NZIFF 2023: DEGANZ Members as NZ’s Best

The New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) has announced this year’s New Zealand’s Best lineup, with DEGANZ members involved in four of the six short films selected. 

From the 81 films submitted this year, only 12 were chosen for the shortlist. Then, the final six were picked by Guest Selector Niki Caro, well-known for her film Whale Rider. She praised the projects, saying:

This selection of short films features fresh perspectives, acts of resistance, and small but powerful stories perfectly told. From a range of different voices, these films are tough and tender.

The shorts will screen during NZIFF before a jury of three selects the winners of the $7500 Best Short Film Award, the $4000 Creative New Zealand Emerging Talent Award, and the $4000 Auckland Live Spirit of The Civic Award. Additionally, audiences vote for their favourite short in which the winner takes home 25% of the total box office sales. Last year, Perianayaki, directed by DEGANZ member Bala Murali-Shingade and edited by fellow member Shailesh Prajapati, won the Creative New Zealand Emerging Talent Award, the Flicks Award for Best Short Film, and the Audience Award.

Daughter of God 

Written, directed, and co-produced by Maza White (DEGANZ), this film tells a story of an Iranian-Kiwi daughter. When forced into an arranged marriage, she must either dishonour her family or lose the love of her life.

Gate Crash 

Heightened emotions of a school ball after-party pared with deft shifts in tone, this short offers a new look into the teen genre, as put by Niki. DEGANZ member Cushla Dillon is credited as editor.

Hey Brainy Man

This avant-garde comedy, co-produced by DEGANZ member Jaimee Poipoi (Incubator 2023), acts as a performance appraisal for humankind. A group of evolutionary losers warn Homo sapiens not to f*ck up the world.

Anu 

When a 57-year old widow moves to Aotearoa from India, she’s forced to confront her grief by completing an ordinary ritual despite the extraordinary circumstances: quarantine. The drama short was written and directed by Pulkit Arora (DEGANZ) and edited by fellow member Jolin Lee (Incubator 2022).

Congratulations to the members involved; we can’t wait to see your mahi on the big screen!

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McKenzie Chosen for Canterbury Screen Story Incubator 2023

DEGANZ member Fiona McKenzie (Incubator 2022) has been selected for this year’s Waitaha Canterbury Screen Story Incubator with her new feature film Caroline.

The Waitaha Canterbury Screen Story Incubator is a programme organised by Script to Screen and Te Puna Matarau. It aims to support filmmakers from the Canterbury region, helping them develop projects and advance their careers. 

Five teams were selected, consisting of three series, a feature film, and a narrative-driven video game. Fiona’s project is the only feature-length film selected. Participants will attend three workshops from July to September and receive advice from filmmaking practitioners regarding their project’s specific needs.

Jackie Dennis, Executive Director of Script to Screen, warmly welcomed projects for this year. She commented:

The selected projects are exciting. They include a love letter to rock music culture and the trans community, an animated family adventure, a recluse living in the Southern Alps, and two comedies – a feature set in 1975 and a series that unfolds on a road trip.

Based in Christchurch now, Fiona started as a writer and field director for TVNZ in Dunedin. Later, she moved to Auckland and trained as a Drama Director with South Pacific Pictures before going freelance. She’s directed a variety of genres and forms, including documentary, sketch comedy, drama, and multicam. Her latest short film Peninsula premiered at New York’s Tribeca Film Festival in 2021 and won the “Let’s Include” section at the Academy Award-qualifying Bengaluru International Short Film Festival, India.

We are wishing all the best for Fiona’s project!

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DEGANZ Members Make Waves at Doc Edge Awards 2023

Congratulations to DEGANZ members Katherine McRae and Blandine Massiet du Biest for winning big at this year’s Doc Edge festival!

Katherine’s Pacific Mother won Best NZ Feature, Editing, and Cinematography, while she took home Best NZ Director. By winning the Best NZ Feature, the film now has the opportunity to qualify for consideration for the 2024 Academy Awards.

The jury commented on the film’s exploration of traditional birthing knowledge and the connection between caring for the planet and nurturing families:

This film took the judges on a beautiful cinematic journey that was hugely emotional and told an empowering conversation with indigenous women front and centre of its telling.

Meanwhile, Bladine’s directorial debut has proven successful with her Best NZ Emerging Filmmaker win. Her feature Frances Hodgkins, Anything but a Still Life also won Best New Zealand Sound. The film retraces the modernist painter’s footsteps, traversing the places she lived and worked and highlighting her dedication to her art.

Both films and two other winners of some of the festival’s key international categories received encore screenings in Auckland over the holiday weekend. The festival is now moving on to its Wellington run. Following the four award sweep, Pacific Mother’s screening and Q&A session with the filmmakers at the Roxy Cinema is sold out.

Well done, Katherine and Blandine, on the wins!

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More ‘n00b’ to Come

Popular TikTok series n00b, co-created and directed by DEGANZ member Victoria Boult (Incubator 2023), is heading to ThreeNow and Three as a new comedy series. According to the NZ on Air media release, Great Southern Television has received up to $1,499,541 to bring the series to fruition.

The show originated on the short form video social media via the Every Voice initiative between NZ on Air, Screen Australia, and TikTok. Since its release in August 2022, it has garnered over 1.5 million TikTok views across its twelve parts.

The anthology series follows teens in Aotearoa in the early 2000s as they venture into the unknown territories of sex, relationships, and the internet. Each episode is chock full of the decade’s iconic aesthetics and harks back to online video chat rooms, making mixtapes, and embracing your inner emo.

@n00bseries

n00b: Fanfiction Smut Part 1 🍆💦 Made with the support of NZ On Air

♬ original sound – n00b

The TV series will differ slightly, following a group of adolescent outcasts in small-town New Zealand as they attempt to cope with life through the internet and its newly invented social media.

Congrats Victoria! We can’t wait to see how the show evolves and grows.

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‘Still Here’ at the 2023 Voyager Media Awards

The Voyager Media Awards has announced the 2023 winners with Still Here taking home the Best Video Documentary Series title. Congratulations to DEGANZ members Josh Yong and Frangipani Foulks who are credited as editor and assistant editor respectively. Josh was also the series’ associate producer.

Still Here tells stories of Pasifika communities residing in Auckland’s Ponsonby, Herne Bay, and Grey Lynn suburbs. The four-episode documentary series captures the families’ lifestyles that keep their traditions alive. By remaining in their family houses, they fight rampant gentrification daily. In each episode, the intergenerational community stories debunk the myth that ‘all the islanders have left.’ They are still here and visible.

As the judges of the awards said,

These intimate portraits (of the locals) are a rich intersection of the past and present that conveys with nuance what it means to be Pacifica in New Zealand.

The Voyager Media Awards acknowledges the best of New Zealand’s journalism. The awards, formally known as the Qantas Press Awards and the Canon Media Awards, aim to celebrate the work of journalists, reporters, feature writers, columnists, cartoonists, reviewers, photographers and video journalists.

All four episodes are out now on TVNZ+.

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