Last weekend, 25 aspiring short filmmakers gathered at Te Whaea for the 2015 Wellington Short Film Workshop. Attendees heard from industry practitioners including directors Sima Urale and Rob Sarkies, producer Vicky Pope and acting coach Brita McVeigh, who shared insights into each part of the filmmaking process, and discussed with attendees what they need to know to make their first short film.

On Sunday afternoon, participants pitched their short film ideas to filmmakers Rob Sarkies and Michelle Savill for discussion and feedback. The winner of the pitching session was Finn Teppett, with his idea DEMOCRACY.

Congratulations to Finn Teppett, and thanks to all the filmmakers who came along and shared their ideas.

This workshop was made possible with support from the Creative Communities Scheme.

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.

Congratulations to the six talented writers that have been chosen to take part in our first Writers’ Lab Aotearoa:

Gillian Ashurst with RATTLED

Kelly Kilgour with RETURN

Maile Daugherty with MISSU PEACE

Miriam Smith with THE MOUNTAIN UNSEEN

Nic Gorman with HUMAN TRACES

Tusi Tamasese with TILA AND TAEMA

These writers will undergo intensive workshopping of their feature projects over the course of a five-day residential lab on Waiheke Island at the beginning of July. Mentorship will come from prestigious international and local professionals: US screenwriters Michael Goldenberg and David Seidler as well as an exciting line-up of kiwis soon to be announced.

Script to Screen received 55 applications from writers and writing teams. A selection panel of industry practitioners read these blind in order to create a shortlist of twelve. A very warm thank you to all the writers who applied and congratulations to those who made it to the highly competitive shortlist.

The Writers’ Lab Aotearoa is brought to you with the support of the NZ Writers Guild with financial assistance from the NZ Film Commission.

Script to Screen is excited to announce the second mentor for our inaugural Writers’ Lab Aotearoa – the Academy Award winning screenwriter, David Seidler.

I think of a script in terms of music: of ebb and flow, of rhythm. – David Seidler.

David has a vast oeuvre writing for stage, television, and feature film. In 2011, he was rewarded for his talent when he received both an Oscar and BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay for The Kings Speech.

We’re thrilled to have David join us for the first year of this initiative, and know that the participants will benefit hugely from his experience.

David Seidler joins US screenwriter Michael Goldenberg mentoring at our five-day residential Writers’ Lab – with our exciting line-up of local mentors soon to be announced.

The Writers’ Lab Aotearoa is brought to you with support from the New Zealand Writers Guild with financial assistance from the New Zealand Film Commission.