In our Opening Keynote Addresses, six creatives in roles integral to the filmmaking process respond to our theme Mana Auaha, Creative Power. Composer Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper, colourist Alana Cotton, costume designer Jane Holland, editor Jabez Olssen, production designer Ra Vincent, and unit stills photographer Kirsty Griffin each share insight into their individual creative process and what Mana Auaha means to them. This session is presented by Screen Auckland. The speakers are introduced by event MC and actor Morgana O’Reilly. 

The Big Screen Symposium was held in Auckland on the 9th and 10th of July 2022. 

In this panel discussion presented by the Aotearoa Screen Publicists Collective, publicist Courtney Mayhew and comedian Joe Daymond dive into the importance of social media content and its role in helping your next project reaching its audience. They discuss building a successful strategy, what you need to stand out and how to do so while remaining authentic to your story and audience. This panel is moderated by Letterboxd Editor in Chief and Tangata Tiriti Chair of the Aotearoa Screen Publicists Collective, Gemma Gracewood.

The Big Screen Symposium held in Auckland on the 9th and 10th of July 2022.

In this conversation, ground-breaking writer turned showrunner and producer, Neil Gaiman, speaks with moderator Sacha Judd about the joys and constraints of adapting his stories for the screen. They discuss collaboration; bringing worlds and characters he created in the past into the present; and what he’s learnt steering projects as a showrunner including Netflix’s the Sandman, which was yet to be released at the time of recording. This session is presented by South Pacific Pictures.

Update: this is now the Screen Industry Workers Act

The Screen Industry Worker’s Bill was introduced to Parliament in 2020 and is expected to pass in the coming months. In this panel discussion, Principal Policy Advisor at MBIE (Emby), Gayathiri Ganeshan; the Executive Director of SPADA, Sandy Gildea; ED of DEGANZ, Tui Ruwhiu; ED of the NZ Writer’s Guild Alice Shearman; and the director of Equity New Zealand, Denise Roche speak with producer-director Leanne Pooley, offering an overview of the Bill and what it means for the screen industry. This session is presented by the SAE Institute.

The Big Screen Symposium was held in Auckland on the 9th and 10th of July 2022.

This session is a presentation by the New Zealand Film Commission – Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga. Hear from acting CEO Mladen Ivancic, Pou Whakahaere, Te O Kahurangi Waaka, Head of Incentives Catherine Bates, Head of International Screen Attraction Philippa Mossman, and Head of Marketing Jasmin McSweeney as they celebrate recent creative, cultural and commercial achievements within the screen industry since BSS 2020. The team outline NZFC’s focus on supporting the industry through COVID-19, re-engaging internationally, and adopting a strategic approach to change.

The Big Screen Symposium was held in Auckland on the 9th and 10th of July 2022.

In this session, writer, director and producer Toa Fraser shares insights into his creative process and how it has changed with his diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease. Toa speaks with writer, director Paula Whetu Jones about growing up in England, making his way to New Zealand and connecting with his Fijian roots all while creating stories and discovering what Mana Auaha means to him. This session is presented by Hnry.

The Big Screen Symposium was held in Auckland on the 9th and 10th of July 2022.

In this session, celebrated writer director Destin Daniel Cretton speaks with NZ writer director Roseanne Liang about his journey developing his directing and storytelling voice throughout his career. They discuss his experience making the award-winning Short Term 12, and how its success eventually led to him directing Marvel Studios’ Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings – the first film in the MCU to be led by an Asian actor and have a mostly Asian cast. Destin joined the Big Screen Symposium via live stream. This session is presented by Wingnut Group.

The Big Screen Symposium was held in Auckland on the 9th and 10th of July 2022.

In this session, series creator Simone Nathan and director Aidee Walker discuss the process of making the binge-worthy Jewish comedy series Kid Sister, from conception through to post-production. They speak with journalist Alex Casey about the writing process, the wearing of multiple creative ‘hats’, the joys of working with other female creatives, and the challenges of overcoming budget limitations.

The Big Screen Symposium was held in Auckland on the 9th and 10th of July 2022.

In this session, NZ On Air gives an update on what it’s been working on since December 2020, and where to from here. Chief Executive, Cameron Harland and Head of Funding, Amie Mills take us through topics such as innovative data framework for pan-sector audience measurement, new frontiers in children’s content, success of collaborations including Te Puna Kairangi and the co-fund with Te Māngai Pāho, some insights on what opportunities changes to NZSPG [SPIG] might bring, proposed updates to funding policies in the wake of the NZMF Review, and the win-win of bringing together New Zealand music and local screen content.

The Big Screen Symposium was held in Auckland on the 9th and 10th of July 2022.

In this session, Grant Major delves into his involvement as a production designer on The Power of the Dog, from first reading the script, to the painstaking work in bringing the physical settings to life, and shepherding them through the filming process. He talks about how story and authenticity were the paramount drivers in day-to-day decisions, and the collaborations he had with a brilliant, creative team of people in the world-building for this highly successful film. This session is presented by Department of Post.

The Big Screen Symposium was held in Auckland on the 9th and 10th of July 2022.

In this panel discussion, moderator Sacha Judd speaks with narrative designer, producer and screenwriter Harry Feltham, writer for screen and VR, Dane Giraud and Design Manager at Wellington-based games company Pikpok, Rick Stemm, about the similarities and differences between the storytelling requirements in games, VR, film and television. They discuss what they have learnt from working in the respective mediums and what opportunities there might be to cross over. This session is presented by Screen Canterbury.

The Big Screen Symposium was held in Auckland on the 9th and 10th of July 2022.

In this session, four screen industry practitioners, producer Mia Henry-Tierney, producer and showrunner Quinton Hita, writer/director Paula Whetu Jones and Pou Ārahi Kaupapa / Head of Content at Te Mangai Paho Blake Ihimaera as they share their experiences developing and creating work as Māori storytellers, building capacity in the industry, and their vision for the future of Māori stories on screen. This session was moderated by Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Director of Māori Advancement at AUT, Dr. Ella Henry. 

The Big Screen Symposium was held in Auckland on the 9th and 10th of July 2022. 

In this panel discussion, sustainability manager and steering committee member for Greenlit Rose Archer, producer and Greenlit chair Craig Gainsborough and Vector’s senior sustainability partner Dr. Prageeth Jayathissa shed light on the enormous sustainability challenges faced by the screen industry. They offer practical methods and tools to help film productions reduce their environmental impact, meet local and international carbon reduction targets, and reduce waste in the screen sector. This session is presented by Screenrights. 

The Big Screen Symposium was held in Auckland on the 9th and 10th of July 2022. 

Shaun Grant is a highly acclaimed, multi-award-winning screenwriter whose films have premiered at the world’s most prestigious film festivals, including Cannes, Toronto and Sundance. In 2021, Shaun’s sixth feature film Nitram, had its world premiere In Competition at the Cannes Film Festival, the first Australian film to do so in a decade, where it won the prize for Best Actor. Nitram went on to win 8 awards at the AACTA Awards (Australian Academy Awards) in 2022, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Shaun also won his 6th Australian Writers Guild Award (AWGIE) for Best Original Screenplay.

In 2020, Shaun won the AWGIE Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Penguin Bloom (Made Up Stories). Prior to this, True History of the Kelly Gang, premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and went on to win multiple awards. True History of the Kelly Gang reunited Shaun Grant and Justin Kurzel after their critically acclaimed debut feature film, Snowtown, which was selected for Cannes’ Critic Week in 2011 and went on to win multiple awards including the AACTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Shaun’s work on Jasper Jones and Berlin Syndrome gave him two further AAACTA nominations and an AWGIE win for Best Adapted Screenplay again.

In television, Shaun has written for multiple series, securing another AWGIE win and AACTA nomination for his work on the mini-series, Deadline Gallipoli. Shaun wrote the finale of Netflix’s Mind hunter for which he, and the show’s writing team, received a collegiate Writer’s Guild of America nomination for Best Drama.

