Participants who pitch a short film project at the 2018 South Auckland Short Film Workshop will also be invited to apply to the 2019 South Shorts Mentorship Programme.
Approximately eight participants will be chosen to take part in the programme spanning five months, which offers focused script mentorship for the selected short film projects under the leadership of two dedicated and experienced mentors.
South Shorts will offer participants guidance through the process of writing and developing a short film. Participants may intend to self-fund the film, crowd-fund, or prepare to apply to the New Zealand Film Commission’s Fresh Shorts initiative. Script to Screen is looking for distinctive new South Auckland voices with a passion for storytelling and something powerful to say. Selected participants may be new to short film writing or come with some experience.
How do I apply?
Participants will be chosen based on a combination of their pitch during the 2018 South Auckland Short Film Workshop and a written statement submitted to Script to Screen following the event. The statement should include why South Shorts would be valuable to you and your short filmmaking craft.
Applications close: Monday 3rd December at 9am
Programme Outline
The South Shorts Mentoring Programme will start in early 2019 and span across a five-month period. It will include three to four full day ‘hubs’ and individual script mentoring sessions and script notes.
Dates for the South Shorts Mentorship Programme will be set in December 2018
“I probably wouldn’t have a project without it (Script to Screen), because it was at the South Shorts Workshop where I had to pitch, and I hadn’t done that before. Script to Screen’s really accessible to anyone and it takes away the “you’ve got to be this and that to make a film”. It makes you realize that anyone can make a film, as long as you have good story – as cheesy as that sounds. But it’s important because it’s a really good outreach in the community. Without it, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
-Vea Mafile’o (South Shorts Alumni and current FilmUp mentee)
This initiative is made possible with assistance from Foundation North.
We are pleased to announce the 8 short film writers and 1 producer that have been selected to be part of our 2018 South Shorts Mentorship Programme. This is the fourth year running this programme aimed to guide emerging South Auckland based writers and filmmakers to develop their short film scripts. Participants of this programme will attend a series of hub days and will be paired with an industry professional to receive on-going mentorship.
South Shorts Participants and Projects (L – R):
We look forward to working with you all. Thank you to everyone who applied.
This initiative is made possible with assistance from Foundation North.
In addition to the 2017 South Auckland Short Film Workshop, Script to Screen is proud to reintroduce the South Shorts Mentoring Programme.
Six participants of the South Auckland Short Film Workshop will be chosen to participate in a 6 month programme, which offers over 20 hours of mentoring on a short film project.
The programme will guide emerging writers and producers through the process of developing a short film, whether the filmmakers aim to make the film on their own, or getting a script ready to apply for the New Zealand Film Commission Fresh Shorts scheme. We are looking for distinctive new voices with a passion for storytelling. Participants may have some, little or no prior knowledge of filmmaking.
How do I apply?
The participants will be chosen based on a combination of their pitch during the 2017 South Auckland Short Film Workshop, and a written statement submitted to Script to Screen after the workshop outlining why the mentoring programme is for them.
Apply here: https://form.jotform.co/73235710827860
Programme Outline
The South Shorts Mentoring Programme will start in early 2018, and participants will need to be available to attend the following days. Dates have not yet been set and will be discussed with the participants in December 2017.
Kick-off Lab (7 hours) – All mentors and participants attend a one day intensive lab to launch the programme.
Hubs (6 hours) – The participants come together for two 3 hour hub meetings during the six month period. This is a chance for the writers to discuss their experiences, what they are learning and hear from a guest speaker about a particular topic.
Ongoing Mentoring (6 hours over a six month period) – Participants are each offered 6 hours of one-on-one sessions with their mentor over the course of six months. The content of these sessions will be tailored to suit the needs of each team, but centre around developing the story and script, ready for either shooting the film or applying for funding.
Wrap-up Lab (3 hours) – A half-day wrap up workshop completes the six-month journey. Teams will chart progress, discuss challenges they encountered and plan the way forward for their film.
Image from Loading Docs TIHEI. Directed by Hamish Bennett and produced by Orlando Stewart.
This initiative is made possible with assistance from Foundation North.
