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.
After 10 years of support from Foundation North we are proud to open applications for the 2025 South Shorts Script Mentorship programme. This programme will continue to support new and emerging screenwriters from the South Auckland community* to enhance their screenwriting capabilities. Take the leap and submit your story ideas to be a part of this unique development opportunity. South Shorts will help you develop your story idea/s (short film or web series), write a script, share your unique perspective, and advance your screenwriting career within a supportive framework.
During this mentorship programme (May-September 2025), you will attend a series of one-day Saturday hubs alongside like-minded creatives, be led through focused script development and receive one-on-one feedback under the guidance of writer, and director Briar Grace-Smith (Cousins, Waru). Briar has mentored the past 7 years of South Shorts, and she brings considerable experience and knowledge from her own projects.
The hub days are shaped based on your needs and involve script read-throughs, writing exercises, and hearing from guest speakers about their experiences making films. We also look forward to adding sessions around pitching ideas, funding, working with actors and further development tasks to the programme as required.
On completion, you will leave South Shorts with new skills and tools to develop your work, a great new network of like-minded practitioners, a completed script, and greater confidence in yourself as a screenwriter.
We also welcome applications from past participants of the South Shorts programme, who wish to develop a new script idea.
Submission Requirements:
Opens: Monday 16th December 2024
DEADLINE EXTENDED!
Applications Close: 1 pm, Monday 10th March 2025
Closes: 1 pm, Monday 3rd March 2025
Notification of outcome: Mid-April
WATCH THE WEBINAR RECORDING BELOW:
Information Webinar: 5 pm – 6 pm, Monday 1oth February 2025
Webinar: 5 pm – 6 pm, Tuesday 11th February 2025
2025 Programme Dates:
Dates to be confirmed; likely May-September 2025
Who is eligible?
What you will need to submit:
About you: (A written application or video submission outlining the below.)
About your project: (Written)
Optional material:
Video Submission Requirements:
Video submissions should be no longer than 5min.
**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.
The South Shorts Mentorship Programme is made possible thanks to generous support from Foundation North.
Information Published on Monday 16th December 2024