Shaun currently has several film and TV projects in development in Australia and the US. Shaun is a member of the WGA and the AWG and is represented by The Fleming Agency (Australia/NZ) and Paul Hastings (Attorney, USA).

Rintu Thomas is an Academy Award nominated filmmaker from India whose work is supported by the Sundance Institute, Chicken & Egg Pictures, IDFA, SFF Film Fund, Doc Society and Bertha Foundation, among others. A 2021 IDA Courage Under Fire Award honoree, Rintu is also an IDA Logan Elevate grantee and a Sundance Fellow.  

Her debut feature documentary, Writing With Fire, won two awards at Sundance ‘21 (Audience Award and Special Jury Award: Impact for Change). Described by The Washington Post as “The most inspiring journalism movie – maybe ever”, Writing With Fire has played at over 150 festivals and won 33 international awards. The film is also a NYT Film Critics Pick.  

Over the last 13 years, Rintu’s films have been used as advocacy tools for social impact, included in the curriculum of universities and exhibited globally in spaces such as the United Nations Climate Change Conference and The Lincoln Center for Performing Arts – becoming catalysts for new conversations. She lives between New Delhi and a quaint mountain-town in North India.  

Sushmit Ghosh is an Academy Award nominated director-producer from India whose work has been supported by the Sundance Institute, Tribeca, Doc Society, SFF Film Fund, IDFA, The Bertha Foundation and the Finnish Film Foundation, among others. Sushmit is a 2021 IDA Courage Under Fire Award Honoree and a Sundance Fellow.  

Five years in the making, Sushmit’s feature documentary debut, Writing With Fire, went on to become the first Indian feature documentary to be nominated for an Academy Award. Described by The Washington Post as “The most inspiring journalism movie – maybe ever”, the film has been a festival favourite winning 33 awards, an IDA and PGA Best Documentary nomination and played in over 150 festivals.  

An award-winning cinematographer, Sushmit also co-founded Black Ticket Films, a production company invested in the power of storytelling. With a strong eye on social justice stories, Black Ticket Films’ award-winning slate of films are being used as advocacy, impact and education tools by institutions across the world. In his spare time, you’ll find Sushmit motorcycling and hiking through the Himalayas.  

Maui-born Destin Daniel Cretton, is fresh off the release of Marvel Studios’ newest film, Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, starring Simu Liu, Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina, and Tony Leung. This is the first film in the MCU that is led by an Asian actor, and mostly Asian cast. Destin’s feature film debut, I Am Not a Hipster, premiered at Sundance in 2012. His next feature Short Term 12 won the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award at the SXSW Film Festival in 2013, featuring early performances by Brie Larson, Lakeith Stanfield, Rami Malek, Kaitlyn Dever, and John Gallagher Jr. His third feature, an adaptation of the NY Times best-selling memoir, The Glass Castle, starred Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, and Naomi Watts and was released in 2016 by Lionsgate. Following this, Destin directed Just Mercy for Warner Bros, the adaptation of the NY-Times best-selling memoir by civil rights attorney Bryan Stevenson. The film starred Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx and Brie Larson. He is currently in production for a new Disney+ series, American Born Chinese based on the graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang, starring Ben Wang, Michelle Yeoh, Daniel Wu and Ng Chin Han. 

Neil Gaiman is the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers, including Neverwhere, American Gods, The Ocean at the End of the Lane and the Sandman series of graphic novels. He is credited with being one of the creators of modern comics, as well as an author whose work crosses genres and reaches audiences of all ages. His fiction has received Newbery, Carnegie, Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Will Eisner Awards. He is a creator of works of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song lyrics, and drama. 

Television series based on Gaiman stories and characters include six seasons of Lucifer, Netflix’s biggest success of 2021, and the Emmy-nominated three seasons of American Gods. Gaiman is currently Executive Producing and co-showrunning Sandman for Netflix, and he is, with Douglas Mackinnon, showrunning both Anansi Boys and the second season of Good Omens, both adapted from his novels, for Prime Video. 

In 2017 Gaiman became a Global Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Originally from England, he now divides his time between Scotland, where Good Omens and Anansi Boys are filmed, and the United States, where he is Professor in the Arts at Bard College. 

Toa Fraser is an award-winning playwright, director, and producer. His first play Bare won a Chapman Tripp Theatre Award and the Bruce Mason Playwrighting Award. His second play No.2 won the prestigious Festival First Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival before being adapted by Fraser into a feature film which won the Audience Award in the World Cinema section of the esteemed Sundance Film Festival. His screen credits also include Dean Spanley, The Dead Lands, The Free Man, The Shannara Chronicles, Into the Badlands, Daredevil, The Affair, The Rookie, and many others. Fraser has just finished filming season 2 of the Netflix series Sweet Tooth.

Grant Major is an acclaimed production designer who most recently designed Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog, garnering him his fifth Academy Award nomination. 

Born in Palmerston North, New Zealand, his career in design began at Television New Zealand. His background ranges from production design for Commonwealth Games ceremonies to designer for the New Zealand Pavilions at the World Expos and design consultant for the Louis Vuitton 150th year party in NY, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Paris. Major received an honorary doctorate from his alma mater Auckland University of Technology and in 2005 was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to the New Zealand film industry. 

Grant received a New Zealand Film and Television award for Best Design on Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures in 1995. Two years later Major picked up the same award for The Ugly. His other early film credits include Jackson’s The Frighteners, Memory and Desire, The Aberrations, Jack Be Nimble, An Angel at My Table and, as art director, for Other Halves. Grant’s work as an art director for television includes telefilms Hercules and The Grasscutter, the series Hanlon, as well as commercials and news programs. Major also worked as a production designer on the telefilm The Chosen. 

Grant was nominated for three Academy Awards and three British Academy of Film Awards (BAFTA) for his work as Production Designer on The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He won an American Film Institute award for The Fellowship of the Ring as well as an Art Director’s Guild Award for The Two Towers and again for The Return of the King. He finally claimed his Academy Award and a Los Angeles Film Critics Society Award on the third installment of the trilogy The Return of the King. He was nominated by the International Press Association for a Satellite Award in 2003 for both The Return of the King and his work as production designer on Whale Rider, winning for The Return of the King. 

Grant was then nominated for both an Academy Award and a BAFTA for his work as Production Designer on Peter Jackson’s King Kong. Another nomination by the Art Director’s Guild for the same film culminated in a ‘Hollywood Production Designer of the Year’ gong in 2006. 

His next film projects included Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Legend of the Green Destiny for TWC, The Emperor, Mister Pip, and The Green Lantern for Warner Brothers in 2009. 

In 2018 Grant designed the Warner Brothers film The Meg and before that the latest in the X-Men film series X-Men: Apocalypse.  

Most recently, he designed Disney’s Mulan for which he was nominated for an Art Director’s Guild award in 2021, and Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog, garnering him his fifth Academy Award nomination in 2022. 

Simone Nathan lives between New Zealand and New York. She wrote and starred in Kid Sister, a five-part semi-autobiographical comedy, produced for TVNZ. Simone was a Staff Writer on the HBO Max series Our Flag Means Death, produced by Taika Waititi, and was previously in the writer’s room on the Netflix show Bloodline, showran by Todd Kessler (Damages, Sopranos). Simone was a Nickelodeon Writing Program Fellow, and has worked on Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer. Simone received her MFA from the Graduate Dramatic Writing program at NYU Tisch, where she was awarded NYU’s Venable Herndon Award for Excellence in Screenwriting.

Aidee Walker is a renowned kiwi actress and director. Her debut short, The F.E.U.C. (2012), was officially selected for the Palm Springs Film Festival and Show Me Shorts Film Festival (NZ). Her second short, Friday Tigers – funded by NZFC’s fresh shorts – was selected for MIFF, where Aidee attended the Accelerator Program. Friday Tigers won Best Short Film and the Audience Award at the 2013 NZIFF. Her third short, Break in the Weather, premiered at the Show Me Shorts Film Festival in 2016. In 2014 she joined the writing team for South Pacific Pictures’ Step Dave, and now has multiple TV series in development. In 2015 she led an all-female crew in making a 48-hour short film and made the Grand Finals, it was officially selected for the Artemis Women in Action Film Festival in L.A.

