In April 2020, Script to Screen established Awhi for alumni to draw on each other when a situation calls for an impartial phone conversation. It can give them a sounding board for an issue to be talked through, an idea tested, a problem solved or to simply have someone to call on that might have been in the same position as you.
Awhi is a safe space available to our whānau of filmmakers where they can be open and honest, get guidance in their careers, suggestions to progress their work and encouragement from someone who understands what it’s like in our film industry. Everyone who signs up to Awhi can be the maker and/or receiver of a call. This is the beginning of a community that supports each other through conversation – even if they have never met.
If you are an Alumni of one of our programmes we invite you to register.
How Awhi works:
Script to Screen will connect alumni for one-on-one video or phone conversations. Each person can use Awhi to be connected to a peer up to twice a year, and we suggest keeping the conversation to no longer than 60 mins.
When you want to make an Awhi call, fill out our Awhi Conversation Request Form so we can match you with the best person from the Awhi community.
Once we receive your submitted form, we will work to find a match and then connect you both via email. If you requested the call, then it is up to you to email the filmmaker we have connected you with to schedule a time for your conversation.
We will process all requests as they come in, however we will need to wait on a response from the peer we want to connect you with before we can come back to you, so allow for that in your planning.
If you feel like your mental health is in crisis or are worried about the mental health of someone you know, please visit the Mental Health Foundation website for a list of some of the services available in New Zealand that offer support, information and help. All services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week unless otherwise specified.
Need to talk? Free call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor
Lifeline – 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE) or free text 4357 (HELP)
Suicide Crisis Helpline – 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)
Healthline – 0800 611 116
Samaritans – 0800 726 666
Last Updated 14/05/2020
The New Zealand Government has announced the country is now at COVID-19 Alert level 2. These are unprecedented times and now, more than ever, our industry needs to work cohesively for the benefit of the screen sector at large. For all the latest COVID-19 news head to covid19.govt.nz/
We at Script to Screen will return to our office from Mon 18 May after working from our homes during level 3 & 4. We are continuing to run our existing programme hubs online and are still available by email. There are great resources available to you while working in a reduced capacity, they’re detailed below.
Wishing you and your bubble safety in this time 👋❤️
If you feel like your mental health is in crisis or are worried about the mental health of someone you know, please visit the Mental Health Foundation website for a list of some of the services available in New Zealand that offer support, information and help. All services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week unless otherwise specified.
Need to talk? Free call or text 1737 any time for support from a trained counsellor
Lifeline – 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE) or free text 4357 (HELP)
Suicide Crisis Helpline – 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO)
Healthline – 0800 611 116
Samaritans – 0800 726 666
In response to the immediate impact of COVID-19 on the New Zealand screen industry, the sector has announced the formation of the Screen Sector COVID-19 Action Group and a screen-specific online information hub to address the immediate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry. This pan-sector team comprises many key screen industry guilds and organisations, as well as major stakeholders.
The www.screenindustrynz.co.nz website will act as a one-stop hub to assist screen producers and industry workers find screen-specific health and safety resources, wage and earning subsidy assistance and information, key updates on COVID-19 as well as relevant news and updates from screen guilds and industry organisations.
These unprecedented times call for calm and proactive decision-making in order to protect the local screen sector and to ensure that when recovery happens – and it will – the industry is ready to operate at maximum capacity again for our domestic productions and so that international line productions can return as soon as it is viable.
The NZFC has released a number of advisories on COVID-19. You can find the full releases on their website.
Their second advisory provides updated and clear information to producers and the wider production sector about what the NZFC is putting in place to support productions until the pandemic situation is resolved. All their funding opportunities remain open and available, other than the International Travel Grants programme which has been suspended.
In the immediate term, they are dealing with two distinct types of production that are being affected now.
1. Productions that have commenced principal photography or are in post-production
In response to the New Zealand Government’s COVID-19 alert level directive and advisory, all productions (as non-essential businesses) are now in hiatus. This is obviously distressing for everyone involved. We are committed to working alongside producers to underst…read more
2. Productions that have not yet formally closed finance or are yet to apply for funding but have a viable finance plan.
The NZFC continues to encourage and accept applications from producers for production financing if they have a viable finance plan, and continues to work on film closing documentation to ensure production can commence as soon as production dates and other relevant production details, are confirmed.. read more
Head to our Script to Screen podcast channel where you will find newly released Script to Screen Podcasts. Find out what local distributors consider before they take on a project for distribution and learn about the hard task of navigating the balance between staying true to your story while satisfying the audience’s expectations for your character. Especially if those characters are the first of their kind on screen.
Plus, delve into 14 newly released 2018 Big Screen Symposium Sessions. Revisit Wanuri Kahui’s uplifting keynote address on the Zeitgeist of Joy; get practical tips on engaging your audience with Anna Dean; or take a deep dive into David Lowery’s filmmaking process with The Old Man & the Gun.
