DEGANZ Members Ate at Vision Feast

Congratulations to DEGANZ members Joe Murdie, Sophie Black, and James Fink-Jensen for their success at the 2023 Vision Feast awards!

Joe won big with the Rubber Monkey Best Aotearoa Project Award for WALK. Along with the accolade, he received $3000 worth of rentals from Rubber Monkey and the festival’s iconic Golden Chompy trophy. Written and directed by Joe, the short follows Amelia on a seemingly casual stroll in the wilderness. However, the innocent and carefree nature of the walk grows increasingly at odds with the protagonist’s actions.

Sophie’s animation-hybrid Believing is Seeing earned her Best Documentary. Joined by Dr. Robert Bartholomew, the world’s leading expert on mass psychogenic illnesses, the film investigates the mysterious outbreak of tic disorders on TikTok. You can watch Believing is Seeing on Youtube and Vimeo now!

James took home the Emerging NZ Filmmaking Talent Award for Strangers, which he wrote, directed, produced, and edited. The film dwells on the nervous pressure of first impressions on a date. With a cast of zany characters, a simple cafe date goes awry on an emotional roller coaster.

Well done to the winners and all the nominated directors. It’s always exciting to see our members recognised for their hard work!

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‘Inky Pinky Ponky’: A New Kind of Teenage Romcom

Inky Pinky Ponky, co-directed by Ramon Te Wake (DEGANZ), offers a new take on the classic high school romcom, cementing itself in the hearts of young LGBTQIA+ and Pasifika viewers.

Based on the real-life experiences of co-writer and lead actress Amanaki Prescott-Faletau, the show opens as Lisa, a fakaleitī (transgender) student, starts at her fourth high school after countless struggles with bullying. However, this year looks like it could be different when the captain of the first XV rugby team, Mose, takes an interest in her. Unknown to Lisa, Mose’ friends dared him to make her fall in love with him. Surprisingly to Mose, he catches genuine feelings for her in the process.

Through the single hour-long episode, Lisa navigates intolerance, ignorance, and bigotry in her day-to-day life as a high school girl. In addition to typical struggles teenagers face, like insecurity and self-discovery, Lisa grapples with bathroom politics and the school’s use of her dead name. The show also explores the early stages of Lisa’s relationship with Mose, highlighting how the relationship will come with more baggage than the typical high school relationship.

Lisa’s home life is also highlighted through her strained relationship with her conservative Catholic Tongan mother, who struggles to accept Lisa’s identity.

The show has received great praise for its accurate and authentic representation of the Pasifika and rainbow communities. While acknowledging Lisa’s traumas, the show ultimately celebrates the triumphs of queer adolescence.

You can watch Inky Pinky Ponky on MĀORI+2 now before it streams internationally on The Coconet TV on 20 July!

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DEGANZ Members Flourish with Seed Grants

Congrats to the DEGANZ members selected for the first 2023 round of the New Zealand Writers Guild’s (NZWG) Seed Grants! Pulkit Arora (DEGANZ) and Joseph J. U. Taylor (DEGANZ) are two of the six Seed Grant recipients. Fellow members Hweiling Ow (Incubator 2021) and Rouzie Hassanova are the two Seed Advanced Grant recipients.

NZWG offers these grants to writers for the opportunity to be innovative and write a feature they believe in. While the Seed Grant is for emerging and unproduced writers, Seed Advanced acknowledges experienced writers by offering a larger grant and more flexibility around development costs.

Applications are judged through a blind-read process against the three criteria of idea, craft, and voice. This process ensures that the projects selected tell a compelling story and have an audience. It also determines if the writers have a clear and original voice and can turn their idea into a strong screenplay. This round’s judges panel featured Karol Griffiths, Briar Grace-Smith, Victor Rodger, and Nicole Dade.

Check out the projects that DEGANZ members will be working on with the grants:

SEED GRANT

Pulkit Arora

Soft

Away from his home in India for the first time, a teenage boy spends a month learning to be a man from his domineering elder brother in New Zealand. But will his tenderness survive the transition to manhood?

Joseph J. U. Taylor

The Rider

A teenage woman flees her backwater village to become a daredevil rider on ‘The Wall of Death,’ but with international stardom within reach, tragedy strikes, forcing her home to the prospect of never riding again.

SEED ADVANCED GRANT

Hweiling Ow

Pohpoh Wants to Die

When a grandmother turbo charges her bucket list after her husband’s funeral, her highly strung daughter desperately tries to rein her in from the world of drugs, casual sex, and social media stardom.

Rouzie Hassanova

Tulpar

11 year old Sefa Hasan is struggling to find her feet in Aotearoa New Zealand, but in order to fit in, she needs to embrace her true self.

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Lee Calls Out ‘Where My Asians At?!’

DEGANZ member Jolin Lee (Incubator 2022) is truly embodying the Directors and Editors Guild, having directed and edited the new music video Where My Asians At?!

The new single by Tāmaki Makarau based singer/songwriter RESHMA celebrates and highlights the unique perspectives that the pan-Asian community brings to the arts. Her lyrics reflect on the prejudices within the Asian community about pursuing the arts but are ultimately a call to action for Asian creatives to continue to create, share stories, and uplift each other.

Jolin came on board as the video’s director and editor, channeling the song’s superhero final boss energy. It features K-pop-esque group choreography, firey visual effects, and mesmerising editing. On their Instagram, Jolin shares that this was their first time working with a choreographer and extensive VFX, and thanks the team that helped pull it all together.

Check out the music video on all platforms now!

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IndieGo-Go Support the ‘Cookies and Cream’ Crowdfunding Campaign

DEGANZ member Arka Gupta is looking for crowdfunding support for his upcoming short film, Cookies and Cream.

The film peeks into the lives of Phoebe, a five-year-old experiencing the early stages of hearing loss, and Rachel, her young working mother. While trying to balance a turbulent home life as the family’s sole provider, Rachel struggles to accept her daughter’s disability. However, when Phoebe is able to find human connection through unspoken gestures, Rachel comes to accept her daughter’s condition, realising that it won’t prevent her from living a full life.

Through exploring childhood deafness and the challenges and stigmas that surround it, the story aims to raise awareness. Arka, the project’s writer and director, is dedicated to authentically representing Phoebe’s disability. With the help of Deaf Children NZ, the production team ran a nationwide audition search for young actors to play Pheobe and her friend, Madelyn.

The production has received some support from the Palmerston North city council, which has helped cover location and gear rental costs. However, they need help for the final stretch. Through crowdfunding, they aim to cover the costs of on-set catering, artist kohas, post-production, and ongoing fees.

If you are able to help bring this story to life, you can visit the IndieGoGo page. You can also follow their socials on Instagram and Facebook.

Best of luck to Arka and the Cookies and Cream team!

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