Script to Screen is proud to announce the eight filmmaker mentors who join FilmUp 2016.
The securing of legendary NZ writer/director Andrew Adamson and Australian producer Rosemary Blight (CLEVERMAN) completes the stella line-up.
The mentorship pairings for the 2016 FilmUp Programme are:
Director Ray Lawrence (LANTANA) mentors Gaysorn Thavat
Producer Rachel Gardner (SLOW WEST) mentors Georgina Conder
Writer/direcor Gerard Johnstone (HOUSEBOUND) mentors Joe Lonie
Writer/director Dana Rotberg (ANGEL DE FUEGO) mentors writer Josephine Stewart-Tewhiu
Writer/director Jake Mahaffy (FREE IN DEED) mentors Max Currie
Prouducer Rosemary Blight (CLEVERMAN) mentors Nadia Maxwell
Writer/director Andrew Adamson (SHREK) mentors Tim Van Dammen
Writer/director Rolf De Heer (CHARLIE’S COUNTRY) mentors Yamin Tun
See their biographies here.
The generosity and spirit of our distinguished mentors is an integral part of what makes Script to Screen’s FilmUp Programme so successful, and a heartfelt thank you goes to each of them for joining us.
FilmUp is our high-end development programme for writers, directors and producers who have already shown considerable talent and tenacity in their work.
Over the year, each film-up participant has 20 hours of time from their mentor, and attends a series of hub days that include round tables, workshops, and group work as part of the programme, which is tailored to participants’ individual needs.
We are excited about the time ahead for these filmmakers and look forward to seeing what each mentorship brings.
FilmUp is made possible with financial support from the New Zealand Film Commission.
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.
The recent confirmation of legendary producer Jan Chapman (THE PIANO, LANTANA, BRIGHT STAR) finalises the exciting group of mentors that are working with our talented FilmUp 2015 participants. Other mentors include LANTANA writer/director Ray Lawrence, and director Garth Davis, who directed TOP OF THE LAKE alongside Jane Campion. The complete line-up is:
Producer Jan Chapman (THE PIANO) mentors producer Desray Armstrong
Acting/directing coach and story consultant Brita McVeigh mentors writer/director Dustin Feneley
Director Ray Lawrence (LANTANA) mentors writer/director Nic Gorman
Writer/director and actor Jackie van Beek (THE INLAND ROAD) mentors writer/director Asuka Sylvie
Director Garth Davis (TOP OF THE LAKE) mentors director Curtis Vowell
Producer Helen Bowden (THE SLAP) mentors producer Karin Williams.
The generosity and spirit of our distinguished mentors is a huge part of what makes Script to Screen’s FilmUp programme so successful, and a heartfelt thank you goes to each of them for joining us. We are excited about the year ahead for these filmmakers and look forward to seeing what each mentorship brings.
Short biographies of both mentors and mentees are available on our here, alongside those of Fraser Brown and Julia Parnell who are well underway in the FilmUp Script Development Programme.
Script to Screen is proud to announce that eight talented filmmakers have been awarded places on our prestigious FilmUp programme in 2015.
Recipients now enter a rigorous eight-month programme of mentoring, group work, and wrap-around support tailored to their individual needs.
Six filmmakers have been selected for FilmUp Mentorship, and we are in the process of securing esteemed local and international mentors who will support them to take the next step up in their careers and creative practice. They are:
Producer Desray Armstrong
Writer/director Dustin Feneley
Writer/director Nic Gorman
Writer/director Asuka Sylvie
Director Curtis Vowell
Producer Karin Williams
FilmUp Script Development will run alongside FilmUp Mentorship and in 2015 producers Julia Parnell and Fraser Brown have been awarded places. Fraser and Julia will work with writer/directors Brendan Donovan and Aidee Walker respectively, honing their development craft and philosophy under the tutelage of story consultant and acting/directing coach Brita McVeigh.
The programme opened officially with our first Hub last Thursday, which was a fantastic day and has left us super excited about the year ahead with these talented filmmakers.
This year saw the most difficult selection process since the inception of the programme, as selectors were faced with a large pool of high-calibre applicants. We would like to thank all those filmmakers who applied.
FilmUp is made possible with financial assistance from the New Zealand Film Commission.
Application Deadline: 5pm, Monday 9th March 2015
Following on from a successful inaugural year, we are delighted to call for applications for FilmUp Script Development, a dynamic multi-faceted programme that significantly up-skills producers and script editors who want to hone their skills in story development.
We warmly welcome back renowned story consultant and acting/directing coach Brita McVeigh who will helm the programme, providing engaged one-on-one coaching.
She’s a genuine collaborator. Every project is different and Brita’s skill is that she knows how to find the weak spots and strengthen them. She knows how to work closely on the script with the writer/director, or in rehearsal with the cast, to enhance the vision – that’s how she worked with Taika on BOY. – Ainsley Gardiner
The programme is built on the understanding that story knowledge in itself is simply not enough. Practitioners who excel in script development possess skills that are harder to come across, and it is these skills that enable a robust development process that strengthens the project.
For this reason, we deliver an exciting practice-based programme that will support New Zealand producers and script developers, help identify and strengthen their individual process, and at the same time ensure that this process yields results.
One-on-one coaching that supports the development of a feature project will sit at the heart of programme and be supplemented with facilitated group work, round tables with esteemed filmmakers, and a one-day intensive with a renowned Australian script editor.