Aidee played the lead role in Catching the Black Widow, lawyer Ingrid Squire in In Dark Places and Kate Ryder in One Lane Bridge. She directed the web series Stand Up Girl for NZME and was a director on Westside (season 4&5), The Brokenwood Mysteries (season 6&7) as well as a Screentime Hallmark TV movie. Aidee was lead director on the BBC family drama Mystic (season 2) and has a guest role on NBC’s One of Us is Lying (season 1&2) which is streaming on Peacock and Netflix. Aidee has just completed Kid Sister for Greenstone Pictures, directing all five episodes which have just dropped on TVNZ on demand.

Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper is a notable figure in the Aotearoa music scene with award winning work as a composer, violinist, producer arranger and collaborator. He is a founding member of The Black Quartet, an innovative string quartet which specialises in contemporary and original repertoire. Mahuia’s diverse experience includes writing and producing for various artists such as LAB, Maisey Rika and TEEKS. His substantial film and television background includes composing scores for directors Roseanne Liang (Creamerie, Shadow in the Cloud, Do No Harm), Lee Tamahori (Mahana), Gerard Johnston (Housebound, Terry Teo) and Tearapa Kahi (Muru) among others. He is also a sought-after arranger and orchestrator, having collaborated regularly with both The Auckland Philharmonia and The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Alana Cotton is a colourist at Images & Sound Complete Post Production where she works on everything from feature films, to TV drama, documentary and commercials. 

Recent feature collaborations include Whina, Juniper and Millie Lies Low and TV drama includes The Luminaries, Black Hands and Creamerie. 

Kirsty Griffin (Ngati Porou/Ngati Awa) began her photographic career as an onset unit stills photographer in 2002. Over the last two decades, Kirsty has worked as unit stills photographer on a vast array of local feature films from Whale Rider to The Power of the Dog, and for International Studios such as Netflix, Sony, Disney, BBC, ITV, STX, and Warner bros. Recent titles include The Justice of Bunny King, Baby Done, Shadow in the Cloud and the upcoming Punch. 

Kirsty has also made a number of documentary projects as co-director, co-writer, co-producer and cinematographer with collaborator Vivienne Kernick. Their web series Amy Street won multiple international awards including Grand Jury prize at Melbourne Web Fest 2017 and the Jury Award for Best Non-Fiction at Webfest Berlin 2017. Their feature doc House of Champions won the Audience Choice Award at LA Disability Film Festival 2019. Recently their short documentary Pluck won three Best Short Doc awards – Doc Edge 2020, Wairoa Film Festival 2021 and Melbourne Women in Film Festival 2022. 

I am a costume designer with a career spanning 30 years in film & television with work ranging from large scale international projects to local drama and arthouse projects. My passion is for character-based original design and innovative world-building be it the expansive retro sci-fi world of Cowboy Bebop, or character-driven period films likeJuniper or World’s Fastest Indian. A career highlight was working as Costume Standby on Jane Campion’s Piano with Janet Patterson (costume designer) who, along with Barbara Darragh, was inspirational in my pathway to becoming a designer.

I hold postgraduate qualifications in Design (Australian Film Television & Radio School) and Drama (University of Auckland), and a Master’s in Creative Writing. Additionally, I am part of 10000 Company, as writer and creative producer in partnership with Michael Bennett (writer and director). Our focus is on initiating and developing original scripts with Te Kohu recently screening as part of TVNZ’s Beyond the Veil, and feature In Dark Places – the story of Teina Pora – released in 2018.

Jabez Olssen is a New Zealand film editor who has worked in the industry for over 20 years. Originally from Dunedin, he obtained an Honours Degree in Philosophy from the University of Otago before moving to Auckland to attend the South Seas Film and Television School in 1998. Jabez worked in commercials and TV shows before moving to Wellington to work on The Lord of the Rings trilogy of films in 2000. Since then, Jabez has spent time in the UK film industry as well as working on many projects for Peter Jackson.   

His credits include being the editor of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014), The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012). He was also the editor on Jackson’s The Lovely Bones (2009), as well as additional editor on Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) and King Kong (2005). Jabez’s other credits include: Additional editor on Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin (2011) and editing Peter Jackson’s World War One documentary They Shall Not Grow Old (2018). Jabez also worked as editor on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) for director Gareth Edwards.  

Jabez’s latest project was the epic three-part documentary series on the Beatles, directed by Jackson, entitled The Beatles: Get Back (2021) for which he won an American Cinema Editors’ Eddie award. Jabez lives in Wellington with his wife, producer Clare Olssen, and their two children. 

After finishing Art school, Ra Vincent trained under his father as a sculptor and scenic artist on small New Zealand film and television projects. It wasn’t until his role as sculptor on The Lord of the Rings Trilogy that he discovered the process of big budget film making with an international film community and an opportunity to broaden his skill base.  

Ra worked as set decorator on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey which earned him an Oscar nomination in 2012 alongside Dan Hennah, and then a second Oscar nomination in 2020 for his Production Design on Jojo Rabbit. He was production designer on Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder due for release this July. 

With his various skills Ra involves himself in many aspects of the design process, from Production design and creating Concept Art to Project Management, Set Design and Set Decoration. He has run projects and assembled local Art Department crews in London, Paris, Los Angeles, Toronto, Prague, Berlin, Hong Kong, Hawaii and throughout Australia and New Zealand.  

Tanu Gago (MNZM) is an award-winning photographer, interdisciplinary artist, and filmmaker. He is a 2020 Arts Foundation Arts Laureate, 2020 CNZ Pacific Arts Contemporary Artist recipient, the 2014 Auckland Festival of Photography Annual Commission recipient, and the 2018 Macmillan Brown artist in residence. In 2019 Tanu was inducted into the order of merit, with Queen’s honors for services to Pacific arts and the LGBTQIA+ community. He is also the Creative New Zealand 2022 McCahon House Artist in residence and an artist in development with Piki films. A Samoan immigrant raised in South Auckland, Tanu is also the co–founder of Queer Indigenous Arts Collective FAFSWAG. In recent years Tanu has been working at the intersections of film, Queer activism, moving image, animation and AR interactivity with an interest in building restorative narratives for Queer Indigenous Moana audiences. He is the director of FAFSWAGVogue.com, an interactive documentary about ball culture in Auckland, New Zealand. His most recent project, ATUA is an augmented reality installation that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier in 2022. Tanu has a number of screenplays in development, and recently received Catalyst funding for his short film Picking Crew. 

Welby Ings is an award-winning writer and director with numerous prize-winning short film credits. His recent short Sparrow, produced with Robin Murphy, was an official selection at over 80 festivals and has won 20 international awards. Welby is also a multi-award-winning academic and Professor of Graphic Design at Auckland University of Technology, who described him as a “disobedient innovator”. In 2005, Welby completed a PhD that examined the structure and profiles of narrative music videos and television commercials. 

 Welby is also a fellow of the UK’s Royal Society of Arts, which acts as a consultant to numerous international organisations on issues of creativity and learning. He is a widely acknowledged queer activist whose advocacy, protests, and arrests date back to the early days of the Gay Liberation movement. PUNCH is his first feature film. 

