The FilmUp Mentorship Programme is an eight-month professional development programme of mentorships, group-work, and wrap-around support for writers, directors, producers and script editors. It supports and empowers up to eight practicing filmmakers each year to reach the next stage in their creative careers.
FilmUp provides tailored support to up-skill writers, directors and producers in their craft, career and creative process. Throughout the programme each participant receives 20 hours with an esteemed industry mentor, participates in group work & round tables, and receives wrap-around support.
Previous participants have included producer Chelsea Winstanley (WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS) with NZ/Australian prolific producer Tim White, and writer Sophie Henderson (FANTAIL) with Australian film and high-end TV writer Alice Bell (THE SLAP). A full list of participants and their mentors can be found here.
FilmUp is made possible with financial assistance from the NZ Film Commission.
While a global television renaissance provides an ever-evolving range of content for audiences, there is discontent within our own screen community around a lack of fresh and diverse local stories making it to air.
NZ on Air are responding to the rapidly changing environment by proposing changes the funding model for scripted projects, to take effect in July 2017. They are currently seeking feedback.
So what is the future of NZ television storytelling, or what could it be?
This month we bring together a panel who have made waves on and off the air in 2016, to talk about what they’ve learnt developing stories for television, their journeys getting content on air, and their visions for the future of NZ TV.
Come and join writer/director Gerard Johnstone (TERRY TEO), director Kiel McNaughton and producer Kerry Warkia (THIS IS PIKI), and writer Shoshana McCallum (ANIMALS) in a discussion chaired by Spinoff journalist and critic Duncan Grieve.
Tues 8 November 2016, The Classic, 321 Queen Street, 7pm drinks, 7:30-8:30pm talk. $5 koha appreciated.
Join us for a drink beforehand and stay afterwards for a slice of pizza on us!
TERRY TEO – Written and directed by Gerard Johnstone, Terry Teo follows the young crook turned detective on a mission to avenge his father’s murder. The 80s comic book hero is back! Watch it on TVNZ On Demand.
THIS IS PIKI – Brown Sugar Apple Grunt’s latest production This is Piki is a drama series about a talented young woman’s journey to find her identity within her whānau, the Māori world and Aotearoa. Directed by Kiel McNaughton and produced by Kerry Warkia. Watch it on Māori Television.
ANIMALS – Created by Shoshana McCallum and developed with Peter Salmon and Aidee Walker, ANIMALS is a TV pilot about three women who are holding on too tightly to their personal idea of happiness rather than following their hearts. Just when the decisions they make start to really matter. Watch the pilot here.
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Script to Screen presents the 2016 Wellington Short Film Workshop – a two-day workshop that will give you everything you need to know to make a short film. Over one weekend, four experienced industry practitioners will guide you through each stage of the filmmaking process – from writing, directing, producing to pitching your idea to collaborators or funders. If you have a passion for storytelling, and in interest in learning how to make a short film, then this workshop is for you.
This workshop is aimed at ages 17+, and no prior filmmaking knowledge is necessary.
Date: Sat 6 & Sun 7 August
Time: 9am – 5pm both days
Venue: Drama 1, Te Whaea: National Dance and Drama Centre, 11 Hutchison Rd, Newtown
Cost: The workshop cost is $20 for the weekend – please bring cash on the day. Morning and afternoon tea will be provided. Please bring lunch with you or there are many cafes in the area.
Registration: Spaces are limited so you must register your interest. Please rsvp to Sjionel on sjionel@script-to-screen.co.nz or ring the office on 09 360 5400.
SCHEDULE
Day One – Saturday 6 August
9am-9:30am – Coffee/tea/intro
9:30am-11am – Why I Make Films with Nikki Si’ulepa
11am-12:30pm – Producing with Ruth Korver
Learn about the role of the producer in driving the project from conception to completion
12:30-1:30pm – Lunch
1:30 – 4:30pm – Screenwriting with Brita McVeigh
Learn about the key points of storytelling and forming a structure that will grab the audience
Day Two – Sunday 7 August
9am – 12pm – Directing with Rob Sarkies
Learn about the director’s role in the film and forming a strong vision for your story
12pm – 1pm – Lunch
1pm – 5pm: Pitching Session
Participants are invited to pitch their short film idea to the group and a panel of industry mentors. The pitch is to be kept to 5 minutes.
Photo credit: A still from Wellington-made short film QUEENIE.
This workshop is made possible with the support of the Creative Communities Scheme.