On the weekend of 28/29th November, 25 emerging filmmakers gathered at MIT’s Faculty of Creative Arts for the South Auckland Short Film Workshop, a two-day workshop designed to give you all the basic tools you need to make your own short film. Participants heard from industry mentors who shared their insights into each part of the filmmaking process.
The aim of the weekend is to bring to life more stories from South Auckland, and the participants came from a diverse set of backgrounds including those working in TV and production, as well as students and graduates of various creative disciplines.
On the Sunday afternoon, participants were encouraged to pitch a short film idea. The judges were extremely impressed with the ideas pitched – many of which were developed during the weekend. The stories were rich and personal, and the passionate pitches made it very difficult for the judges to choose a winner.
The winners of the pitching competition were Vea Mafileo and Jeremiah Tauamiti with their documentary idea MALAGA. The judges also gave special mentions to three short drama ideas, Chris Molloy with WHITE SUNDAY AND THE MAORI BOY, Piata Gardiner-Hoskins with THE HANGING TREE, and Hanelle Harris with BASIC TRAINGING.
This workshop was presented by Script to Screen and Ngā Aho Whakaari.
2016 South Shorts Mentoring Programme
To follow on from the workshop, Script to Screen is running the 2016 South Shorts Mentorship Programme, where 6 aspiring writers and 3 aspiring producers will be matched with filmmaking mentors to help them develop their projects further. Participants of the workshop were all eligible to apply for a place on the mentorship programme to develop their projects. Those chosen were:
6 Writers
Jaemen Busby – LANCE
Hanelle Harris – BASIC TRAINING
Vea Mafileo (and co-director Jeremiah Tauamiti) – MALAGA
Chris Molloy – WHITE SUNDAY AND THE MAORI BOY
Skye Stirling (and writer Chris Molloy) – GANGSTA LOVE
Jeremiah Tauamiti – LILIU
3 Producers
Henry Cheng
Hans Masoe
Louisa Tipene Opetaia
In addition to the South Auckland Short Film Workshop, Script to Screen is proud to reintroduce the South Shorts Mentoring Programme.
Six participants of the South Auckland Short Film Workshop will be chosen to participate in a 6 month programme, which offers up to 30 hours of mentoring on a short film project.
The programme will guide emerging writers and producers through the process of developing a short film, whether the filmmakers aim to make the film on their own, or getting a script ready to apply for the New Zealand Film Commission Fresh Shorts scheme. We are looking for distinctive new voices with a passion for storytelling. Participants may have some, little or no prior knowledge of filmmaking.
How do I apply?
The participants will be chosen based on a combination of their pitch during the 2016 South Auckland Short Film Workshop, and a written statement submitted to Script to Screen after the workshop outlining why the mentoring programme is for them.
Programme Outline
The South Shorts Mentoring Programme will start in early 2017, and participants will need to be available to attend the following days. Dates have not yet been set and will be discussed with the 6 participants in December 2016.
Kick-off Lab (7 hours) – All mentors and participants attend a one day intensive lab to launch the programme.
Hubs (6 hours) – The participants come together for two 3 hour hub meetings during the six month period. This is a chance for the writers to discuss their experiences, what they are learning and hear from a guest speaker about a particular topic.
Ongoing Mentoring (10 hours over a 6 month period) – Participants are each offered 10 hours of one-on-one sessions with their mentor over the course of 6 months. The content of these sessions will be tailored to suit the needs of each team, but centre around developing the story and script, ready for either shooting the film or applying for funding.
Wrap-up Lab (7 hours) – A day together again completes the six-month journey. Teams will chart progress, discuss challenges they encountered and plan the way forward for their film.
This initiative is made possible with assistance from Foundation North.
Last month saw the kick-off of our first South Shorts Mentorship Programme, where the talented up-and-coming writers came together to workshop their short film ideas under the guidance of Michael Bennett (MATARIKI), Oscar Kightley (SIONE’S WEDDING), Zia Mandviwalla (NIGHT SHIFT) and Jake Mahaffy (FREE IN DEED).
We are now able to announce the exciting mentorship pairings that will nourish the creativity of these writers for the next six months and hopefully see some great short films get made!