Briar March’s films are diverse but grounded in a passionate desire to connect, foster debate, and inspire social change. There Once was an Island: Te Henua a Nnoho, is an award-winning feature documentary on climate change, receiving over 30 international awards, including an IDA nomination, Qantas Film & Television Award, One World Media Award, and the Grand Jury prize at FIFO. Other films include Allie Eagle and Me (2004), Michael & His Dragon (2010), Promenade (2010), Sic Wid It (2010), Smoke Songs (2011), which was a finalist for the Student Academy Awards, and A Place to Call Home (2016). In 2017 she helmed the musical short The Coffin Club, which captured six million+ views online, premiered at SXSW, and was featured on National Geographic digital, and Upworthy. More recently Briar worked as a field director and second unit cinematographer for the documentary feature Anote’s Ark (2018). The film was selected for official competition at Sundance. Briar’s most recent film, Mothers of the Revolution, on the historical Women’s Peace Camp at Greenham Common in the UK, is now showing in cinemas throughout New Zealand. She is currently in post-production with Dame Valerie Adams: MORE THAN GOLD, a feature documentary about the decorated shot putter’s final Olympic campaign in Tokyo. Briar has an MFA in Documentary Filmmaking from Stanford University in California, and a BFA in Fine Arts from the University of Auckland. 

Tearepa (Ngāti Paoa, Waikato) has been coaching the Waitakere Vipers for six years and has just taken the reigns of the Waitakere Rangers Under 11’s. The Rangers are now halfway through the season and currently undefeated. During covid at the end of 2020, Tearepa got lucky, and managed to lead a group of filmmakers down to Tame’s garden in Ruatoki, where they met up with Cliff Curtis, Jay Ryan and Manu Bennett fresh off a flight from Iceland. Simone Kessell, Ria Paki and Roimata Fox also joined them down in the valley, and with the help of many Tūhoe, they managed to wrangle some horses, a few quad bikes and a school bus. They also managed to lure a chopper pilot away from America’s Cup from time to time during the shoot. Muru is Tearepa’s second narrative feature film and revolves around a local community Police Sergeant named Taffy, who must choose between serving his badge or protecting his people, when a Government sanctioned police raid avalanches through his whārua. Muru is a Māori concept for forgiveness, will open NZIFF 2022 and is a response to the 2007 raids against the nation of Tūhoe.

Born in Samoa, Oscar Kightley (MNZM) is an award-winning writer, actor and director who has created critically acclaimed work for the stage, small screen and big screen. Oscar is a member of The Naked Samoans comedy group, with whom he wrote TV3 series Bro’Town which won Best Comedy for three consecutive years at the NZ Screen Awards and entered its fifth season in 2008. He wrote feature films Sione’s Wedding and Sione’s 2: Unfinished Business and was a writer for Shortland Street. His acting credits include Harry and Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

Elizabeth Mitchell is a multi-award-winning writer and producer. She was the series creator/producer/writer/director of New Zealand’s first primetime animated series, the hit sitcom bro’Town, which garnered a hoard of accolades, international sales, a line of merchandise and a permanent place in the hearts of New Zealanders. Elizabeth followed bro’Town by producing, co-writing and co-directing Radiradirah, a prime-time comedy sketch show featuring Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, John Clarke, and the Naked Samoans as well as the ground-breaking digital claymation comedy Robert and Sheepy, also featuring Clement.   

She produced Oscar Kightley’s award-winning coming-of-age short film Tom’s Dairy and worked again with Kightley on a documentary Rooster, Rooster, Dragon, Rat – Oscar’s Guide to the Chinese Zodiac, which she produced and directed for TV3’s Inside New Zealand strand.  Most recently she has been working on a feature film, writing and developing an animated sitcom, and co-writing and developing a historical drama series. 

Mia Henry-Teirney (Ngāti Kahu ki Whangaroa, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kuri) is a Māori producer based in Aotearoa and is passionate about producing authentic local stories and sharing them with global audiences. Over the years she has worked on a variety of local and international productions, including Ahikāroa, The Legend of Monkey,Head High,One of Us Is Lying, and The Lion King Reo Māori.

Mia produced season one of award-winning series Baby Mama’s Club, short drama My Brother Mitchell by Todd Karehana, short-documentary Mana Wahine by Corinna Hunziker, and numerous music videos and commercials.

She recently produced WE ARE STILL HERE, an exciting indigenous feature film with Australian co-producer No Coincidence Media, supported by the New Zealand Film Commission and Screen Australia, which opened the 2022 Sydney Film Festival.

Mia graduated with a Bachelor of Business from Auckland University of Technology, and is developing a slate of long-form drama projects.

Quinton Hita has been at the vanguard of te reo Māori broadcasting in television, film, and radio for more than 20 years. He started as a presenter on Mai Time on TVNZ, was an actor on Shortland St, which he wrote on as well, and set up Kura Productions, a joint venture with South Pacific Pictures. He served a five-year term on Te Taura Whiri and is a past board member of Ngā Aho Whakaari and Te Pūtahi Paho. To date, he has produced well over 1000 hours of content, including Mt Zion, Maui’s Hook, Pūkoro, Tōku Reo, Kōwhao Rau, Only in Aotearoa, and Ahikāroa. 

Paula Whetu Jones (Te Aitanga a Mahaki, Whakatōhea, Ngāti Porou) is a mother, grandmother, the Director of Whitiora Productions Ltd and a New Zealand Māori filmmaker. Paula has directed and produced a wide range of works over the last 20 years across all genres and formats. 

In 2016 Paula received a Master’s in Creative Writing at AUT. She wrote and directed Mere which is one of eight vignettes in the internationally acclaimed Waru. She wrote and directed an NZFC-funded short film called A Matter of Time (a social commentary about 5 young people) and Yellow Roses, which is inspired by the experiences her mother had when she worked in the kitchen of an Alzheimer’s Facility in Hawkes Bay. She created, wrote and directed a comedy web series called I DATE Rejects about a group of Generation X’s who are rejected by an exclusive dating agency and decide to start their own. She is also the creator, writer and director of He Ao Kotahi, an indigenous web series featuring Māori and Palestinian artists. 

Paula’s first feature film Whina, which she co-wrote and co-directed with James Napier Robertson will be released in June 2022. She has several film projects currently in various stages of development. 

E tū tonu ana taku maunga ko Whakarongorua, e whakarongo ana ki ngā tai e rua o te Tai Tokerau. Ki te tai tamawahine e papaki ana ki Taumarere – ko Ngāti Toro, ko Ngāti Rāhiri ngā hapū, ko Ngāpuhi te iwi. Ki te tai tamatāne e papaki ana ki Hokianga Whakapau Karakia – ko Hokokeha, ko Tao Māui ngā hapū, ko Te Rarawa te iwi. Ka aro whakatetonga atu ki taku maunga tītohea, ko te tihi o te motu, ko Aoraki e titi nei te rangi – ko Ngāi Te Ruahikihiki te hapū, ko Ngāi Tahu te iwi – e kō kō ia, e ara e!  

 Blake has recently joined Te Māngai Pāho as Head of Content. Having extensive experience within the Māori broadcasting sector, her commitment has always solely focused on telling stories from a Māori perspective, with a critical lens. Her credits include producing Aotearoa’s longest standing Māori Current Affairs show, Marae, Te Matatini live broadcasts, Award winning, Aotearoa 250 live broadcast, Māori lifestyle show – Easy Eats, and fluent te reo Māori children’s show – Te Nūtube. Outside of broadcasting, she is a mother of two Māori speaking daughters, National Kapa Haka performer and tutor of Puangarua Kapa Haka, she also sits on the Waitangi Cultural Committee in Te Tai Tokerau.  

She knows the important role media plays in shaping our future generations, and her combined experiences guide her commitment to indigenising Aotearoa’s media landscape, ensuring Te Tiriti o Waitangi is upheld while strengthening the strategic impact Te Māngai Pāho has in promoting te reo Māori across all platforms. 

Henry Feltham is a narrative designer, producer and screenwriter based in Dunedin, New Zealand. He entered games in 2007, writing for the award-winning Casebook series, before moving into film. He has worked extensively with White Balance pictures, including co-writing This Town (2020) and working on the upcoming dramedy series Far North. He was lead writer on Rocketwerkz’s 2021 multiplayer survival game Icarus, and is currently Studio Director for Deep Field Games. 