“Arguably the most important British filmmaker of his generation, Terence Davies is a poet of the cinema, at once austere and passionate … His films’ combination of art-film style and reverence for working-class popular culture is unique in British cinema.” – Film Critic and writer Tom Charity
Script to Screen and the New Zealand International Film Festival present a discussion with one of cinema’s most beloved auteurs, British writer/director Terence Davies.
Davies is here to present two films at this year’s festival. A QUIET PASSION, Davies’ portrait of 19th century poet Emily Dickinson, stars Cynthia Nixon and was described as ‘an absolute drop-dead masterwork’ by the New Yorker; and SUNSET SONG, his ‘ beautiful and brutal’ adaptation of Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s novel of the same name, stars Peter Mullan and Agyness Deyn.
Join us to hear director Terence Davies in conversation with writer Fiona Samuel, as they discuss his approach to cinema and his life’s work. The discussion takes place in the Wintergarden, following the Sunday screening of A QUIET PASSION.
Sunday 24th July, 4-5pm, The Wintergarden (The Civic’s basement), free entry
SCREENINGS
A Quiet Passion
Wed 27 July 10:30am, The Civic
Sunset Song
Mon 25 July 10.30am, The Civic
Born in Liverpool, Terence Davies is one of the most distinctive talents to have emerged from British cinema in the last thirty years. He shows a passionate concern with film craft, and his approach to filmmaking has been called “the cinematic equivalent of literature’s magic realism.” His feature film titles include DISTANT VOICES, STILL LIVES (1988), THE LONG DAY CLOSES (1992), THE NEON BIBLE (1995), THE HOUSE OF MIRTH (2000) and THE DEEP BLUE SEA (2011). All of his films have been critically acclaimed and received numerous nominations and awards in Britain and internationally.
Presented in partnership with the New Zealand International Film Festival.
Script to Screen and the NZ International Film Festival present a special discussion with the creative team behind highly anticipated NZ film THE REHEARSAL, which enjoys its world premiere at the festival.
THE REHEARSAL marks the return of avant-garde director Alison Maclean to New Zealand. Alison reunited with producers Bridget Ikin and Trevor Haysom, and co-wrote with novelist Emily Perkins, to adapt Eleanor Catton’s first novel for the screen.
“I want it to be an intimate, authentic experience of what it’s like to be a young person in New Zealand now.”- Alison Maclean.
Join us for a discussion with Alison Maclean, Bridget Ikin and Emily Perkins, as they talk to Philippa Campbell about adapting and making THE REHEARSAL. Hear them delve into the decisions made at each stage of the process to create the brave, modern film starring Kerry Fox and James Rolleston.
Tuesday 26th July, 3:15 – 4:15pm, The Wintergarden (basement level of The Civic), free entry
FILM SCREENINGS
Sat 23rd July, 8:30pm, The Civic
Tues 26th July, 1:15pm, The Civic
Presented in partnership with the New Zealand International Film Festival.
In the wake of the Comedy Festival, we are reminded that NZ comedy is alive and kicking, and we have a national (and possibly international) audience ready to embrace it.
Whether its odd-ball characters, slapstick or dark humour, in sketch or narrative content, are we making the most of our potential to write great comedic work for the screen?
This May we bring together a panel of screenwriters and comedians for serious discussion about comedy.
Join us to hear writer/director Gerard Johnstone (Terry Teo, Housebound, The Jaquie Brown Diaries), actor/writer/producer Millen Baird (Auckland Daze, The Millen Baird Show) and actor/writer/director Florence Noble (7DaysLater, Meanwhile on Earth) as they talk to actor/writer/playwright Tom Sainsbury (Super City, Dynamotion) about the challenge of creating comedic stories and characters that come alive on screen.
Come early for a drink and stay afterwards for a slice of pizza on us.
Tues 31st May, The Classic, 321 Queen Street, 7pm drinks, 7:30-8:30pm talk. $5 koha appreciated.
Script to Screen is proud to award eight filmmakers with places on the FilmUp Programme for 2016.
FilmUp is our high-end development programme for writers, directors and producers who have already shown considerable talent and tenacity in their work.
We are also delighted to award a senior mentorship for the first time to writer/director Jake Mahaffy (FREE IN DEED). Mahaffy is a critically acclaimed feature film maker and will be paired with an international mentor in the coming weeks.