It’s a rare and precious thing to have someone to discuss my work with as I’m doing it and I feel like the mentorship has not only accelerated my learning but also profoundly deepened it. – Julie Alp, 2014 Script Development participant.
Application Deadline: 5pm, Monday 9th March 2015
Click here for full information and apply now.
FilmUp 2015 is made possible with financial assistance from the New Zealand Film Commission.
Application Deadline: 5pm, Monday 9th March 2015
Applicants may also apply for FilmUp Mentorship – please let us know when you apply which is your preference.
You can pretend to be a good collaborator, but that won’t deepen or strengthen a screenplay. What will strengthen the projects you work on is finding your own true voice as a developer. Collaboration is as much about breaking the rules together as it is about observing them, especially with storytelling.
– Brita McVeigh
FilmUp Script Development enables those working with writers developing feature projects to take a big step up in their development craft.
Our programme is the very opposite of a quick-fix workshop. We believe that a good story developer needs to embrace the confidence of their own working methodology, and therefore the strand is designed to extend and accelerate the abilities of individual participants.
One-on-one coaching that supports the development of a feature project will sit at the heart of the programme, and be supplemented with facilitated group work, round tables with esteemed filmmakers, and a one-day intensive with a renowned Australian script editor.
The FilmUp Programme has been an incredibly valuable experience for me in terms of my creative thinking, and my approach to script editing under the guidance of mentor Brita McVeigh. Brita opened up new ways of thinking about script for me that benefits the project I took into the mentorship and my future practice. Thank you Script to Screen! – Tui Ruwhiu, 2014 Script Development participant.
Who is the programme for?
Two participants will be selected each year and applicants can be producers or script editors. The programme is for those with prior filmmaking and/or development experience and an already sound knowledge of story who want to hone their script development skills and discover a method that works.
Applicants must have a writer attached with a feature film project at a treatment or draft stage. It is crucial that the applicant and the writer they are working with are in a position to move the project forward significantly over the year. (Treatment to draft/draft to fully revised draft.)
What will you get out of the programme?
– An opening half-day intensive with Brita McVeigh, your writer and the other participants;
– A one-on-one session with Brita, tailoring your programme plan in alignment with where you are at in your development practice;
– Observed sessions with you and your writer, and subsequent private one-on-one reflective sessions with Brita;
– Feedback on notes you provide your writer;
– An introduction day and 3 x hub days in conjunction with the FilmUp Mentorship Programme including round tables, group work and a day long intensive with a renowned Australian script editor;
– A closing half-day intensive with Brita, your writer and the other participants.
The strand has also been designed to develop the core skills required to be outstanding in development. The ability to:
– Employ empathy in order to enable the writer’s vision;
– Genuinely listen to a collaborator;
– Determine clear boundaries, or terms, for your collaboration;
– Recognise story issues;
– Identify on a case-by-case, meeting-by-meeting basis how any story issues are best addressed, i.e. through character, theme, structure, premise or an issue within the writer’s process;
– Recognise when the fundamental questions underneath the material need to be readdressed for the work to progress;
– Express oneself with dexterity, either intimately or in a more functional manner depending on what is constructive for the writer at the time;
– Reflect on one’s own process.
What is required from the writer of the project?
– To enter into a contract with you and Script to Screen that provides a clear framework and protects the writers’ intellectual property;
– To attend both an opening and closing half-day intensive with you, Brita McVeigh and the other participants;
– To attend three intensive script sessions with you and Brita McVeigh;
– To commit to the deliverables agreed to by you, the writer and Brita McVeigh at the outset of the programme;
– To commit to taking their project from treatment to draft or draft to fully revised draft over the course of the programme.
Being a part of the FilmUp Script development strand was such a great experience for me. Writing can often feel like such a lonely process and the colossus of a feature film can seem incredibly daunting. Having the support of this program and someone to go on this journey with..proved invaluable. I didn’t have a first draft this time last year. Now I do. – Zia Mandviwalla, 2014 Script Development writer
Key Dates
Applications open 10th February and close on Monday 9th March 2015 at 5pm.
An industry selection panel will choose the successful applicants mid-March and all applicants will be advised of the results.
Shortlisted applicants may be required to participate in a 30-minute Skype interview;
Successful applicants must be available to attend an a full-day intensive with FilmUp Mentorship on Thursday 16th April and a half-day on Friday 17th April 2015.
Application Requirements
Applicants must be able to come to the programme with a writer and a feature film project to develop. The film can be at treatment or draft stage. You must be able to progress with the project significantly over the course of the programme.
Applicants must submit:
– A 1-paragraph biography;
– A up to one-page statement about where you are currently at in your development practice and what you hope to achieve from the programme;
– A 1-2 page synopsis of the feature film project you plan to bring into the programme;
– Confirmation and commitment from a writer to take part in the programme;
– A short project history from the writer including information about where the project is currently at and its journey so far;
– A short biography of the writer.
Download the application form here.
Please email or post your application to Ben:
Email: In a single .pdf file only to ben@script-to-screen.co.nz
Post: Script to Screen, PO Box 147263, Ponsonby, Auckland, 1144
Courier: 195 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby, Auckland, 1011
Applications close at 5pm on Monday 9th March, 2015.
Any questions can be directed to ben@script-to-screen.co.nz, or you can call the office on 09 360 5400.
FilmUp 2015 is made possible with financial assistance from the NZ Film Commission.