Dane Giraud started his career as a rock guitarist before training to be an actor, later becoming a writer and content creator. Dane developed television documentaries for over 10 years, creating and co-creating several factual-entertainment shows including Bring Your Boots, Oz, Both Worlds and Ka Tu Ka Korero.   

Dane then moved into comedy, creating and writing the critically acclaimed Find Me a Māori Bride. He followed it with five more comedy shows, including the debut series for YouTube sensation Jimi Jackson, Jimi’s World. Dane has overseen the development of several NZ theatrical films and has been attached to a couple of U.S. feature projects as a screenwriter. More recently, Dane has a major TV series in development, wrote on Sony’s VR game Wanderer and has started a comedy writers training program, “The South Auckland Comedy ChopShop” to empower more voices from his native South Auckland.  

Rick Stemm is a Wellington-based game writer, game designer, and playwright originally from Madison, WI and San Antonio, TX. He is currently Design Manager at PikPok where he works hand in hand with the Chief Design Officer in overseeing the game design division – mentoring and supporting designers, leading learning initiatives, setting departmental strategy, and helping to create and deliver the vision for games. Rick also works as Narrative Director, building, guiding and overseeing the narrative design team in their game writing, narrative systems, theming and creative visioning for all PikPok games. Rick keeps a foot in the indie art scene as a playwright represented by Playmarket, fight choreographer, and transmedia artist doing weird art. 

Dale Corlett leads the Talent Development department for NZ Film Commission. He is a funding decision maker on Kōpere Hou-Fresh Shorts, Catalyst He Kauahi, Talent Development Grants, the Interactive Development Fund, Boost Up and On-the-Job-Development grants. He is the lead contact with the New Zealand Screen Industry Guilds and organisations and is a decision maker on Industry Core funding programmes, Strategic Training and Diversity funding. He is also the lead on the internal NZFC Diversity and Inclusion working group. Dale’s previous role since 2004 before joining NZFC was as CEO/Creative Director of GMAC Film in Scotland. He was responsible for identifying high quality emerging talent and supporting their progression from shorts to features and developing careers. He was also proactive in the creation of innovative, diversity-led and gender focused talent development programmes in Scotland. He is a graduate of Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School. 

Tayla Hancock provides policy and strategic advice to the NZFC team, co-ordinates ministerial services and is leading the research and development of the NZFC Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. She has a Master’s Degree in Cultural Anthropology with experience in using visual research methods and understanding how marginalised communities are represented on screen. Prior to joining the NZFC, Tayla worked as a Senior Project Consultant for the Victoria Department of Justice in Melbourne and as a Lecturer in Cultural Anthropology at Victoria University of Wellington. 

Te O Kahurangi is responsible for ensuring the effective implementation of the NZFC’s Te Rautaki Māori. She is of Te Arawa descent, born and raised in Rotorua. Waaka is a producer with extensive experience in governance, culture, intellectual property rights, iwi and community organisations as well as active involvement in Māori screen issues. For the past 15 years she has been producer for Kura Productions, working with Quinton Hita on a range of television productions using te reo Māori. She has served as a board member of Ngā Aho Whakaari – the Māori in Film & Television collective and prior to her screen industry career, she worked extensively in the tourism industry in Rotorua. 

Cameron is the Chief Executive of NZ On Air, responsible for the operational delivery of the agency. Cameron has a long and varied career in the screen and entertainment industries including running Park Road Post Production and Stone Street Studios in Wellington. Prior to working at NZ On Air he was involved in advertising, working for Saatchi & Saatchi in London and Wellington and before that Head of Professional Rugby at NZ Rugby. He is a former Board member of the NZ Film Commission and was Deputy Chair of TVNZ.

Amie is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and has overall responsibility for the Scripted, Factual and Platforms streams of the NZ Media Fund. Amie has worked in the media industry in Aotearoa and abroad, in a range of creative and digital production roles. She is the former Digital & Children’s Commissioner at TVNZ and was co-lead of the New Blood Innovation Programme aimed at reaching non-traditional audiences with local content. In 2015 she joined Saatchi & Saatchi London to help deliver a BAFTA-winning mobile game, Sea Hero Quest, to help scientists fight dementia with the world’s largest crowd-sourced database for medical research.

Courtney has worked in communications in all facets of the film and television industry in Australia, United States, China and at home in Aotearoa New Zealand. Having worked in house for Paramount and Universal Pictures, DreamWorks, Marvel and Studiocanal, more recently Courtney’s work is between both the red carpet and the film set, and she has worked with most major studios and streamers, as well as the leading independent organisations, with over 35 TV and film credits under her belt as unit publicist and behind the scenes/EPK producer. She was one of the founders of the inaugural In the Shade summer film festival in 2022, has produced music videos for Benee and a documentary called Nowhere to Be, and her recent NZ based communication work includes Nude Tuesday, Creamerie, The Panthers and on set of the A24 film X, 20th Century Fox’s No Exit and Apples Mr. Corman.

Craig Gainsborough is the chair of Greenlit and a local producer in Aotearoa. In his role with Greenlit, Craig has helped to develop a range of sustainability tools to help the screen sector meet the increasingly urgent sustainability issues we face as an industry.

Dr. Prageeth Jayathissa is Vector’s senior sustainability partner and is responsible for developing and delivering Vector’s group-wide sustainability strategy. This includes Vector’s operational decarbonisation strategy (carbon footprint), supporting national decarbonisation (carbon handprint), and developing resilience to the impacts of climate change (climate adaptation). He has a background in energy systems engineering, holds a PhD from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), and has supported the development of numerous technologies to transition our society towards net-zero carbon.

Rose Archer is a sustainability manager and a steering comity member for Greenlit. She has on-the-ground experience in implementing sustainability strategies on large, medium, and small-scale productions in Aotearoa, and has been involved in developing sustainability tools for the New Zealand screen sector. Rose believes that the screen sector is uniquely placed to tackle the problems of climate change; in both how we work, and in the stories we tell.

Gayathiri works in the Workplace Relations and Safety Policy branch at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE). She leads MBIE’s work on the Screen Industry Workers Bill which was introduced to parliament in 2020. Prior to joining MBIE, Gayathiri worked at the Ministry of Justice, building on studies in the fields of criminology and law. 

Sandy Gildea has worked in the New Zealand screen industry for over 20 years in a variety of key roles at government funding agencies and arts organisations including the New Zealand Film Commission, NZ Screen Council, Creative New Zealand and New Zealand Trade & Enterprise. Sandy has held the position of Executive Director of the Screen Production and Development Association (SPADA) since 2014.

Denise Roche (Ngāti Raukawa) is the director of the performer’s union Equity New Zealand. The beginning of her tenure coincided with the outbreak of the global pandemic which catapulted her into a flurry of activity with other stakeholders in the industry to support the recovery of the screen sector.   

Denise has more than two decades experience as a union organiser, educator and strategist and her immediate role before coming to Equity was as a specialist advocate for collective bargaining in the transport and logistics industries. Her career includes having served as a politician for local government and as a list Member of Parliament for the Greens.   

In her spare time Denise maintains her commitment to protecting the environment.  Her voluntary work includes governance roles for several community and environmental organisations and she is a ministerial appointee to the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Advisory Board and last year contributed to the work of the Climate Commission as a technical adviser to support the development of the Emissions Reduction Plan.   

Tui has spent more than 25 years in the screen industry, starting as a production assistant and moving onto roles as a writer, director, line producer, producer and executive producer in a variety of genres including advertising, corporate communications, travel, factual and news programming. In the last 12 years his focus shifted to short and feature film and TV drama, primarily as a producer. He’s an alum of the Rotterdam Producers Lab, the European Audiovisual Entrepreneurs (EAVE) Producers Workshop, and the NZFC/AFTRS A to Z Producing Workshop. He is a former board member of Ngā Aho Whakaari Māori in Screen and was an industry representative on the New Zealand Screen Production Grant Panel. Tui has worked at DEGANZ for the last six years, advocating and lobbying for New Zealand directors and editors. He was a member of the Film Industry Working Group that developed the recommendations to the government for the Screen Industry Workers Bill. 
 

