4 Member Films to Look Foward to at NZIFF

The Heart Dances

There’s something magical about experiencing a movie as part of a film festival that beats visits to your local multiplex. It’s one of the reasons why the New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF), now celebrating it’s 50th year in Auckland, induces many fond memories and is still an annual highlight on people’s calendars.

For me, it’s also my chance to “binge-watch” some of the best films curated from around the world. But what makes NZIFF particularly special is that it also brings together some of the best feature and short films made right here in Aotearoa.

We know how exciting and rewarding it is for local filmmakers to have their films chosen to premiere at NZIFF and be enjoyed by a New Zealand audience. Here, we celebrate four NZ feature films made by our members – directors and editors – that have already been announced in the festival’s Early Announcements.

The full NZIFF programme launches on June 25.

Angie – Director/Editor Costa Botes

World Premiere

Angie film still

ANGIE / Photo credit: Costa Botes, Lone Pine Films

The compelling new documentary by DEGNZ member Costa Botes (Candyman), who served on the board of DEGNZ between 2013 and 2016. Angie Meiklejohn, prominent and articulate Centrepoint survivor, is joined by her siblings in this lucid exploration of the legacy of sexual abuse, directed without a hint of sensationalism.

“Funny, smart, big hearted, unflinchingly honest, a steadfast friend – whatever her past hurts, Angie is an engaging and loveable human being.” – Costa Botes

Read more  >

The Heart Dances – Director Rebecca Tansley

World Premiere 

The Heart Dances

RNZB dancers Abigail Boyle and Alexandre de Oliviera Ferreira rehearse in their roles as Ada and Baines in the RNZB studio. / Photo: Ken Downie

The Heart Dances promises to immerse audiences in a unique creative experience. The new documentary by DEGNZ member Rebecca Tansley (Crossing Rachmaninoff) tracks the collective and cross-cultural journey involved in creating The Piano: the ballet, inspired by Jane Campion’s 1993 film.

“Dance is an inherently ephemeral art form and most of us only ever observe it as a finished – and fleeting – performance.” – Rebecca Tansley

Read more  >

Stray – Director Dustin Feneley, Editor Dione Chard

NZ Premiere

Stray film still

STRAY / Courtesy of Dustin Feneley

Two damaged strangers fall into a complex intimate relationship in DEGNZ member Dustin Feneley’s beautiful and rigorous debut feature film, shot in Otago against the breathtaking Southern Alps.

Stray will premiere at NZIFF after its successful world premiere at Moscow International Film Festival where it collected a best actor win for lead Kieran Charnock. The film also marks a great  achievement for DEGNZ member Dione Chard as editor of her first feature film.

Read more  >

Paul Callaghan: Dancing with Atoms – Director Shirley Horrocks

Auckland Premiere

Paul Callaghan in Antartica

Dancing with Atoms / Point of View Productions

In her latest work, DEGNZ member Shirley Horrocks (Tom Who? The Enigma of Tom Kreisler) discovers the world of atoms and molecules that so entranced Sir Paul Callaghan, one of New Zealand’s most exceptional scientists and public figures.

The Auckland premiere will be a special Cancer Society fundraiser screening. Ticket details will be available when the full NZIFF programme launches.

Read more  >

 

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The Making of NZ Music Doco ‘Swagger of Thieves’

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Swagger of Thieves film still

Director Julian Boshier chatted about his music documentary Swagger of Thieves as part of Film Talk, a series of special Q&A screenings presented by DEGNZ and Rialto Cinemas.

The film charts Kiwi rock bank Head Like a Hole’s continuing quest for glory and relevance. A decade in the making, Swagger of Thieves first premiered in 2017 at the New Zealand International Film Festival, which praised it as “one of the most intelligently assembled and truthfully told documentaries New Zealand has ever produced”.

Watch the Film Talk highlights

In this short video, Julian shares with audience members and moderator James Solomon about:

  • How he approached filming the band’s real and intimate relationships.
  • The reasons behind the film’s black and white.
  • What the editing process was like.
  • Knowing when the film was finished.

Swagger of Thieves is currently in NZ cinemas. See here for information on movie times.

 

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Member Giveaway – Win Tickets to Tea with the Dames!

Tea with the Dames

Befitting the Queen’s Birthday, we’re giving members the chance to win a double pass to Tea with the Dames (in NZ cinemas June 7), a unique celebration of the lives and careers of acting royalty Dame Eileen Atkins, Dame Judi Dench, Dame Joan Plowright and Dame Maggie Smith.

Tea with the Dames invites you to spend time with these acting legends as they talk about their lives and their professional experiences across theatre, television and film. Directed by Roger Michell (My Cousin Rachel), the film includes a range of astonishing archive material. Candid, funny, caustic, irreverent, poignant and utterly engrossing, this unmissable release is proof that there is truly nothing like a Dame.

