Tag Archive for: women in film

You Can Help ‘The Climate Canary’ Sing

Vanessa Wells (DEGANZ) and The Climate Canary team are in the final stretch of post-production and are crowdfunding to help cross the finish line.

The 90-minute documentary highlights three remarkable women from differing generations and their scientific work in Antarctica. Oceanographer Dr Natalie Robinson leads a team of ten scientists on an epic world-first research trip to McMurdo Sound. Jacqui Stuart, a biologist and self-confessed algae geek, is on her first trip to Antarctica. Meanwhile, Emeritus Professor Patricia Langhorne mentors them both from Aotearoa after more than 25 deployments to the Poles. The film asks if meaningful social change is possible and how these women tenaciously hold onto hope. For scientists on the frontline of climate change, their surprisingly refreshing attitudes are raw and heartening.

Vanessa, as director and producer, pitched the film at the Australian International Documentary Conference (AIDC) in the Central Showcase earlier this year, garnering interest from distributors, agents, and broadcasters.

Now, the team is adding the finishing touches, with its $10,000 stretch goal going directly to animation costs. To make the film’s complex science more accessible, the team is utilising animation to convey it in delightful and comprehensive ways.

Director and producer Vanessa says,

With NZ making some difficult u-turns in the environmental space right now, this documentary feels even more important to finish as soon as possible!

They hope to release the film in 2024.

Find out more about The Climate Canary on the Boosted page HERE!

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Reid’s Director’s Attachment on ‘After the Party’

After the Party is out now on TVNZ+, with new episodes releasing each week. DEGANZ member and Incubator alum, Stella Reid, worked on the show through a Director’s Attachment.

Stella joined director Peter Salmon through pre-production, shooting, and parts of post-production as an active observer. She shared,

I saw this opportunity as an investment in my career. I aim to shoot long form content, so it was invaluable to witness Peter’s methodology — well paced and technically proficient. He could balance an economy of coverage by envisioning the edit while shooting.

As production got busier, Stella was entrusted to direct and shoot supplementary content with a splinter unit. She told DEGANZ how grateful she was that the attachment also allowed for hands-on experiences and the opportunity to work with that team.

In addition to the professional development side of the attachment, Stella was also drawn to the show itself. Set in Wellington, the gritty drama series follows Penny, played by Robyn Malcolm, after she accuses her husband of assaulting her teen daughter’s friend at a party. Years later after the accusation, people still don’t believe her and she struggles to keep her life together. She said,

Many aspects of the story pulled me in. I’m writing a feature with two older female characters, and I’m also a lifelong Wellingtonian. I find such beauty in the south coast, and am pleased to see it be a character in the show.

Congratulations to Stella for completing the attachment! It’s always great to hear what members get out of DEGANZ’s talent programmes.

This DEGANZ Director’s Attachments was funded by New Zealand on Air and the New Zealand Film Commission.

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‘The Moon is Upside Down’ Wins at PÖFF

An exciting update of DEGANZ member Loren Taylor‘s directorial debut: The Moon is Upside Down won Best First Feature Film at the PÖFF Tallinn Black Night Film Festival! The film screened in the First Feature Competition, a collection of first features by promising global talents.

The jury commented:

The film is a bittersweet, multi-layered combination of three stories intervending in a perfect way about people who try to find their place in the world. Shot magnificiously in the outbacks on a distant land in a very impressive and smart way, especially for a first feature.

Along with the accolade, Taylor won a grant of €5,000 to be shared with the film’s producers Phillipa Campbell and Georgina Conder.

PÖFF is one of 15 festivals with an International Federation of Film Producers Association credential. Other festivals in this A-list group include Cannes, Venice, and Berlin.

Keep an eye out for The Moon is Upside Down when it hits screens in Aotearoa in 2024.

Congratulations, Loren and the team!

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Hunter’s Handycam Time Machine

DEGANZ member Sarah Hunter invites viewers into the time machine that is her new docuseries, MARAUDERS. Through archive handycam footage, she reveals a never-before-seen side of iconic Kiwi musical group Fat Freddy’s Drop on their 2003 European tour.