Alice is passionate about the rights and progression of Aotearoa New Zealand screenwriters. She is on the Board of Toi Mai, Film Auckland, was a founding member and Deputy Chairperson of the Agents Association of NZ and was an agent for actors and writers for a decade. Alice’s focus as the Executive Director of the NZWG has been part of establishing the Screen Industry Workers Bill and development of professional career pathways for screenwriters.

Currently working in strategy for Screen Auckland, Matt Horrocks most recently worked as an Investment Advisor on the $50m Premium Production Fund (Te Puna Kairangi) which supports high-quality productions that tell New Zealand stories for global audiences. In 2021 he wrote the report “Pan Screen Sector Body – Comparable Organizations”, for SINZ, an outcome of the Aotearoa Screen Strategy 2030.  
 
From 2017-2021 he worked for Screenwest in Australia. As the Head of Screen Investment & Strategic Projects he was responsible for the management of Screenwest’s development & production funding programs and $16m WARFF fund. As the head of the funding team, he oversaw Business Affairs, Indigenous, Diversity, Production Attraction and Talent Development activities along with VR/Immersive and Australian/Indonesian co-pro strategies. 
 
Matt has produced short films, documentaries and feature films in New Zealand, including Beyond he Known World – a NZ/Indian co-production. In the UK he worked in production roles on 28 Days Later and Calendar Girls.  
 
Matt was a Development Executive, and Industry Training Executive for the New Zealand Film Commission during a highly successful period for the NZ film industry. He has guest lectured at the University of Auckland, played a key role in setting up Script to Screen, and co-designed and instigated the Big Screen Symposium, New Zealand’s leading annual event for screen content professionals. 

Jasmin is responsible for the promotion and marketing of New Zealand films and the New Zealand Film Commission, in New Zealand and internationally. She consults with filmmakers, international sales agents and distributors on international film festival and market placement. Within New Zealand, she assists distributors and filmmakers to identify and engage with their film’s audience through test screenings, audience research and distribution grants. Since 2005, Jasmin has been involved with the marketing and promotion of most of the films the Film Commission has invested in including The World’s Fastest Indian, Boy, The Dark Horse, The Dead Lands, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Pork Pie and Chasing Great.

Catherine manages the NZSPG, with a particular focus on the 5% Uplift, an additional grant that international productions which qualify for the 20% NZSPG and offer significant economic benefits to New Zealand may apply to receive. She is the New Zealand Film Commission’s first point of contact for New Zealand government agencies in relation to the 5% Uplift and works closely with international productions and New Zealand government partners to deliver strong outcomes for all. Catherine began her career at Tourism New Zealand and whilst there was involved with the development of the New Zealand destination brand and global 100% Pure New Zealand campaign. Highlights of her career include development of the New Zealand Story and leadership of the NZ Inc Hobbitleverage programme, in particular the NZ Inc relationship with Wingnut Films and Warner Bros Los Angeles.

Mladen leads the NZFC’s corporate functions, ensuring appropriate support to NZFC staff and programmes across Finance, Business Affairs, Operations and HR. He supports the CEO in the leadership and management of the NZFC and contributes to the strategic direction of the organisation. He also manages co-production approval, film certification and has input into the NZFC’s interface with Government.

Philippa is the key conduit between overseas production customers and local industry specialists.  She oversees the provision of specialist screen services, including an international screen business enquiry service, and manages key relationships with New Zealand’s major international production customers. She has more than 25 years’ experience in the New Zealand production sector, including at state broadcaster Television New Zealand, where she held senior roles in production, commissioning, channel management and partnership.

Morgana O’Reilly is a talented actress, writer and creator, who has appeared in a succession of popular New Zealand and Australian screen productions. She played the pivotal lead of Kylie Baxter in her breakout role for horror-comedy feature film Housebound. Following this, Morgana landed a core cast role in Australia’s most popular soap series Neighbours, along with roles in cult-series Rake, Wanted, Offspring and Wentworth. In 2017, she played the role of Michelle in the feature film Below, alongside Anthony LaPaglia and Ryan Corr. In 2019, she starred in NZ-Canadian co-production drama series The Sounds. More recently, Morgana starred as the lead in both seasons of New Zealand series Mean Mums, reprised her role for a number of episodes of Neighbours in 2020, and was the lead in thriller mini-series INSiDE which won an International Emmy for short form series in 2021. She also appears in the feature film Nude Tuesday, available in NZ cinemas in June 2022.

Alex Casey is a senior writer at The Spinoff covering social issues and popular culture, and co-hosts weekly reality television podcast “The Real Pod.” 

Gemma is the Editor in Chief of Letterboxd, the social media platform for film lovers around the world. She oversees a team of writers, podcasters and content creators with a single focus: sharing a love of movies. Gemma has producing credits across film, television and web series, and has worked in social media strategy and screen publicity. She is the Tangata Tiriti Chair of the Aotearoa Screen Publicists Collective.

Dr. Ella Henry (Ngātikahu ki Whangaroa, Te Rārawa, Ngāti Kuri) is an Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, and Director of Māori Advancement in the Business School at Auckland University of Technology. Ella’s PhD thesis focused on Māori entrepreneurship in screen production. She has had a long involvement in the Māori screen industry, as a researcher, teacher on the Bachelor of Māori Development (Māori Media), co-author with Melissa Wikaire of the NZOA/NZFC/AUT funded text, ‘The Brown Book: working with Māori in screen production’. Ella has worked as a TV presenter (Ask Your Auntie), occasional actress (Auntie Kuini on Shortland Street), and is frequently called on by the media as a commentator on Māori and political issues. 

Sacha runs the Hoku Group, a family office and a non-profit foundation. A life-long fan and a passionate advocate for the creative and transformative power of fandom, Sacha writes and speaks at conferences and in-house events on diversity & inclusion, internet communities, and how we can all contribute to building a better future for ourselves online.

Shuchi Kothari is a critically acclaimed writer and producer (Kāinga, Firaaq, Apron Strings, Coffee & Allah, Rann, Shit One Carries). Her films have screened globally in film festivals including Venice, Cannes, Toronto and Telluride and on online platforms such as Mubi, Netflix and Amazon. Shuchi’s creative work often focuses on issues of inclusion, exclusion, home, belonging, cultural hegemony and personal resistance. She co-founded the Pan-Asian Screen Collective in 2018 to advocate for increased Pan-Asian representation on and behind the screen in Aotearoa New Zealand. She has mentored several acclaimed filmmakers/projects and served on juries of Film and Television awards, and national funding bodies. Shuchi is the director of the screen production programme at the University of Auckland where she teaches screenwriting and creative producing. 

Roseanne Liang is a director and screenwriter, born in Aotearoa New Zealand of Hong Kong Chinese descent. She has made award-winning work across feature film and TV, including autobiographical feature My Wedding and other Secrets (2011) and Sundance-SXSW breakout action short, Do No Harm (2017). 

Roseanne’s first Hollywood action-thriller Shadow in the Cloud starred Chlöe Grace Moretz and premiered at TIFF 2020 where it won the People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award. In 2021, Roseanne was named as one of Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch. Roseanne also showran and directed post-apocalyptic comedy TV series Creamerie, which was awarded Best Drama Series at the 2022 NZTV Awards. Roseanne is currently working as a director and co-executive producer on Netflix’s epic live action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Leanne Pooley is one of New Zealand’s most accomplished documentarians having worked around the world for over 25 years.  Her films range in topic from the Topp Twins to The Pope, have screened in more than 100 countries and have won dozens of international awards including Best Documentary at TIFF.  She directed NZ’s highest grossing documentary, the first New Zealand animated film to qualify for Oscar recognition, is an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit, an Arts Laureate and a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Fiona Samuel is an award-winning writer and director for television & film.  

