Rangi’s Directorial Debut with Semi-Autobiographical Feature

DEGANZ member Shane Rangi (Ngāti Porou) is set to have his directorial debut with his semi-autobiographical feature film, Taonga. Long-time collaborator and Oscar-winning filmmaker, James Cameron, is one of the production’s executive producers.

While this is Shane’s first excursion into directing, he is one of Aotearoa’s leading motion capture and stunt performers. He is best known for his work on a plethora of blockbuster films including Thor: Ragnarok, The Wolverine, the Lord of the Rings, Hobbit, and Narnia franchises, and both Avatar films. He met Cameron through his work on Avatar, and the two continued working together through the development of Taonga.

The film is inspired by Shane’s life. It follows an indigenous Polynesian rugby star who becomes homeless and barely survives a violent encounter with law enforcement. While writing the script, Shane aimed to tackle the realities of homelessness and modern-day policing.

Fandomodo Films, a boutique film and television development, production, and financing company, is independently funding the film. The company aims to raise underrepresented voices, telling stories that accurately reflect our society with all the horror, pain, and love that exists in every human being.

The hope is for filming to begin in Aotearoa in 2024 but will depend on the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Read more.

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‘Still Here’ for Season Two

Award-winning docuseries Still Here is back for season two, with multiple DEGANZ members on the team! Litia Tuiburelevu (DEGANZ) directed and co-produced the series with fellow member Josh Yong as supervising producer and executive producer. Josh also edited episode four and provided additional editing for the first three. Also on the editorial team is Frangipani Foulkes (DEGANZ) as assistant editor for all four episodes.

Still Here celebrates the Pasifika community living in inner-city Auckland despite the decades of gentrification attempting to push them out. Season two profiles millennials from the remaining Pasifika families living in Tāmaki Makaurau’s affluent suburbs of Grey Lynn, Herne Bay, Ponsonby, and Western Springs. This season expands on season one’s core themes of resilience, identity, and identification, using an intergenerational lens to tell the story.

Some stories highlighted this season include Leki Jackson-Bourke, a community centre youth leader fighting to revitalise the Niuean language and culture, and Samoa House, the first-ever fale built outside Samoa, hidden in plain sight on K’ Road. Each episode is a love letter to the community it focuses on but emphasises the issues that threaten them.

The show is an unapologetic reminder of the Pasifika community’s unique Central Auckland indignity, proudly embraced by the younger generations, and that they and their families are still here.

You can watch season two on Re: or TVNZ+.

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March’s ‘I SEE YOU’ Boosted Campaign

DEGANZ member Briar March is crowdfunding to complete her new short film, I SEE YOU.

The film, written and directed by Briar, tells the story of a young mother struggling to see her 2-year-old daughter with Down Syndrome for who she is – a beautiful baby girl. Briar and the short’s producer, Caroline Hutchinson, share in the Boosted campaign that the film deeply resonates with their experiences of motherhood, as both are parents of children with Down Syndrome.

Briar shares with DEGANZ,

I wrote I SEE YOU to both challenge and inspire, questioning our judgments and expectations about the way we see the world and ultimately encouraging audiences to accept and embrace people for who they are.

The project has completed production with funding from the NZFC Fresh Shorts programme but needs a further financial push to carry out post-production. The $15,000 goal will go towards sound design, colour grade, and music. Briar has secured fellow DEGANZ member Adam-Luka Turjak as the film’s editor.

You can visit the Boosted campaign here!

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‘Juniper’ and its String of Successes

Juniper, written and directed by DEGANZ member Matthew Saville and edited by fellow member Peter Roberts, continues its successful run following the film’s release in 2021.

The film delves into the relationship between Ruth, played by Oscar-nominee Charlotte Rampling, and her grandson Sam. When the self-destructive teen and alcoholic grandmother are forced under the same roof, they discover unexpected insights into life and death.

The feature has earned nearly $USD1.1 million internationally and is pushing its way into the top 20 highest-grossing New Zealand films. So far, Juniper has played in theatres across Aotearoa, Australia, the US, Canada, the UK, and seven European countries (with further releases in the works).

In addition to its box office accomplishments, the film earned a spot in the 2023 Palm Springs International Film Festival’s Best of Fest list. Accompanying Juniper on the list are 30 of the festival’s top films of the year.

But the achievements don’t end there! Rotten Tomatoes announced its ranking of Best New Movies of 2023, with Juniper in the top 50 with its Certified Fresh score of 92%. The film, which is available on Apple TV, also topped the US Apple foreign film charts earlier this year in April.

Congratulations to Matthew, Peter, and the team for Juniper‘s prosperous theatrical run and critical recognition!

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NZFC Funding for Writer/Directors

NZFC announced their August funding decisions, with multiple DEGANZ members attached to projects as writer/directors.

Feature Film Production Investment

Lomu

Documentary

Logline: Experience the unstoppable force of Jonah Lomu, the greatest rugby player to walk the planet, whose indomitable spirit reshaped the game forever.

Writers/Directors: Vea Mafile’o and Gavin Fitzgerald

Early Development Funding Decisions

Childish

Drama

Logline: When a wealthy doctor suffers a serious stroke, the perfect lives of his wife and entitled adult children are turned upside down. But when they discover he has a secret family, all hell breaks loose.

Writer/Director: Jesse Griffin

Tandem

Drama

Logline: Struggling to accept the disability that detonated her Olympic dream, an ambitious low-vision cyclist finds a tandem pilot to steer her to victory, but their co-dependent relationship soon veers violently off-course.

Writer/Director: Pennie Hunt (Incubator 2020)

 

You can find the rest of the funding decisions on the NZFC website.

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