The docuseries’ real-time linear delivery showcases the group’s early grit, character, and music-making process. Sarah joined the tour as the group’s photographer, but her documentation took an unexpected turn when she began filming on a borrowed handycam. Now, twenty years later, the footage spans four seasons, showcasing how the band made a name for itself internationally, and the groundwork that ultimately led to the acclaimed Based on a True Story album.

Seasons one and two are out, covering the band’s six-week stint in London. Seasons three and four are out later this month, on 13 and 20 November, respectively.

Catch the series on RNZ here.

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Show Me (Shorts) Winners

Show Me Shorts had a wonderful Awards Night on Sunday 8 October, with multiple members nominated for and receiving awards.

DEGANZ member Julie Zhu‘s Lǎo Lao Lǎo Le swept up three of the eight awards. Julie not only won DEGANZ’s very own Best Director award, but she and fellow producers scooped up the coveted Department of Post Best NZ Film award, one of the festival’s Oscar-qualifying categories.

The jury commented on the film saying,

Lǎo Lao Lǎo Le is the type of film that balances the light and dark of the human experience splendidly. It lays bare the struggles of a young boy tasked with the care of his ailing Lǎo Lao, who is losing her mind to Alzhemiers. It’s a short film that is full of struggle and fight, connection and loneliness, love and hate. It is many things but, above all, it is undeniably moving and a film that will stay with the jury for some time to come.

Eight-year-old lead actor, Yan Lin, also earned the film the Toi Whakaari Best Actor award. However, this category was exceptionally difficult to choose this year, causing the judges to share the award between Lin and Prabha Ravi for her performance in Anu, written and directed by Pulkit Arora (DEGANZ).

They commented,

After much deliberation with so many wonderful performances to choose from, the jury felt that we couldn’t choose just one winner for the Toi Whakaari Best Actor award and decided to share this award between two equally outstanding performances and exceptional actors.

Keeping the success going, fellow member Maza White won Best Screenplay for her film, Daughter of God.

Other members were also honoured at the awards with nominations. Alongside Lǎo Lao Lǎo Le, Anu written and directed by Pulkit and Buttons & Dumplings co-directed by Calvin Sang (DEGANZ) were up for the Department of Post Best NZ Film Award. DEGANZ members dominated the Best Director nominations, with Pulkit and Michelle Ang (Incubator 2020) nominated alongside Julie for Anu and Nai/Milk respectively.

Michelle was also nominated for Best Actor for her role in Nai/Milk, while the film’s editors Jack Brown (DEGANZ) and Kevin Schlanser were up for Best Editor. Fellow member Jonno Woodford-Robinson was also nominated for Best Editor for The Ballad of Maddog Quinn.

Meanwhile, Anna Rose Duckworth (Incubator 2019) was nominated for Best Screenplay for Just Kidding, I Actually Love You and Kingmaker directed by Alyx Duncan (DEGANZ) was nominated for the NZ on Air Best Music Video.

Full List of Award Winners

Department of Post Best NZ Film

Jazz dos Santos, Puteri Raja Ariff, and Julie Zhu for Lǎo Lao Lǎo Le

Cause and FX Best International Film

Khozy Rizal, John Badalu, Sue Turley for Basri & Salma in a Never Ending Comedy

DEGANZ Best Director

Julie Zhu for Lǎo Lao Lǎo Le

DEGANZ Best Editor

Jeremy Leatinu’u and Ian Powell for Te Wakawhitinga

Best Screenplay

Maza White for Daughter of God

Best Cinematographer

Marty Williams for The Ballad of Maddog Quinn

Toi Whakaari Best Actor

Prabha Ravi for Anu

Yan Lin for Lǎo Lao Lǎo Le

NZ on Air Best Music Video

Ian Sweeny and Johnny Gilbert for When You Went Away – The Transits

 

If you’ve seen any of this year’s screenings, don’t forget to vote for your favourite film for the People’s Choice Award!

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