Tag Archive for: development funding

Wynn-ing the SPADA New Filmmaker of the Year Award

Congratulations, Harry Wynn (DEGANZ), for winning the Screen Production and Development Association’s (SPADA) 2023 New Filmmaker of the Year Award! SPADA grants this award to honour excellence, talent, and creativity in filmmaking.

Along with the accolade, Harry received $2,500 of development funding and a complimentary registration to next year’s SPADA Conference.

Harry has made a name for himself in the documentary space over the past few years. In 2022, he released Shred, a short about a teenage bodybuilder who takes drastic measures in pursuit of winning his first bodybuilding competition. In the same year, he produced What’s the Disibili-tea, a docu-series profiling young queer people living with disabilities in Aotearoa, directed by DEGANZ board member Justin Scott. His other titles include Young & Hooked on Chemsex, released on TVNZ+, and Three Ticks for Chlöe for the Spinoff.

Harry is currently developing his first feature-length doco with funding from Screen Australia. He also has been selected for the next round of Script to Screen’s development and mentorship programme, FilmUp.

Harry is in good company as fellow member Mia Maramara won the same award for 2021, which she was awarded at the 2022 conference last year.

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Boult Strikes Fresh Shorts Funding

DEGANZ member and participant in this year’s Incubator, Victoria Boult, has been selected for Kōpere Hou Fresh Shorts. This is a massive feat; this year, the final six projects were chosen from 89 applications.

Through this fund, Victoria’s team will receive development support and a grant of $25,000 to make their short film, Invisible Dragons. Industry experts will offer advice over an intensive three-week period. During this time, teams will be able to refine their story, vision, and production plans.

In addition to directing this project, Victoria is credited as the writer.

This has come along with a string of other successes for Victoria recently. This year alone, she has been selected for DEGANZ’s Incubator, Show Me Shorts’ Development Lab, and Screen Canberaa’s POD program. Additionally, since the release of her TikTok series n00b, created as part of NZOA and Screen Australia’s TikTok Every Voice initiative, her work has garnered over 1.5 million views and 12,000 followers.

Congratulations to Victoria and the rest of the team; we cannot wait to see your finished film!

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DEGANZ Incubator Alum Selected for He Kauahi Catalyst Funding

Congratulations to DEGANZ members and Emerging Women Filmmakers Incubator alum Jolin Lee and Mīria George for receiving He Kauahi Catalyst funding. Their filmmaking teams make up two of the three selected. In addition to being their respective projects’ directors, both Jolin and Mīria are credited with writing positions. Both teams have received $90,000 for their short films and an additional $10,000 to develop their feature film concepts.

Jolin’s short, Chrysanthemum follows an anguished gardener who develops an unhealthy relationship with a chrysanthemum plant when her daughter mysteriously vanishes in a garden centre. Mīria’s film, Open Looks, tells the story of three sisters who share a love of basketball and must battle their way back from the underworld when their world is turned upside down.

This funding from NZFC allows filmmakers to develop high-end narrative short films to progress their careers. The projects pitched are required to be tonally or thematically linked to feature or long-form content, allowing the creatives to develop the short-form content with hopes of expanding it in the future.

Read more.

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DEGANZ Alumna Receives NZFC Catalyst Funding

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DEGANZ Incubator alumna Marina Alofagia McCartney has received funding for her project The Return. The short film follows Lupesina who answers the call from her ancestors, and must prove her worthiness as a Samoan woman or stay stuck in the in-between.

Congratulations, Marina! She is the first woman writer/director of Moana Pasifika heritage to secure Catalyst funding in over a decade and the majority of the creative HOD’s on The Return are of Moana Pasifika descent too.

Catalyst He Kauahi supports NZ filmmakers to progress their talents to the next stage and make exceptional, high end narrative short films. The NZFC have funded three teams a total of $100,000 each ($90,000 towards their short film and $10,000 towards development of the feature film concept). Marina’s team are currently developing a feature that will continue the poetic character exploration of a NZ-born Samoan woman’s identity journey.

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Winner of Piki Pitch Announced, Member Shortlisted

Ankita Singh is this year’s Piki Pitch winner, receiving a $10,000 development prize. A big shout out to our member Hweiling Ow (pictured) for being one of 10 shortlisted writers alongside partner Peter Haynes for their project Jing.

Piki Pitch received 275 submissions, so making the shortlist is no small feat! The selected projects participated in a series of workshops in order to develop their stories and hone their pitching skills. Piki Films is dedicated to maintaining relationships with all of the creatives involved in the workshop programme.

See the full list of shortlisted participants here.

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