Available on Podbean, Apple and Spotify.
Script to Screen is proud to be partnering with Compton School once again to deliver Strength in Numbers – a program designed to teach screen practitioners about growing a sustainable and profitable business while doing the work you want to do.
Run by Script to Screen, and led by Australian screen business expert David Court, Strength in Numbers Growth comprises a series of workshops that arm participants with the tools they need to build a sustainable business in the screen industry. The programme is for screen practitioners with a slate of projects and a screen industry business already underway and will be delivered over several workshop days held in Auckland January to September 2020.
Strength in Numbers offers a unique opportunity for early to mid-career practitioners in the screen industry to work together on the building blocks of business models that will sustain their future and ultimately shape the industry itself. The Programme aims to cultivate a super-smart community of business people in the screen industry that support each other over time, which is especially important for filmmakers who often work in isolation.
Selected participants will have a proven track record that demonstrates considerable talent and tenacity in their field. They will become part of Script to Screen’s alumni network. This network supports further collaboration and strengthens connections. To encourage screen practitioners from the regions to apply we have support from some of New Zealand’s regional offices: Film Otago Southland, Film Dunedin, Screen Canterbury, Screen Wellington, Tairawhiti TV, Film Bay of Plenty.
Strength in Numbers’ inaugural year saw ten creators of many of our most loved and successful films (including Hunt For The Wilderpeople, Boy, The Dark Horse, Love Story, Three Wise Cousins, Waru, Vai, and Loading Docs) brought together to focus on building sustainable businesses.
Preview the Strength In Numbers Application Form
What you’ll need to submit:
Applications Open: Mon 21 Oct
Applications Close: Sun 1 Dec, midnight
First Workshop: Early Feb 2020
Strength in Numbers is made possible thanks to generous support from the Auckland Council– Regional Arts and Culture Grant, New Zealand Film Commission.
And New Zealand Regional Film Offices; Film Otago Southland, Film Dunedin, Screen Canterbury, Screen Wellington, Tairawhiti TV, Film Bay of Plenty and Waikato Film Hub. Thank you to Screen Auckland for providing our workshop venue.
Script to Screen is delighted to announce the appointment of Jackie Dennis as our new Executive Director. She steps up to the role having worked in programmes and operations with departing ED Esther Cahill-Chiaroni over the past 18-months.
Throughout her career Jackie has worked closely with creative practitioners in music, literature and film, nurturing careers and advocating for the arts.
Script to Screen Chair Cass Avery says, “We value the knowledge Jackie brings to the role and her commitment to Script to Screen. She brings a broad range of creative, strategic and leadership skills to the Executive Director role. With Jackie’s background and her love of film it is a natural transition.”
Prior to returning to Script to Screen in 2017, Jackie was Chief Executive of the New Zealand Society of Authors where she oversaw a major overhaul of the Society’s operations and activities. From 1993 to 2009 Jackie worked for the Mushroom Group initially for the Music Publishing arm. In the late 90s Mushroom diversified into movies and Jackie took up the post of General Manager at Mushroom Pictures in Australia where she was involved in the development and production of a wide range of film, television and multimedia productions. She has done music supervision for many projects including iconic films Chopper and What We Do In The Shadows. Jackie also played an important part in Script to Screen’s earlier years, programme managing the first two Big Screen Symposiums and working on the inaugural FilmUp Programme.
Jackie is excited to win the job after a rigorous recruitment process and is looking forward to engaging with the filmmaking community in her new role. She will take up the position in January 2019.
Script to Screen Executive Director Esther Cahill-Chiaroni will step down from the role at the beginning of next year after eight years leading the organisation.
Script to Screen Chair Cass Avery said the Board of Trustees has reluctantly accepted Esther’s resignation, “Esther has been the driving force of Script To Screen and has built the organisation into a hugely valuable part of the screen industry in Aotearoa. We are thrilled that she will continue to work with us next year running some of the programmes that she has been instrumental in creating but we understand that after achieving so much in the role it’s time for her to pass on the torch”.
Esther Cahill-Chiaroni has led the organisation through significant growth. She co-created and has helmed Big Screen Symposium since 2012, now well established as NZ’s premium annual screen industry event. In 2013 Script to Screen’s FilmUp Programme was launched, the first of a number of comprehensive filmmaker talent development programmes designed and led by Esther that include Story Camp Aotearoa, South Shorts Mentorship Programme and this year for the first time, Episodic Lab Aotearoa.
