DEGANZ member and advocate for comprehensive consent education, Liv McClymont‘s short documentary I Stand For Consent premieres on World Sexual Health Day. Perfectly enough, this year’s theme is consent.
Motivated by a survey exposing the extent of sexual harassment and harm at her former high school, Liv returns to amplify the students’ call for change. Through interviews with students, principals, experts, and even Liv’s own mother, the doc exemplifies the urgent need for compulsory consent education in schools.
Despite the heavy topic, Olivia aims to discuss sexual harm with a sense of hope and empowerment. In her director’s statement, she says,
As someone who lives with the trauma of sexual harm, it was important to me that this flm focussed on the way forward, rather than dwelling on the disheartening reality of the issue. I wanted to create a film that survivors could watch with pride and that would inspire change in our communities. And, rather than just spreading awareness – I wanted to take action.
The creators behind I Stand For Consent present the film as a rallying cry for change. They provoke viewers to think about how sexual harm is normalised in society and show the steps forward. It calls upon us all to support the quest for better sexual violence prevention, inspiring a safer future for generations to come.
The doc was commissioned through Series 7 of Someday Stories, an annual collection of social and sustainability-focused short films made by emerging creatives in Aotearoa.
Watch the doc on socials and RNZ from 4 September.
https://www.deganz.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/I-Stand-for-Consent.jpg4561200admin/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/DEGANZ_logo_home.pngadmin2023-08-31 10:28:292023-08-31 11:20:06‘I Stand For Consent’ – McClymont’s Catalyst for Change
DEGNZ invites directors to join us for a one-day Wellington workshop, taught by Jennifer Te Atamira Ward-Lealand, on best practices for directing on-screen intimacy.
In Directing In the Intimate Zone, we will discuss and work with actors on the process of developing scenes that involve intimacy, nudity and/or simulated sex, developed by UK intimacy coordinator Ita O’Brien and based on Equity NZ’s Intimacy Guidelines for Stage and Screen. The workshop will also look at directing intimacy in the COVID-19 era.
There are four places for directors to participate, as well as places for directors to observe.
During the class, Participant Directors will take turns to direct pairs of actors in intimate scenes under Jennifer’s guidance. Participant Directors upon selection will each be invited to submit a short, intimate scene – either with or without dialogue – for consideration ahead of the workshop.
About Jennifer Ward-Lealand
Since training at Auckland’s influential Theatre Corporate, Jennifer has worked extensively in theatre, film, television, musical and radio for 40 years. One of New Zealand’s most recognisable acting talents and a respected theatre director, she has taught for The Actors’ Program, Toi Whakaari, UNITEC, Te Pou and NASDA.
Jennifer is currently President of Equity New Zealand, Patron of Q Theatre, and serves as a trust board member of The Actors Benevolent Fund. She was named SPADA Industry Champion in 2018 and in 2019 given a Women of Influence (Arts & Culture) Award. In the 2019 New Year’s Honours List she received a CNZM, Companion of the NZ Order of Merit for services to theatre, film and television and is this year’s New Zealander of the Year. Jennifer is a trained intimacy coordinator under the mentorship of Ita O’Brien, Intimacy on Set (UK).
Workshop Details
When: Sunday 15 November 2020, 9am – 5pm
Where: RANDOM, 43 Hanson Street, Mount Cook, Wellington 6021
Price: DEGNZ member – Free Non-member – $75 (discounted due to COVID-19. Normal price $95)
Lunch and refreshments provided.
Eligibility:
This workshop is R18.
To be eligible to apply as a Participant Director:
You must have experience directing at least short films/dramatic content.
Priority will be given to those who are actively engaged in directing or preparing to direct narrative drama, especially if you are dealing with scenes of nudity, intimacy and/or simulated sex.
To Apply
To register as an Observer, complete the registration form below.
To apply as a Participant Director, complete the registration form below and email your supporting documents to tema@deganz.co.nz before the registration deadline:
a CV/bio with filmography
a brief letter summarising why you would like to participate as a director, what you hope to gain from the workshop, and any experience directing intimacy (not a requirement for selection).
If you apply as a Participant and are unsuccessful, you will receive an offer to attend as an Observer.
Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.
Registration Deadline: 1PM, Thursday 5 November 2020
DEGNZ encourages directors, actors and producers to join us for a one-day Christchurch workshop with Louise Leitch on directing intimacy, after the first Directing In the Intimate Zone workshop in Auckland.
Until now, many directors have not given enough thought and been equipped for directing actors in scenes that involve intimacy, nudity and simulated sex. These scenes can make actors feel extremely vulnerable, particularly when this sensitive area of performance is not given the preparation and care it is due.
In Directing In the Intimate Zone, we will discuss and work with actors on the process of developing an intimate scene for the screen using the best practice guidelines developed by UK intimacy coordinator Ita O’Brien, who was brought over by Equity to run training workshops in Auckland in late 2018.
During the class, Participant Directors will take turns to direct pairs of actors in intimate scenes under Louise’s guidance. Participant Directors upon selection will be invited to submit a short, intimate scene – either with or without dialogue – for consideration ahead of the workshop.
There are four places for directors to participate, as well as places for directors, actors and producers to observe.
About Louise Leitch
Photo credit: Tammy Williams
Louise has earned a reputation as a talented story-teller, directing award-winning short films, close to 200 episodes of television drama, and prime-time documentary and docu-drama series in both Australia and NZ. Her critically acclaimed Whakatiki screened in over 20 international film festivals including Tribeca, Tampere, Uppsala, Vladivostok, Hawaii, NZIFF, Show Me Shorts and ImagineNATIVE, winning Best Short Film at First Peoples’ Festival Montreal, Best Actress in a Short Film at Wairoa Film Festival and Best Actress in a Short Film at The NZ Film Awards.
Louise attended Ita O’Brien’s intimacy workshops in NZ in 2018 and is training with Ita to become an accredited Intimacy Coordinator. Louise is currently Vice President of the Directors & Editors Guild NZ and has contributed to the drafting of Equity NZ’s Intimacy Guidelines for Stage and Screen.
She teaches film, television and intimacy best practice at RMIT University in Melbourne and The New Zealand Broadcasting School.
To be eligible to apply as a Participant Director:
You must have experience directing at least short films/dramatic content, and are working in/moving into longer-form drama/film.
Priority will be given to those who are actively engaged in directing or preparing to direct narrative drama, especially if you are dealing with scenes of nudity, intimacy and/or simulated sex.
If you apply as a Participant and are unsuccessful, you will receive an offer to attend as an Observer.
To Apply
To register as an Observer, complete the registration form below.
To apply as a Participant Director, complete the registration form below and email your supporting documents to tema@deganz.co.nz before the registration deadline:
a CV/bio with filmography
a brief letter summarising why you would like to participate as a director, what you hope to gain from the workshop, and any experience directing intimacy (not a requirement for selection).
Late or incomplete applications will not be accepted.
Registration Deadline: 3PM, Thursday 24 October
Registration Form
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Refund Policy: Requests for refunds must be received by Sunday 17 November. A $2.50 cancellation fee will be incurred. Refunds can take up to approximately 10 working days to process.
There have been a significant number of developments that have occupied our time recently that are worthwhile highlighting.
Firstly, the Copyright Act Review Issues Paper submission.
DEGNZ made a submission, the primary focus of which was the call for recognition of director’s copyright in audiovisual content and cinematographic film. Directors are the authors of their audiovisual works and this needs to be recognised in New Zealand in the Copyright Act, as it is in many other countries around the world. With copyright, directors will be able to negotiate and receive income beyond solely fees that will help them to generate more creative work, and better sustain themselves in their careers. We have a long road to go to convince Government on this, and we need everyone’s help to do so. I hope that many of you were able to make your own personal submissions to assist us with our case. In future we will be looking to you again to support our efforts, particularly with personal statements about how the lack of recognition for directors in respect to copyright has adversely affected you economically and creatively in seeking sustainable careers for yourselves as directors.
Second, the Screen Industry Strategy.