In a three-decade career she has created a body of work that puts the female experience front and centre, from her ground-breaking television drama series The Marching Girls featuring ten young female leads, to an acclaimed trilogy of feature-length dramas Piece of My Heart, Bliss, and Consent.  

Telling the true story of New Zealander Louise Nicholas and her 25-year battle for justice after accusing three senior policemen of rape, Consent won multiple awards and achieved both critical acclaim and deep audience engagement.  

Fiona Samuel is an NZ Arts Foundation Laureate, an MNZM for services to television and theatre and the co-president of the NZ Writers Guild. 

Six accomplished storytellers, each with their own unique point of view, deliver Keynote Addresses on the BSS 2020 theme Transforming Culture: documentary maker Leanne Pooley, games designer and producer Maru Nihoniho, writer and activist Cole Meyers, producer Emma Slade, writer/ director Sebastián Lelio and microbiologist Dr Siouxsie Wiles.

This session is from the Big Screen Symposium held in Auckland on the 4th and 5th of December 2020.
The Big Screen Symposium 2020 was brought to you by Script to Screen and J&A Productions. We gratefully thank our event partners – the New Zealand Film Commission, New Zealand On Air, Te Māngai Paho, Images & Sound, Screen Auckland and AUT.

In this session, storytelling for the docuseries format, producer, director and editor Arielle Kilker delves into what it means to write for a documentary series. Using her project hit Netflix series Cheer, Arielle covers finding the narrative across the series as a whole, how to keep the heart of a character’s backstory in the present tense, and simplifying story for efficiency and dramatic impact while still honouring truth and integrity. This session is presented by the US Embassy. Arielle is introduced by producer Cass Avery.

This session is from the Big Screen Symposium held in Auckland on the 4th and 5th of December 2020. The Big Screen Symposium 2020 was brought to you by Script to Screen and J&A

Productions. We gratefully thank our event partners – the New Zealand Film Commission, New Zealand On Air, Te Māngai Paho, Images & Sound, Screen Auckland and AUT.

In this session, two-time Academy Award-nominated producer Finola Dwyer whose projects include Brooklyn and An Education, shares her approach to filmmaking using the film Brooklyn as a case study. Finola talks to Carthew Neal, Academy Award-Winning producer for Jojo Rabbit, about the response to challenges thrown up during production that ultimately achieved this ambitious film.

This session is from the Big Screen Symposium held in Auckland on the 4th and 5th of December 2020. The Big Screen Symposium 2020 was brought to you by Script to Screen and J&A Productions. We gratefully thank our event partners – the New Zealand Film Commission, New Zealand On Air, Te Māngai Paho, Images & Sound, Screen Auckland and AUT.

In this masterclass, screenwriter Sophie Henderson explores how to build a story with empathy that connects with its audience. She argues for character authenticity over likeability and talks about putting your whole self into your script. This session is presented by Department of Post. Sophie is introduced by actor and director Lucy Wigmore.

This session is from the Big Screen Symposium held in Auckland on the 4th and 5th of December 2020.

The Big Screen Symposium 2020 was brought to you by Script to Screen and J&A Productions. We gratefully thank our event partners – the New Zealand Film Commission, New Zealand On Air, Te Māngai Paho, Images & Sound, Screen Auckland and AUT.

In this panel discussion, writer and director Becs Arahanga, content commissioner at Māori Television (kaikōkiri Kaupapa at  Whakaata Māori) Lanita Ririnui and producer Piripi Curtis explore ideas and methods for Tikanga Māori to be incorporated into the creation of screen work, from the development of the idea, through to funding, production, distribution and audience engagement. They share their own transformative experiences and discuss future ways to tell stories with Tikanga led values and processes. This panel is moderated by producer Kay Ellmers.

This session is from the Big Screen Symposium held in Auckland on the 4th and 5th of December 2020.

The Big Screen Symposium 2020 was brought to you by Script to Screen and J&A Productions. We gratefully thank our event partners – the New Zealand Film Commission, New Zealand On Air, Te Māngai Paho, Images & Sound, Screen Auckland and AUT.

NZ On Air’s Chief Executive Cameron Harland and Head of Funding Amie Mills outline the challenges, ideas and opportunities ahead as we all try to put 2020 behind us.

In this case study of 2020 box office hit Savage, writer/director Sam Kelly and producer Vicky Pope share what they learned from the unforeseen pitfalls and breakthroughs while bringing to life this ambitious feature film.

This session is from the Big Screen Symposium held in Auckland on the 4th and 5th of December 2020.

The Big Screen Symposium 2020 was brought to you by Script to Screen and J&A Productions. We gratefully thank our event partners – the New Zealand Film Commission, New Zealand On Air, Te Māngai Paho, Images & Sound, Screen Auckland and AUT.

This podcast opens with an address from Hon. Carmel Sepuloni (Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage) who launched the Premium Productions for International Audiences Fund (Pūtea Kiriata Hiranga – Premium Fund) at the Big Screen Symposium. Then producer Emma Slade talks to Annabelle Sheehan (NZ Film Commission), Cameron Harland (NZ On Air) and Larry Parr (Te Māngai Pāho) about this new fund.

In this session, we hear from Australian multi-hyphenate Scott Ryan about his process creating, writing and starring in the crime drama series Mr In-between. FX renewed the series for a third season which was in production when this session was recorded. Scott is the sole writer and Nash Edgerton is the sole director across the seasons. Mr In-between is based on the 2005 feature film The Magician, which is also written by and stars Scott Ryan. This session is moderated by entertainment journalist, film critic and broadcaster Dominic Corry.

This session is from the Big Screen Symposium held in Auckland on the 4th and 5th of December 2020.

The Big Screen Symposium 2020 was brought to you by Script to Screen and J&A Productions. We gratefully thank our event partners – the New Zealand Film Commission, New Zealand On Air, Te Māngai Paho, Images & Sound, Screen Auckland and AUT.

In Kenyan filmmaker, Wanuri Kahiu’s Keynote address, she explores the AFROBUBBLEGUM movement. What if our art, our stories, our voices were more about celebrating joy than overcoming suffering? Would we think ourselves more worthy of happiness? Using examples of joy traditions and cultures expressed through African art, Wanuri presents an argument for the zeitgeist of joy and hope. This session is presented by . Anna’s keynote address took place on Saturday 28 Oct at the Big Screen Symposium 2018 in Auckland, NZ. The Big Screen Symposium is New Zealand’s annual premiere film event, proudly brought to you by Script to Screen and janda. This podcast is available on Podbean, Spotify and Apple

Writer/director, David Lowery’s keynote address dissects his experience of capturing the zeitgeist in his career to date.  How can you ensure your story is relevant and interesting to modern audiences?  David breaks down his rollercoaster ride from trying to make films for posterity to making films that affect people deeply and collaborating closely with a tight-knit filmmaking family.

The Right Honorable Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, who is also our Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, focuses her keynote address on the value of storytellers to New Zealand culture. Laying a challenge to government to shift focus from the economic impact of the screen industry to the importance of storytellers and their place in modern society. How does storytelling impact the way we navigate the modern world and how can we increase access to and participation in the arts in New Zealand? The Prime Ministers address took place on Friday 27 Oct at the Big Screen Symposium 2018 in Auckland, NZ. The Big Screen Symposium is New Zealand’s annual premiere film event, proudly brought to you by Script to Screen and janda. This podcast is available on Podbean, Spotify and Apple

CEO of the Swedish Film Institute, Anna Serner, has garnered international attention for her radical work towards gender equality in the screen industry.  In this electrifying talk, she provokes us to think differently about gender equality and lays out her step-by-step plan to achieve it. This session is presented by WIFT NZ. Anna’s keynote address took place on Saturday 28 Oct at the Big Screen Symposium 2018 in Auckland, NZ. The Big Screen Symposium is New Zealand’s annual premiere film event, proudly brought to you by Script to Screen and janda. This podcast is available on Podbean, Spotify and Apple.

