Kōpere Hou – Fresh Shorts is on the search for the next generation of up-and-coming NZ filmmakers.
Kōpere Hou – Fresh Shorts is an NZFC initiative run in partnership with Script to Screen. The programme’s aim is to nurture, challenge, and inspire short filmmaking talent through a development and industry mentoring process. The focus is on the development of both people and stories.
Six teams will be selected to receive up to $15,000 to facilitate the cost of making a short narrative film. The films can be live-action, animation or documentary, with a duration of between four and 25 minutes. The teams behind each of these projects will attend a two-day development workshop in March 2022 and be matched with an experienced industry practitioner to receive six weeks of mentoring to get their project ‘shoot ready’.
Kōpere Hou – Fresh Shorts 2021 applications open Monday 30 August and close at 1pm on 11 October. There are two stages to the application process.
At Whiringa Tuatahi – Stage One you will need to have a writer, director and producer, and to submit the following:
A shortlist of 18 teams will be invited to submit a Whiringa Tuatahi – Stage Two application in mid-November. From the shortlist, six projects will receive $15,000 grants. The teams behind each of these projects will attend a two-day development workshop from 19-20 March 2022 and be matched with an experienced industry practitioner to receive six weeks of mentoring to get their project ‘shoot ready’.
Criteria and requirements for the assessment of both Whiringa Tuatahi – Stage One and Whiringa Tuatahi – Stage Two can be viewed on our website.
Script to Screen and the NZFC will hold an online Q&A about this new application process for Kōpere Hou – Fresh Shorts on 16 September 2021, at 5.30 pm.
If you have any questions please contact Script to Screen: FreshShorts@script-to-screen.co.nz
Kōpere Hou – Fresh Shorts is a New Zealand Film Commission Short Film Fund and Script to Screen manages the reading, assessment, workshop and mentoring aspects of the Fresh Shorts Development Programme.
Learn how to make your feature film script stand out in this in-depth scriptwriting workshop. David White will lead you through some of the things he discovered when writing and directing This Town.
Openings! Whether on the page or on screen, the opening scene needs to grab the audience. During the first half of the workshop, David will explore ways to write an impactful opening scene by sharing his experience with the scripted opening of This Town, and the vast changes made to translate the script to the screen.
Write what you know! From locations to characters, using richness from the world around you can help create depth especially when working with the lower budgets of first films. In the second half of this workshop, David will explore how using texture from places and characters you know intimately can help you build a believable world for your film.
Saturday 7th August 2021
9am – 5pm
Drama 2, Te Whaea National Dance & Drama Centre, 11 Hutchison Road, Newton, Wellington.
Who it is for: This workshop is aimed at beginning and emerging feature film writers. Directors and producers wanting to learn more about taking a script into production will also find this workshop valuable and are encouraged to attend. All levels of experience welcome.
Cost: General Admission $23 (incl. GST) via Eventbrite.
What to Bring: Pen and paper. Snacks, tea and coffee will be provided. Please bring your own lunch or there are places to buy your lunch in the vicinity.
COVID Alert Level Note: This workshop will go ahead under Alert Level 1. If Wellington is in Alert Level 2, the workshop date will be reviewed. If Wellington is in Alert Level 3 or 4, the workshop will be postponed.
ABOUT DAVID WHITE
David White has produced and directed a substantial body of documentary and drama work that has enjoyed considerable national and international success, among them Meat, Shihad: Beautiful Machine, I Kill, Little Criminals, The Cleanest Pig and This Town. His work has screened at over 50 film festivals including Sundance, AFI, SXSW, SilverDocs, Tribeca, MIFF, TRUE/FALSE, Clermont Ferrand and been commissioned and screened on BBC, Sky and PRIME TV.
He was the first New Zealander to be shortlisted for a Cinema Eye Honor for his film I Kill (2013). His next two documentaries Little Criminals (2015) and Of Decades in Colour (2017) aired on PRIME TV to strong ratings and critical acclaim. Feature documentary Meat (2017) opened to 4-star reviews and sell-out audiences throughout NZ, was released on multiple NZME platforms and has sold globally.
David’s (writer/director/producer) debut comedy film This Town was developed at the prestigious Venice Biennale College – Cinema, amongst just 12 selected from a worldwide call. It was critically acclaimed and stayed at number one at the NZ theatrical box office for 21days. World sales are being handled by The Film Sales Company.
This workshop is made possible thanks to generous support from New Zealand Film Commission and Creative Communities Wellington.
– Nayheon Lee (2020 participant)
Story Camp Aotearoa is a residential feature film workshop that cultivates exceptional filmmaking by fostering voice, honing craft, and clarifying vision and kaupapa. Talented storytellers workshop their film project with esteemed advisors from here and abroad.