With a growing alumni of well over 100 filmmakers, Esther has been instrumental in supporting NZ’s most exciting emerging talent and championing voices underrepresented in our screen storytelling. Esther’s contribution to the film sector’s development has been immense and stands as one of her biggest achievements with Script to Screen. She has fostered and invested in the talent of a huge number of emerging creative forces within New Zealand including: Dustin Feneley, Vea Mafile’o, Jeremiah Tauamiti, Sophie Henderson, Chris Pryor and Miriam Smith, Yamin Tun, Alyx Duncan, Nic Gorman, Michelle Savill, Jake Mahaffy, Desray Armstrong, Gaysorn Thavat, Julia Parnell, Florian Habicht, Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa, Chelsie Preston Crayford, Louise Tu’u, Josephine Stewart Te-Whiu, Rochelle Bright, Jess Feast, Max Currie, Chantelle Burgoyne, Asuka Sylvie, Armagan Ballantyne, Abigail Greenwood and Awanui Simich-Pene.
The board are grateful that Esther provided them six months’ notice to enable time for a robust recruitment and selection process. Applications for the role of Script To Screen Executive Director are open from September 24th 2018 until October 22nd 2018. Information regarding the application process can be found here.
The Big Screen Symposium brings the filmmakers of Aotearoa NZ together once a year to hear from an unbeatable line-up of local and international speakers. Join us to be energised, challenged, and part of the conversation.
This year’s Big Screen Symposium will take place over two days on Oct 26 & 27, at the ASB Waterfront Theatre.
The theme of #BigScreen18 Tuning into the Zeitgeist explores the forces that influence us both collectively and alone. How do the characteristics of our age and the politics of now manifest in our imaginations, and how does that impact the stories we tell and how they connect with audiences?
Early bird tickets are available on iTicket NOW. Check in at www.bigscreensymposium.com for announcements of our exciting speaker line up for this year.
The Big Screen Symposium is brought to you by Script to Screen and J&A Productions.
Filmmakers Briar Grace-Smith, Michael Goldenberg and Dana Rotberg will return to mentor at this year’s Writers’ Lab Aotearoa, bringing with them a wealth of experience in storytelling. They all joined us for the inaugural event last year, and are looking forward to working with the new crop of feature film writers.
Briar Grace-Smith (THE STRENGTH OF WATER) is a multi-award winning writer whose work spans film, television, theatre, poetry, and short story. Aside from writing, Briar has served a term as a development executive with the New Zealand Film Commission.
Michael Goldenberg is a US screenwriter of feature films including HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, CONTACT, PETER PAN, and longstanding mentor at the Sundance Screenwriting Labs.
Dana Rotberg is a Mexican filmmaker based in Auckland. After a career writing, directing and producing films in Mexico and Sarajevo, including multiple selections at Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, Dana continued her successes on our shores.
They join Artistic Director of the Sundance Filmmakers’ Lab, Gyula Gazdag.
The Writers’ Lab Aotearoa is proudly supported by the New Zealand Writers Guild with financial support from the NZ Film Commission.
Last year Script to Screen worked closely with the Whirinaki community to design a storytelling workshop where the outcome would be making a short film together.
The workshop was aimed at rangatahi aged 16-25, along with their teachers, community leaders and whanau. It took place in July 2016 over three days at Matai Aranui Marae in Whirinaki, and provided rangatahi from the Far North region a safe and creative space to write and develop their short ideas into compelling outlines. With access to talented screenwriting mentor Michael Bennett, the workshop fostered and encouraged a huge step forward for these Northland storytellers. On the second day participants had the chance to share their stories, and receive feedback. A judging panel chose one idea for the group to make together as a community short film.
The idea chosen was called NATALIE, by 16-year-old Northland College student Qianna Titore. Mentor Michael Bennett spent 6 hours guiding Qianna as she wrote a 9 page script for the film. The workshop ended with a read through of the script, performed by participants of the workshop Jo and Julina Wikaira – who were later cast as Natalie and Natalie’s mum.
The workshop participants came back together at Matai Aranui Marae ten days after the writing workshop, to shoot Qianna’s short film NATALIE in three days. Script to Screen brought heads of department from Auckland and Northland to mentor the novice filmmakers in the crew roles like camera, clapper loader, continuity, art department, lighting, grip, sound recording, acting, and catering. Mentors included esteemed writer/director Michael Bennnett, one of NZ’s most reputed cinematographers Leon Narbey and grip Annie Frear.
All the participants worked incredibly hard over the three days, with the rushes being assembled in the evenings, allowing a rough cut to be screened at the wrap party. The process of making a short film from start to finish in only two weeks was a massive learning curve for the whole team, and the community were very proud to have made their first film. The mentors were thrilled to be part of a community-minded project, fuelled on generosity and heart.
See NATALIE at Wairoa Maori Film Festival as part of the Kiriata Māori: Māori Shorts 2017
and part of the Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts 2017 at the New Zealand International Film Festival.
NZ’s biggest film industry event of the year, the Big Screen Symposium, takes place on 24/25 September. Join us as an impressive group of international and local speakers address this year’s theme – Playing with Risk.
For the full list of exciting speakers and events, check out the program on our website here.
You don’t want to miss out on this amazing networking and learning opportunity. Be there to be informed, inspired, and be part of the community.
Follow us on facebook and twitter and be part of the Big Screen Symposium community.