The team at BSS 2025 is thrilled to offer an exclusive session about Prime Minister, the Sundance World Cinema Audience Award winning documentary. Co-Director Michelle Walshe (Chasing Great, Short Poppies) and producer Cass Avery (Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles, The Girl on the Bridge) join moderator and filmmaker Leanne Pooley (Dame Valerie Adams: More Than Gold, Choir Games) for this kōrero, which is sure to be one of the highlights of BSS 2025.
Known for their bold storytelling and commitment to projects that challenge and spark dialogue, these two will bring invaluable perspective into the making of this timely and intimate portrait of leadership. From their concept and collaboration, Walshe and Avery will share the creative and logistical journey behind the film, how access was negotiated, trust was built, and how the team navigated the delicate balance between journalistic integrity and emotional storytelling. This conversation will provide a unique insight into telling a story that sits at the intersection of politics, identity, and public expectation.
For anyone passionate about documentary filmmaking and the power of cinema to shape national conversations, we invite you to hear about the amazing journey behind this important piece of Aotearoa history.
SPEAKERS
CASS AVERY
Cass Avery is EVP of Production & Development at Dark Doris in Auckland, New Zealand. As a producer, executive producer and writer, Cass has helmed and scripted documentaries and television series commissioned in NZ, Australia and the US.
Her projects have screened on Netflix, Amazon, WBD, Hulu, SKY UK and Seven Australia. Her credits include; Chasing Great, releasing in 2016 which is New Zealand’s highest grossing cinema documentary. The Amazon original Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles that premiered at SXSWSydney 2023, the 4 part true crime documentary series Black Coast Vanishings made for Warner Brothers Discovery with Studio Canal, releasing in 2024, and in 2025 she produced the film Prime Minister that premiered at Sundance and won the coveted International Documentary Audience Award.
LEANNE POOLEY
Leanne Pooley has been a documentary filmmaker for over 25 years, has directed films all over the world and has won numerous awards (including Best Documentary at TIFF). In 2011 Leanne’s work was recognised by the New Zealand Arts Foundation and she was made a New Zealand Arts Laureate. Leanne was made an ONZM for Services to Documentary Filmmaking in the 2017 New Year’s Honours List and she is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (The Oscars). Her documentaries have screened in more than 100 countries and include topics ranging from the Topp Twins to the Pope. Leanne’s most recent work is Choir Games, an inspirational four part series following two choirs, one from New York City, one from Kaitaia, on a life changing journey to the World Choir Games- the Olympics of choral singing.