Story Camp 2021 seeks feature film projects from a well-developed treatment through to an advanced development stage. Up to eight selected writers or teams will participate in a rigorous five-day experience designed specifically to meet the development needs of their project.
Story sessions between advisors and participants form the backbone of the week. As the programme is tailored to each project, the process can also include project-based group workshops; workshopping with actors; strengthening and clarifying the director’s vision, and making good decisions together under pressure.
“Overall I think the entire Story Camp was a huge success, for me personally and for us as a team. I think the varied sessions provide a great mix of the creative and professional development for the advancement of any script.”
Past advisors have included Mexican screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga (Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel), producer Philippa Campbell (Top of the Lake, Rubbings from a Live Man), director and writer Jane Campion (Top of The Lake, The Piano), producer and director Ainsley Gardiner (Cousins, Boy, The Breaker Upperers),filmmaker & Artistic Director of the Sundance Directors’ Lab Gyula Gazdag, poet and academic Anahera Gildea, Hollywood writer & longstanding Sundance mentor Michael Goldenberg (Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix), renowned painter Star Gossage, playwright, screenwriter and director Briar Grace-Smith (Cousins, The Strength Of Water), NZ-based Korean installation artist Yona Lee, EP and producer Andrew Mason (The Matrix Trilogy, Tomorrow When The War Began), writer/actor Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords), dramaturg and story consultant Brita McVeigh, choreographer Moss Te Ururangi Patterson (Atamira, Black Grace, Footnote), New Zealand International Film Festival Director Marten Rabarts, Australian producer Kath Shelper (Samson & Delilah, Tender), actor/writer/director Loren Taylor (Eagle vs Shark), legendary US screenwriter Joan Tewkesbury (McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Thieves Like Us, Nashville), emerging technologies artist and filmmaker Lynette Wallworth (Awavena, Collisions) and veteran NZ film producer and EP Tim White (The Luminaires, I Am Mother, The Dark Horse).
Don’t miss this opportunity to propel your film closer to production with expert support.
APPLICATIONS OPEN NOW
APPLICATIONS CLOSE: 11:59 PM, 09 August 2021
STORY CAMP AOTEAROA DATES: 22 – 27 November 2021
We’re proud to launch Paerangi Project – a programme designed to reach fresh, distinctive and authentic voices across Aotearoa.
Paerangi offers accessible learning about how to develop your own short film or web series idea. It is for new and emerging talent living across Aotearoa, and enables you to make screen stories in your own backyard.
The programme is for those interested in developing a short film or web series who have not had the opportunity to learn about filmmaking. This lack of opportunity could be for a variety of reasons, for example, you may be living in a remote region, an isolated situation or face social, economic or accessibility barriers.
Stage One, delivered online, gives you access to a series of video tutorials delivered by experienced filmmakers. The tutorials lead you through the process of developing your own concept including writing, directing, producing and pitching, and gives homework exercises to complete in your own time alongside the video tutorials.
Contributors to the video are: Alex Lovell (My Friend Michael Jones, Mister Sunshine), Dianne Taylor (Apron Strings, Beyond the Known World, Hauraki), Emmett Skilton (Millennial Jenny, Auckward Love), Hamish Bennett (Bellbird, Ross & Beth, The Dump), Jaimee Poipoi (Electric Shoelace Productions), Karin Williams (SIS), Marina Alofagia McCartney (Vai, Milk & Honey), Morgan Leigh Stewart (K’ Rd Stories, Bird’s Eye! Deathgasm), Robyn Grace (Power Rangers: Dino Charge, Sweet Tooth, Oranges and Lemons), Shoshana McCallum (Head High, Creamerie, West Side,) and Sophie Henderson (The Justice of Bunny King, Baby Done, Fantail).
Registration for Stage One is open now!
At Stage Two, participants who registered for Stage One are eligible to apply for a six-week mentorship with an experienced filmmaker who will guide them as they refine their short film or web series project. The homework exercises you complete in Stage One form the basis of the Stage Two application.
And at Stage Three, up to four teams are invited to a three-day residential development lab in Auckland where they will develop their project even further, receiving tailored script feedback, directing mentoring, and producing advice from industry mentors.
Paerangi Project is made possible thanks to generous support from Screenrights Cultural Fund and New Zealand Film Commission.
Script to Screen, in partnership with Northland Youth Theatre, presents a free four-day film workshop in the July school holidays for 15 – 23 year olds.
The workshop helps young participants to develop skills in crafting a story idea, writing a script, and acting. The aim of the workshop is to foster writing talent and encourage aspiring filmmakers. No experience or prior knowledge of filmmaking is necessary.
On Day 1, participants will hear from writer/director Hamish Bennett (The Dump, Ross & Beth, Bellbird) about finding a story they want to tell and crafting a narrative that is compelling on screen. On Day 2, participants will develop their own film concept and write a scene for their film, guided by actor Laurel Devenie (Shortland Street).