Lene Aiono with writer/director Michael Bennett (MATARIKI)
Vela Manusaute with writer/director Zia Mandviwalla (NIGHT SHIFT)
Levi Matautia-Morgan with writer/director Oscar Kightley (SIONE’S WEDDING)
Louise Tu’u with producer Ainsley Gardiner (BOY)
Writing team Mary Campbell and Maria Walker with writer/director Zia Mandviwalla (NIGHT SHIFT)
Isaac Weeks with writer/director Jake Mahaffy (FREE IN DEED)
This exciting new programme is made possible with the continued support of the ASB Community Trust.
A similar mentorship will be made available to Northland filmmakers this year, where up to 6 filmmaking teams will have guidance on progressing a film project. To be considered for this mentorship, filmmakers should attend our May workshop in the Hokianga, Storytelling for the Screen.
In addition to the 2014 South Auckland Short Film Workshop, Script to Screen is proud to introduce the South Shorts Mentoring Programme.
Six participants of the South Auckland Short Film Workshop will be chosen to participate in a 6 month programme, which offers 30 hours of mentoring on a short film project. The programme will be guide the teams through the process of developing a short film, with the view of either making the film on a low budget, or getting a script ready for a funding application to the New Zealand Film Commission Fresh Shorts funding round in June 2015.
The South Shorts Mentoring Programme aims to identify new talent and push them further on the path to making a short film. We are looking for distinctive new voices with a passion for storytelling. Participants may have some, little or no prior knowledge of filmmaking.
The participants will be chosen based on a combination of a written short film idea and their pitch during the South Auckland Short Film Workshop 2014.
How do I apply?
To be chosen you must attend the 2014 South Auckland Short Film Workshop on 29/30 November 2014. The six participants will be chosen by the panel during the pitching session on Sunday 30 November. You may submit an optional written synopsis of your short film idea to accompany your pitch. You can submit your short film synopsis to Script to Screen (eloise@script-to-screen.co.nz) prior to the workshop, or during the workshop. For more details on the written synopsis see here.
Programme Outline
The South Shorts Mentoring Programme will run into 2015 and participants will need to be available to attend the following days. Dates have not yet been set and will be discussed with the 6 participants in December 2014.
Kick-off Lab (7 hours) – All mentors and participants attend a one day intensive lab to launch the programme.
Ongoing Mentoring (10 hours over a 6 month period) – Participants are each offered 10 hours of one-on-one sessions with their mentor over the course of 6 months. The content of these sessions will be tailored to suit the needs of each team, but centre around developing the story and script, ready for either shooting the film or applying for funding.
Hubs (6 hours) – The participants come together for two 3 hour hub meetings during the six month period. This is a chance for the writers to discuss their experiences, what they are learning and hear from a guest speaker about a particular topic.
Wrap-up Lab (7 hours) – A day together again completes the six-month journey. Teams will chart progress, discuss challenges they encountered and plan the way forward for their film.
This initiative is made possible with assistance from the ASB Community Trust.
During this six-month mentorship programme (July-November 2024), successful applicants attend a series of one-day hubs and are led through focused script development under the guidance of Briar Grace-Smith. Briar brings considerable experience and knowledge to the room for group mentorship, and each participant also gets one-on-one feedback. The hub days involve script read-throughs, writing exercises, and hearing from guest speakers about their experiences making films. On completion of the programme, you will leave with new skills and tools to develop your work, a great new network of like-minded practitioners, and a completed short film script.
Submission Requirements:
Opens: Wednesday 7th February 2024
Closes: 1:00 PM Monday 25th March 2024
Notification of outcome: Early May 2024
Who is eligible?
What you’ll need to submit:
*Applicants need to submit at least one short film concept and it can be at any stage – it may simply be a new idea (synopsis) that the writer is pursuing for the first time, or the writer may have already written multiple drafts. Applicants can submit more than one short film idea in their application.
This programme is reliant on funding being achieved. Applicants will be informed of the funding outcome prior to the South Shorts submission deadline on the 25th of March.
The South Shorts Mentorship Programme is made possible thanks to generous support from Foundation North.