Tag Archive for: degnz member

American on demand service Hulu has picked up the US rights to Kiwi drama Rūrangi, directed by Max Currie (DEGNZ). Currie expressed his joy saying, “Holy cow, we are streaming on Hulu! This is proof the sky’s the limit for New Zealand’s burgeoning trans talent.” The platform will release Rūrangi in June of this year for its American audiences.

UK company Peccadillo Pictures previously acquired the UK rights to the series and plans to release it later this year. For New Zealand audiences, Rūrangi will be available on NEON in May.

Season two of the series is currently in development and the film adaption is on theatrical release in Aotearoa. Rūrangi was closing night film for Sydney’s Mardi Gras Film Festival (Feb 18-March 4) and is currently screening at BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival in the ‘Hearts’ programme (March 17-28).

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The Pinkies are Back is a heart-warming and hilarious feature film, following a group of extraordinary women on their journey to rebuild a dragon-boating team. Edited by DEGNZ board member Francis Glenday, the film is now in cinemas around Aotearoa.

The documentary centres around the dragon boating team, The Pink Dragons – breast cancer survivors who dragon boat for exercise, the challenge and for the sense of community.

Find times and tickets


Season 3 of Sui Generis is underway and the creators are crowdfunding to shoot the last episode of this anthology series. The series’ director, Roberto Nascimento (DEGNZ) and his production team are aiming for a $6000 goal for their boosted campaign. Each episode of Sui Generis is a stand-alone story with its own style, conceived and written by members and allies of the LQBTQIA+ community.

The final episode is titled Vanessa. This story is inspired by the idea of anonymity – with being unknown in a new city, what would you do? What could you do? What version of yourself would be presented… and would you take advantage of that?

Here are some ways you can help them:

  • Contribute to the campaign. Any donation, no matter how big or small, will be truly appreciated and celebrated. We know the times are a-challenging, so if you can’t contribute financially perhaps you could…
  • Share this campaign with your friends and extended whānau.
  • Help spread the word
  • Give them a hand – they are currently in search of a costume design/wardrobe person OR a runner.

View the campaign

Congrats to members Julie Zhu with Takeout Kids, Incubator alumna Michelle Ang and Ghazaleh Golbakhsh with Hair Now and Julia Parnell with The Hustle for their projects being selected for the March 2021 Pan Asian Projects Fund. For this fund, NZ On Air invested $1.7m into six documentary projects that speak to the diversity of experience of Pan-Asian people in Aotearoa.

Uhz & Hexwork Productions teamed up with The Spinoff and received up to $259,974 for a four part observational documentary series, Takeout Kids, that follows the joys and challenges of children growing up in the back of takeaway restaurants run by their immigrant parents.

A Grain of Rice Productions received up to $107,932 for short series, Hair Now, set to release via the Spinoff. In Hair Now, six women of different ages, ethnicities, languages, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds examine their complex relationship with their hair.

Notable Pictures received up to $368,633 plus a platform contribution from THREE of $96,000 for entrepreneurial based series The Hustle. The series focuses on the lives of Pan-Asian entrepreneurs and seeks to find out how they are pushing the boundaries of the world stage.

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Doc Edge Festival has announced three films, which are set to screen as part of the 16th edition. One is High Tide Don’t Hide, directed by members of The Rebel Film Collective: Niva Kay (DEGNZ), Emily McDowell, Nia Phipps and Phil Stebbing.

In High Tide Don’t Hide, driven by the climate crisis, five teenagers in New Zealand join the global student protests. But when challenged by Pasifika students the movement has to confront its racial prejudices to lead one of the biggest strikes in the country’s history.

The 2021 Festival will be an all new fusion event, returning to Auckland and Wellington theatres while playing online across the nation. Doc Edge is continuing its commitment to offering unique experiences by working with New Zealand artists to create a festival village at each venue. Festival-goers will enjoy entertainment including art installations, live performances, and virtual and augmented reality exhibitions.

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