On Day 3 Laurel will lead a workshop on acting for the screen, including working with the scenes written the day before. Each participant will get the chance to act in a scene. On the last day, we will tape the scenes, watch them as a group and discuss what was learned.
Tuesday 13 July – Fri 16 July
9am – 2:30pm each day
Northland Youth Theatre, 86 Bank St, Whangarei 0110
Morning Tea, Lunch and Afternoon Tea provided. However, if you have special dietary requirements (gluten free, dairy free, keto, paleo, etc) please bring food with you.
The workshop is free but please register via EventBrite as spaces are limited.
This workshop is presented in partnership with Northland Youth Theatre and is made possible thanks to generous support from New Zealand Film Commission and Foundation North.
Script to Screen is excited to be offering scholarships for six screen practitioners to take part in UCLA’s 10-week online training course Writing Screenplay Coverage.
Script to Screen will provide wrap-around support for the six participants before, during and after the course which runs from 30 September to 8 December 2021 (NZST). The UCLA course content is delivered through an online learning platform where you can engage with the instructor and classmates. There are no required live meetings, but assignments are due regularly. This course upskills aspiring story analysts, script editors, script assessors and development producers.
UCLA Extension: Writing Screenplay Coverage – Course Description:
“You learn how to do an in-depth analysis of the three-act structure, as well as dramatic and comic scene construction. You also learn the precise terminology used in story sessions, the foundations for great dialogue, and how to find original approaches to established genres. These and other principles become synthesised into coverage written to the highest professional standards in preparation for a job as either a story analyst or screenwriter who needs to critique his or her own scripts effectively.”
Script to Screen has identified a need to increase the diversity of script readers, assessors and selectors in Aotearoa and will therefore prioritise EOI from people with diverse identities and backgrounds.
The six selected participants will attend two Script to Screen workshops, one before the course starts and one after it finishes. The workshops will give context to the US-based course, demonstrating how the learning can be applied to a New Zealand context. Participants will also form a study group for the duration of the course.
To be eligible for this opportunity you need to:
UCLA course costs are paid for by Script to Screen thanks to support from the US Consulate. The workshops will take place in Auckland and all travel costs for participants based outside of Auckland will be covered by Script to Screen.
Those interested in participating please submit an expression of interest. It will include:
Expressions of Interest close: 20 June 2021, 11:59pm
Frenzied screaming aside, fans can bring an unexpected energy to your project, promoting it to their peers in ways that you never imagined. They can power up your project by funding it, sharing it, showing up for it and keeping it in the conversation.
Fans have created ‘Always blow on the pie’ t-shirts, Kiri & Lou birthday cakes, and wooden kitset figures of Jacinda and Ashley’s 1pm daily briefings. Embrace them and mobilise them, just as Wellington Paranormal did with Covid Safety messages, Hunt for the Wilderpeople did with Instagram stickers, and Tākaro Tribe did with talking dolls, and you will reap the benefits.
These local productions engage fans to grow and cultivate a loyal audience and we want you to join their ranks. Find out what you can do, not just after release but during development and at all stages of production to feed the fans.
In this TALK, globally recognised speaker on fans and online communities Sacha Judd and Gemma Gracewood editor-in-chief at Letterboxd will go through some case studies to show the power of fans. They will discuss fans, merchandise, cosplay, conventions, and the delightful power of letting your audience help chart your project’s course—all the way to a sequel, a franchise, a spin-off and beyond.
Thurs 17 June 2021
6:30pm – 7:30pm – TALK
7:30 – 8:30pm – Cash bar, socialising, networking and pizza
TAPAC, 100 Motions Rd, Western Springs, Auckland
After the TALK, stay and have pizza on Script to Screen, there will be a cash bar and socialising with fellow filmmakers.
$5.75 (incl. GST) for sales via EventBrite to secure your seat.
$5 cash at the door.
Book your ticket in advance to secure your seat. When you book your ticket via Eventbrite, there’ll be an opportunity for you to guide the discussion by submitting a question ahead of time.
ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
SACHA JUDD
Sacha runs the Hoku Group, a family office combining private investments, early-stage tech ventures and a non-profit foundation. She was a founder of Refactor (a series of events around diversity in technology), and Flounders’ Club (a network for early-stage company founders). She speaks at conferences and in-house events on diversity & inclusion in the tech sector, fandom and online communities, and how fans will transform the world.
This TALK is presented in association with the Aotearoa Screen Publicists Collective.
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This workshop has now reached capacity. You may join the waitlist if you are still interested in attending and we will contact you if a space becomes available.
Due to popular demand, we’re excited to be bringing you another Auckland workshop! Join us for a one-day workshop in Waitākere this June to learn how to jumpstart your feature film idea or revitalise an old one. This interactive and practical one-day workshop will give you the means to propel your feature film project forward.