★★★★★  Wildly enjoyable – The Guardian

View the trailer

To enter the draw

Simply email admin@deganz.co.nz with your full name, postal address and the name of your favourite Dame.

Draw Closes: Thu 31 May, 9am

Winners will be notified Thursday.
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TOTS Directors Toolkit with Chris Dudman – Blenheim

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Director Chris Dudman

Up-skill with this two-day practical guide to the directing process. 

The Directors & Editors Guild of NZ and Top of the South Film Production Society (TOTS) presents the first of two Top of the South Island Directors Toolkits with New Zealand director Chris Dudman.

This workshop will take place in Blenheim, with a second in Nelson scheduled for early August.

About Chris Dudman

Chris’ career has involved writing and directing short films, commercials, feature and series documentary and series TV drama. He directed short film successes THE GRAFITTI OF MR TUPAIA and CHOICE NIGHT, and later co-wrote and directed HARRY, the gritty crime drama series starring Oscar Kightley and Sam Neill. He wrote and directed THE DAY THAT CHANGED MY LIFE, the multi-award winning documentary about Christchurch’s devastating earthquake. He most recently directed two standalone episodes of James Patterson’s true crime anthology series MURDER IS FOREVER for U.S. company Stephen David Entertainment. Chris was also a longtime partner of and director at Auckland TV commercials company Robber’s Dog.

Directors Tookit

Chris will explore the directing process from his own personal experience on a variety of directing assignments from commercials to long-form documentary, from short film to dramatic television series. He will discuss the way he prepares (analyses scripts, casts, rehearses actors, storyboards), the way he directs actors and camera, and the way he works with editors and composers during post-production.

Taking a warts and all approach, he will use highlights and low-points as examples showing how he adapts this process to the various forms of the work he’s directing. In doing so he’ll touch on the differences between being a gun for hire and working on projects he’s instigated, on collaboration and compromise, on the director/producer relationship, on making decisions under pressure, avoiding pitfalls, the role of chance and luck…

His intention is to create a dialogue in the workshop – about process and what is really involved in directing as a career…

And, most importantly, why it has been worth it.

When:
Sat 23 June, 9am – 5pm
Sun 24 June 9am – 4pm

Where: Marlborough campus, Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT), 85 Budge Street, Blenheim

Cost: Free
Class: 20 max

Blenheim Registration

Register by Wednesday 13 June, 4PM. Priority for Blenheim will be given to Marlborough TOTS Film Production Society members, as a result, Nelson TOTS Film Production Society members may be placed on a waitlist (Nelson members will be given priority for the Nelson workshop).

TOTS members: Fill in the form below and DEGNZ will contact you to confirm your place.
DEGNZ members: If you would like to attend, please email admin@deganz.co.nz to be placed on the waitlist.

These workshops are closed to TOTS and DEGNZ members only.

 

This event is brought to you by the Directors & Editors Guild of NZ and Top of the South Film Production Society, and made possible thanks to the New Zealand Film Commission.

Top of the South Society    NZFC

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Auckland – Rehearsal & Performance with Director/Producer Simon Bennett

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Rehearsal & Performance logo

Rehearsal & Performance is a practical half-day workshop focused on developing directors and actors’ tools to build better director/actor relationships for on-screen results.

Guided by director/producer Simon Bennett, participants will explore a scene in groups (one director, two actors) in a safe and non-pressured environment. Lunch is provided.

Simon Bennett

Simon Bennett / photo courtesy of Amanda Billing

Simon Bennett has worked extensively as a stage and screen director and producer since graduating from Toi Whakaari in 1988. In 1995, he moved into television work: first directing, then producing Shortland Street.

In the years since, Simon’s directing highlights have included five seasons of Outrageous Fortune (for which he won an Achievement in Directing award in the 2007 Air NZ Screen Awards), Sione’s 2: Unfinished Business, The Almighty Johnsons, and Spies and Lies.

We are honoured to have Simon facilitate this workshop.

When: Sat 16 June, 9am – 2pm
Where: DEGNZ, Level 2, 66 Surrey Crescent, Grey Lynn, Auckland

 

Register your interest

Registrations close Tuesday 5 June, 10AM.

Spots are limited to four directors and eight actors. If your name is selected, DEGNZ will contact you directly to confirm your participation. Only members of DEGNZ and Equity NZ are eligible to register.

Preparation

The selected directors and actors will be expected to do some script prep beforehand. DEGNZ will provide the scene in advance.

 

The Rehearsal & Performance series is hosted by Directors & Editors Guild of NZ with the support of the Equity Foundation and funding from the New Zealand Film Commission.

 

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