The participants of the 2016 FilmUp Mentorship Programme are:
Gaysorn Thavat – Director
Georgina Conder – Producer
Joe Lonie – Writer/director
Josephine Stewart-Tewhiu – Writer
Max Currie – Writer/director
Nadia Maxwell – Producer
Tim Van Dammen – Writer/director
Yamin Tun – Writer/director
See a full list of their biographies here.
Each participant will be matched with a filmmaker mentor from NZ or Australia over the coming weeks, and will attend a series of hub days that include round tables, workshops, and group work as part of the eight-month programme that is tailored to participants individual needs.
We would like to thank all the filmmakers who applied.
FilmUp is made possible with support from the New Zealand Film Commission.
“The insights and inspiration I have received have been exponentially more beneficial than I ever imagined.” – Producer Julia Parnell (FilmUp 2015)
Calling screenwriters, directors and producers!
FilmUp returns in 2016, providing talented and tenacious filmmakers an individually tailored development programme to hone their creative practice, and take a step up in their careers.
Now in its fourth year, Script to Screen’s FilmUp offers up to eight writers, directors and producers a place on the eight-month programme. Participants receive 20 hours of one-on-one mentorship with an established filmmaker, regular hub days including workshops and round tables with guest speakers, and tailored additional support from Script to Screen.
FilmUp has gone from strength to strength, thanks to the generosity of our previous mentors: producer Jan Chapman (THE PIANO), director Ray Lawrence (LANTANA), writer/show-runner Neil Cross (SPOOKS), directing coach Brita McVeigh, producer Tim White (SON OF A GUN), writer/showrunner Alice Bell (THE BEAUTIFUL LIE), director Garth Davis (TOP OF THE LAKE), producer Helen Bowden (THE SLAP), director Leanne Pooley (BEYOND THE EDGE), screenwriter/script editor Keith Thompson (THE SAPPHIRES), producer Tim Sanders (LOTR), screenwriter James Griffin (800 WORDS), writer/director Rolf de Heer (CHARLIE’S COUNTRY), writer/director Jackie van Beek (THE INLAND ROAD), distributor Michael Eldred (BOY), and producer Vicky Pope (TWO LITTLE BOYS).
We’re excited to consider applicants with a strong track record for another year in this rewarding programme.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Monday 14th March 2016, 5pm
Read about our previous FilmUp mentorship pairings here.
Note: FilmUp Script Development will not run in 2016.
FilmUp is made possible with the financial assistance of the New Zealand Film Commission.
Come and join us for our first event of 2016 – an evening with Benjamin Illos, selector for the coveted Directors’ Fortnight section at Cannes Film Festival.
NZ short films have enjoyed considerable attention at Cannes, with nearly 30 being screened over the last few decades. However Directors’ Fortnight, a section dedicated to innovative and independent work, remains elusive to our filmmakers – the most recent film to screen being Christine Jeff’s RAIN (2001).
Hear Benjamin Illos talk to NZ writer/director Max Currie as they go behind the scenes at Cannes, exploring what goes into shaping the one of the world’s most prestigious festival sections.
Directors’ Fortnight (Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) aims to identify and celebrate unique and powerful directorial voices from across the globe, and screens a mix of short film, feature film and documentary. The section can claim the first Cannes screenings of many universally acclaimed auteurs including Herzog, Scorsese and eventual Palme d’Or winner Ken Loach.
Join us for a drink beforehand and stay afterwards for a slice of pizza on us.
Tues 23rd February, The Classic, 321 Queen Street, 7pm drinks, 7:30-8:30pm talk. $5 koha appreciated.
Script to Screen returns to Christchurch to present a free one-day workshop for filmmakers with actor, writer, director and producer Jackie van Beek.
This is a highly participatory workshop where participants will be challenged to think about their stories in fresh and exciting ways. We welcome filmmakers of all levels, from beginners to those with experience.
What to bring? Participants must bring two ideas for a short film, with enough knowledge about the story to pitch it very briefly (one minute max). The day will be spent exploring these ideas through writing, acting and directing techniques.
When: Sat 27th February 2016, 9am – 5pm
Where: CPIT Broadcasting School, Television Studio – 171 Madras Street, accessible through the car park on the corner of Madras Street and Southwark Street, Christchurch. MAP.
Cost: The workshop is free
Coffee, tea, biscuits and fruit provided. Please bring your own lunch or buy from one of the cafes nearby.
Registration: Please RSVP to Eloise eloise@script-to-screen.co.nz or 09 360 5400.
This workshop is made possible with support from the Creative Communities Scheme.