughes

The Delusions

Co-Writer/Director: Lucy Wigmore
Co-Writer: Michael Beran
Story Collaborators: Gin Wingmore and Tandi Wright

FilmUp 2026

Little Yellow Peril

Writer: Lynda Chanwai-Earle

Wunderbar

Writer/Director: Liv McClymont

Pohpoh Wants to Die

Writer: Hweiling Ow

THE LONGEST DRINK IN TOWN

Producer: Phillida Perry

Stage Challenge

Writer/Director: Stella Reid

 

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Mafile’o and Grace are WIFT Award Finalists

The WIFT Awards are back for 2026, with DEGANZ members Vea Mafile’o and Robyn Grace selected as finalists!

WIFT NZ established the awards in 2004 to recognise, celebrate, and encourage the achievements of women in film, television, and digital media. This year, the ceremony will take place on 12 March in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.

Vea is a nominated Hinterland Woman to Watch. This award recognises women with an emerging body of work who show potential to have significant careers in the industry. Vea’s recent shorts, Lea Tupu’anga / Mother Tongue, which is under consideration for the Oscars, and I’m Not Your Dusky Maiden, have solidified her as a promising director. Previous winners include Niki Caro, Julia Parnell, Kerry Warkia, and fellow DEGANZ member Roseanne Liang.

In a different category, Robyn is nominated for the Images & Sound Award for Outstanding Achievement in Television and Digital. This award recognises women who have had a significant impact or achievement in any aspect of television or digital media in recent years. Robyn is a highly experienced director, having recently worked on some of Aotearoa’s biggest TV productions, including Sweet Tooth, Spartacus: House of Ashur, and Happiness. In 2022, she received an Emmy nomination for her direction on the Sweeth Tooth episode “What’s in the Freezer?”

Congrats to Vea, Robyn, and all the nominees.

 

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Maire’s ‘Silver Lining’ Commissioned for Day One Shorts

Here comes another round of Day One Shorts! This year, DEGANZ member Harriett Maire is directing one of the eight funded projects.

Day One Shorts is a series of short films by emerging filmmakers from across the motu. A mix of factual and fiction, they explore cultural, social and political issues by taking story risks, pushing the envelope, and looking to the future. The initiative provides scripted projects with $20k and documentaries with $15k to produce their films. In addition to funding, Day One offers the filmmakers wrap-around talent development support, including workshops, professional script consultancy, and mentorships for the directors and producers.

Harriett is directing the documentary Silver Lining. Approaching 25 years with type 1 diabetes, she reflects: How do you honour milestones in a lifelong condition? How do you keep moving forward on a journey with no end?

Congratulations, Harriett!

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DEGANZ Watch List: In Case You Missed It… Motel Murders and Sex Robots

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In case you missed it… Here are some recent works from DEGANZ members that dropped over the holiday period.

First up is NZ on Air’s latest crime drama, Blue Murder Motel, with DEGANZ member Josh Frizzell as one of the directors of the premiere season.

Quirky sci-fi short PleasureDora, directed and edited by fellow member Mark Prebble, has just been released online. This follows a successful run on the festival circuit, which finished in November 2025 with awards for Best International Film and Best Actor at Reel East Texas Film Festival.

Check them out below.

Blue Murder Motel

Crime Drama Series

Director: Josh Frizzell

When an Aussie cop couple trade their badges for a quiet life managing a beachside motel in New Zealand, they plan to leave police work behind them – that is, until crime comes to them!

 

PleasureDora

Drama Short Film

Director & Editor: Mark Prebble

A glitchy AI love companion from the ‘semi-mature’ range and her lonely final customer confront mortality, second chances, and life on the scrap heap.

 

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Vale Aroha Awarau

It is with deep sadness that we mark the death of DEGANZ member Aroha Awarau, who passed away peacefully on 14 January 2026 in hospice after a short battle with cancer.

Aroha joined DEGANZ in 2025 and was selected to participate in the Melbourne International Film Festival’s Accelerator Lab as one of seven directors from Aotearoa to attend with the Guild. He began his career as a journalist and a playwright and quickly became known and respected for highlighting Māori perspectives in current affairs. In 2015, he made his screen debut as a writer with his short film Home, followed by Disrupt in 2021. His more recent screen works include Puti (2025), which screened at Whānau Mārama NZIFF’s Ngā Whanaunga Aotearoa: New Zealand’s Best short film programme. At the time of his passing, Aroha was developing his first feature film, Hidden, a story about human trafficking in Auckland, which he wrote during the screenwriting accelerator at Māoriland. He was also writing Redemption League, a feature about a troubled and disgraced rugby league star who finds purpose and redemption in prison.

Aroha will be at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Kōtuku (92 Simpson Road, Ranui, Auckland 0614) on Thursday, 15 January and Friday, 16 January during the updated open times of 8am, 10am, and 12pm. All are welcome to join and pay final respects.

Moe mai rā ki a Aroha Awarau.

 

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