Over the course of one day, Hamish Bennett (Bellbird) will explore character and story and how the two are intertwined. He will use clips and examples to support the learning.
Hamish will talk about how to tap into your own knowledge and experiences to build a story that is authentic and memorable. He will also talk about his process preparing as a director and give you methods for making time for writing when you’re not a full-time writer.
No matter what your experience is, come along. The passion that drives you to create will be invigorated and you’ll come away with new knowledge and ideas to further develop your stories.
Saturday 12 June 2021
9:00am – 5:00pm
The Seminar Room, Level 1, Lopdell Precinct, 418 Titirangi Road, Titirangi, Auckland
Parking: Free parking behind the Lopdell building, entrance is off South Titirangi Road. Alternative parking is available outside the building on Titirangi Road or at the parking building opposite – off South Titirangi Road.
Who it is for: Emerging to established filmmakers. If you are at the beginning stages of writing a feature film or are interested in writing a film this workshop will be very beneficial.
Cost: General Admission $23 (incl. GST) via EventBrite
What to Bring: Pen and paper. Please bring your own lunch or there are plenty of cafes in the area if you wish to buy lunch. Snacks, tea and coffee will be provided.
This Script to Screen workshop is made possible thanks to generous support from Auckland Council Creative Communities and the New Zealand Film Commission.
What happens when the process for taking your film to market, securing international sales, attending festivals and ensuring an audience sees your film is disrupted by a pandemic?
Join us to hear from New Zealand feature film producers about how they navigated the new online world of markets and sales for their recent films. They will discuss how they dealt with disruptions to cinematic releases both here and abroad, the unexpected opportunities that arose along the way, and what they think will be helpful for you to know while the world adapts to this pandemic and a new normal.
In Auckland, Alex Behse (co-producer of There’s No I in Threesome), Alex Reed (co-producer of There’s No I in Threesome and The Girl on the Bridge) and Emma Slade (producer of The Justice of Bunny King, Nude Tuesday) will chat to Philippa Campbell about taking their films to the international market and the release of their films during covid. There is No I in Threesome was acquired by WarnerMedia and had its world premiere on HBO Max. A theatrical release in Australia and New Zealand is planned for later this year. The Girl on the Bridge premiered at Whānau Marama (NZIFF) and screened at Cannes Docs – Marché du Film online. The Justice of Bunny King and Nude Tuesday are yet to be released.
If you’re developing or producing a feature film don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights into this evolving process.
Book your ticket in advance to secure your seat. When you book your ticket via Eventbrite, there’ll be an opportunity for you to guide the discussion by submitting a question ahead of time.
Auckland
Wed 5 May 2021
6:30pm – 7:30pm – TALK
7:30 – 8:30pm – Cash bar, socialising, networking and pizza
TAPAC Theatre, 100 Motions Road, Western Springs, Auckland
After the TALK, stay and have pizza on Script to Screen, there will be a cash bar and socialising with fellow filmmakers.
$5.75 (incl. GST) for sales via EventBrite to secure your seat.
$5 cash at the door.
Script to Screen TALKS are made possible thanks to generous support from New Zealand Film Commission, Foundation North and White Studios. A special thanks to our venue sponsor TAPAC.
What happens when the process for taking your film to market, securing international sales, attending festivals and ensuring an audience sees your film is disrupted by a pandemic?
Join us to hear from New Zealand feature film producers about how they navigated the new online world of markets and sales for their recent films. They will discuss how they dealt with disruptions to cinematic releases both here and abroad, the unexpected opportunities that arose along the way, and what they think will be helpful for you to know while the world adapts to this pandemic and a new normal.
Georgina Conder (co-producer of Cousins) and Vicky Pope (producer of Savage) will talk to entertainment lawyer Sarah Cull about their experiences taking Cousins and Savage to audiences in a world seriously impacted by Covid-19. Both films are now in the Top 20 Films at the NZ Box Office having earned more than $1million during their theatrical runs.
If you’re developing or producing a feature film don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights into this evolving process.
Book your ticket in advance to secure your seat. When you book your ticket via Eventbrite, there’ll be an opportunity for you to guide the discussion by submitting a question ahead of time.
Wed 19 May 2021
6:30pm – 7:30pm – TALK
7:30 – 8:30pm – Cash Bar, Socialising/Networking and Pizza
Te Auaha, Tapare Iti, Level 1, 65 Dixon St, Te Aro, Wellington
After the TALK, stay and have pizza on Script to Screen, there will be a cash bar and socialising with fellow filmmakers.
$5.75 (incl. GST) for sales via EventBrite to secure your seat.
$5 cash at the door.
Script to Screen TALKS are made possible thanks to generous support from New Zealand Film Commission, a special thanks to our venue sponsors, Te Auaha.