Some of you may be aware of the formation of a body to respond to the Government’s call for industry to develop a 10-year screen industry strategy. DEGNZ has been extremely unhappy about how this group was formed and the lack of any real consultation and communication with the wider screen industry as it was set up. We have called on the proposed chair of this body, former broadcaster and now lawyer Linda Clark, to ensure clear communication and transparency with all parties in the screen industry as it goes about its work. DEGNZ board member and director Michael Duignan was invited into the facilitation group appointed to work alongside this body in response to our request for involvement. In the coming months we will have more to communicate with you about this very important initiative.
Third, unionisation.
Following the almost unanimous vote at the Annual General Meeting last year to unionise, DEGNZ has been working with legal representation to ensure our constitution meets the requirements of a union. The redrafting of the constitution has been completed and will be presented at this year’s AGM for adoption. This will formalise the Guild’s existence as a union and we will affiliate with the Council of Trade Unions soon after. Many of you will be aware that DEGNZ participated in the Film Industry Working Group along with a number of other guilds and bodies. It was convened by the Minister of Workplace Relations and Safety Iain Lees-Galloway, to find a way for screen industry workers to collectively bargain, and made its recommendations to the Minister after many months of discussion. We look forward to the Government following through and making the changes necessary to allow collective bargaining to occur. Unionisation is one facet of our preparations for the work the Guild will have to do when that happens.
Fourth, sexual harassment and intimacy on set.
DEGNZ board member and director Louise Leitch has been leading the Guild efforts in regard to sexual harassment and protocols around intimacy, simulated sex and nudity content. As Louise outlined in this column a couple of weeks ago, she has been working closely with Equity NZ on their Guidelines for Nudity and Intimacy on Stage and Screen. She also participated in the full workshop programme run by UK Intimacy Coordinator Ita O’Brien. It’s the Guild’s intention to offer an ongoing training programme for directors led by Louise and calling on highly experienced actor, instructor and Equity NZ president Jennifer Ward-Lealand, another full participant at Ita O’Brien’s workshops. At the same time, the Guild is maintaining close communication with the Screen Women’s Action Group as they go about their efforts to ensure a safe, sexual harassment-free workplace for screen industry workers.
Fifth, DVD library.
DEGNZ board member and director Gabriel Reid brought to the board’s attention the potential loss of a significant audiovisual resource with the closure of Auckland’s Videon DVD store this year. Videon had a broad collection of many arthouse, auteur director and hard to obtain DVDs. We all know that DVD stores have suffered immensely from the impact of streaming, with many closing down, and a lot of the DVDs that were available from Videon cannot be accessed digitally, or easily. Now Wellington institution Aro Video is suffering as Videon did. The DEGNZ board felt that something had to be done and quickly to preserve access for directors, editors and others to the rare and difficult to obtain films that Videon had on its shelves. In the fire sale that occurred at Videon, DEGNZ acquired over 3000 of their DVDs. We have these in storage and are currently negotiating a solution to see these held in an audiovisual library for access by anyone interested in these films for research purposes or entertainment. We will inform the membership how to go about this once negotiations are complete and the DVDs have all been catalogued.
Sixth, training for post-production.
DEGNZ board member and editor Annie Collins has been driving our strategic and tactical efforts around ensuring editors and others are trained appropriately for work during post-production. Annie is one of NZ’s most highly experienced narrative short, feature and documentary editors and is drawing on all of her accumulated knowledge as we structure current and future initiatives. The Assistant Editor workshops are one example of the outcomes from our focus in this area, the feature film editing attachments another. The work Annie is leading will hopefully introduce or stimulate other initiatives here.
I am thankful to have such a dedicated and supportive board working on behalf of the membership and their crafts. While our other board members haven’t been mentioned in this particular missive, I would also like to acknowledge board members Roseanne Liang, Phil Gore, Francis Glenday, and of course President Howard Taylor for their tireless efforts on behalf of the Guild. As well, we should recognise the invaluable contribution made by Advisory Board member and ex-board member Grant Campbell who represents the Guild on the board of the Australian Screen Directors Authorship Collecting Society and input into our Copyright Submission.
Finally, we can announce that editor Margot Francis and director Robyn Paterson have joined the DEGNZ board, replacing directors Helena Brook and Zoe McIntosh, who both had to step down because of work/personal commitments.