Fremantle’s Director of Drama, Jo Porter joins Phillipa Campbell in conversation to discuss her experience developing, producing and selling the trailblazing six-part Australian television series Picnic at the Hanging Rock. Together they explore the powers and pressures of adapting a beloved novel and the process of navigating a co-commission.

Jo’s session took place on Fri 27 Oct at the Big Screen Symposium 2018 in Auckland, NZ.

Premiering at Berlin in 2019, Vai is the second feature to come from the team behind groundbreaking 2017 film, Waru  A collaborative anthology, the film brings nine Pasifika female writer/directors together to realise a story that follows the life of a woman named Vai as she travels across the Pacific.  A film about empowerment through culture, we hear how these nine trailblazing women brought their visions to life. This session took place on Friday 27 Oct at the Big Screen Symposium 2018 in Auckland, NZ.

Stop-motion animation has enjoyed a renaissance over the past two decades despite the advancement of modern animation techniques. World-renowned experts in this field, Rachel Larsen and Antony Elworthy share insights into how they bring stop motion productions to life with filmmakers like Tim Burton, Wes Anderson and Harry Sinclair.

Antony and Rachel’s session took place on Saturday 28 Oct at the Big Screen Symposium 2018 in Auckland, NZ.

Can new technologies address environmental issues and competing world views? Leading global thinker, Lynette Wallworth discusses her work in the Virtual and Augmented Reality sphere and the ways in which she “brings together technological advances and ancient understandings, new media and old practices, electronics and the electricity of human touch.”

Lynette’s session took place on Friday 27 Oct at the Big Screen Symposium 2018 in Auckland, NZ.

Anna Deanworks at the forefront of audience engagement across the digital, film and social landscapes. In this session, Anna shares key learnings on changes to audience engagement in recent years. She provides practical tips to help you articulate your project in a way that connects, and challenges you to think about what your audience actually wants rather than what you think they should know. This session is presented by Loading Docs.

Anna’s session took place on Saturday 28 Oct at the Big Screen Symposium 2018 in Auckland, NZ.

In this session filmmaker David Lowery uses a scene from his latest feature The Old Man & the Gun as a starting point to follow the evolution of an idea from first draft to final cut. He leads us on his own very specific filmmaking journey in order to explore the tangents and the detours that inspiration can take on its way to the big screen. This session is presented by The Weta Group of Companies.

David’s session took place on Friday 27 Oct at the Big Screen Symposium 2018 in Auckland, NZ.

Being funny is a seriously tricky business, even if you’re a natural. In this session, some of NZ’s top comedic writing talent explore what makes their characters funny and how they’ve successfully taken NZ comedy to the world. Listen to Jackie van Beek, Madeleine Sami, Paul Yates and Melanie Bracewell chat with Alice Snedden about how they crafted the laughs. This session is presented by . This panel discussion session took place on Friday 27 Oct at the Big Screen Symposium 2018 in Auckland, NZ. The Big Screen Symposium is New Zealand’s annual premiere film event, proudly brought to you by Script to Screen and janda. This podcast is available on Podbean, Spotify and Apple.

Stray is the debut feature film from award-winning writer/director/producer Dustin Feneley and producer Desray Armstrong. In this session, Dustin and Desray discuss how Stray was financed as an independent film; focusing on securing private investment and their record-breaking crowdfunding campaign. They’ll also explore the entrepreneurial skills, drive and tenacity needed to succeed as independent filmmakers.

Dustin and Desray’s session took place on Friday 27 Oct at the Big Screen Symposium 2018 in Auckland, NZ.

There are times for all filmmakers where there is no clear path ahead. Lynette Walworth and David Lowery share insights from their filmmaking journeys with moderator, Brita McVeigh. They explore the roadblocks they’ve faced, the deviations from the path and ultimately the way through in this intimate and enlightening conversation.

David and Lynette’s session took place on Saturday 28 Oct at the Big Screen Symposium 2018 in Auckland, NZ.

Michael Bennett, Miriama McDowell, Jessica Hansell, and Todd Karehana each give their take on our theme Authenticity & Pretence in the context of their recent projects, working practice, and view of the world.

Presented by NZ On Air. This session took place on Sunday 1 October, 9.30am at the Big Screen Symposium 2017 in Auckland, NZ.

Moderated by Brita McVeigh.

David Michôd and Luke Davies have been in Los Angeles, living and working in close proximity a lot of the time for nigh on 10 years.

They talk to Brita McVeigh about their quite different respective experiences of this Hollywood chapter of their lives, their observation of each other’s individual working processes, and their feedback loops on each other’s projects.

They are now working together as co-showrunners of the TV adaptation of Catch 22, in development. They explore how the collaboration is taking shape: how they have been writing together, how they attempt to create flow, how they try to be efficient, and how they are dividing the labour.

This session took place on Sunday 1st October, 2:40pm at the Big Screen Symposium 2017 in Auckland, NZ.

Moderated by Brita McVeigh.

“An exquisite, beautifully shot meditation on love clouded by fear and doubt.” Lovesong Review, New York Times, Stephen Holden

Experienced independent director So Yong Kim is known for creating intimacy and atmosphere in her critically acclaimed films In Between Days, Treeless Mountain, For Ellen and Lovesong . In this session she talks about working with the actors to create this mood, and cultivating an individual voice when directing feature films.

As a sought after episodic director for leading series Transparent, American Crime, Queen Sugar and Room 104, So Yong will contrast her feature film experience to directing episodic television using someone else’s blueprint.

So Yong Kim’s session took place on Sunday 1st October, 11:10am at the Big Screen Symposium 2017 in Auckland, NZ.

Presented by Images and Sound

Bec Smith is an agent at United Talent Agency, one of the biggest talent agencies in the world. Originally from Australia, Bec has worked at UTA in Los Angeles for 10 years and her client list includes many acclaimed fellow Australians.

The agency system in the US plays an integral part in the packaging of film and high-end television projects, and Bec’s work as an agent goes beyond the representation of filmmakers.

Connecting talent, seeking finance and representing sales for her clients’ independent films are key parts of her job.

In this special conversation with Jill Macnab, Bec demystifies the US agency system and gives you her take on the current film and television market informed by her recent attendance at festivals and markets including Sundance, Berlin, Cannes, Venice, Toronto and the American Film Market.

Bec’s session took place on Sunday 1st October, 1:20pm at the Big Screen Symposium 2017 in Auckland, NZ.

Los Angeles based Luke Davies is one of Australia’s most sought after writers. In this session, he delves into the challenges of adapting source material for the screen.

Luke adapted his own novel Candy for the screen, and the book A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley into LION, which went on to be nominated for 2017 Academy Awards Best Adapted Screenplay and to win a BAFTA in this same category.

His current work includes Beautiful Boy an adaptation of a memoir chronicling meth addiction and recovery through the eyes of a father, produced by Brad Pitt’s Plan B, directed by Academy Award nominated Felix van Groeningen and starring Steve Carrell; and a six-part limited series adaptation for television of the beloved Joseph Heller novel Catch 22.

Luke talks about his creative process when working with existing material to create blueprints for compelling film and television. This includes tough decisions he has made, and craft problems he has solved.

Presented by South Pacific Pictures.

Luke’s session took place on Saturday 30th September, 11:40am at the Big Screen Symposium 2017 in Auckland, NZ.

Moderated by Shuchi Kothari.

During this in-depth craft focused session, David Michôd delves into his directorial process and approach with moderator Shuchi Kothari.

Find out how David develops his vision for the look and feel of a film, and ensures it translates on to the screen. David will share his aesthetic preparation including the way he collaborates with DoPs, production designers and actors in pre-production and on set.

Having moved from gritty debut breakout Animal Kingdom to The Rover that was in official selection at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival then big budget Netflix War Machine, David addresses how scale has impacted his directorial vision and process.

David’s session took place on Saturday 30th September, 3:00pm at the Big Screen Symposium 2017 in Auckland, NZ.