The South Shorts Mentorship programme returns for 2020 with nine emerging filmmakers selected to take part. Under the leadership and guidance of renowned screenwriter Briar Grace-Smith, participants will develop their short film projects through a script-focused mentorship. Over a sixth-month period, the participants will get individual script notes from their mentor, do group script reads for peer feedback, and hear from experienced filmmakers about their process making short films.
Now in its sixth year, the programme is aimed at guiding emerging South Auckland affiliated talent to develop their short film scripts. The search for South Shorts participants begins with our annual two-day South Auckland Short Film Workshop, after which participants can apply for the mentorship programme.
“This group includes an exciting mix of experiences with participants coming from acting, playwriting, tertiary film courses and filmmaking, as well as those with a passion to tell stories.” says Programme Manager, Eloise Veber “We’re thrilled to find such talented storytellers for our South Shorts Mentorship Programme.”
The nine filmmakers (L – R) selected for South Shorts 2020 are:
Filmmakers who have been through this programme include Vea Mafileo (For My Father’s Kingdom), Jeremiah Tauamiti (Liliu), Hanelle Harris (Sis, Baby Mama’s Club) and Vela Manusaute (The Messiah).
South Shorts is made possible thanks to generous support from Foundation North and New Zealand Film Commission.
Script to Screen and the New Zealand Film Commission have partnered on the development of 16 short films. The teams behind the films were selected from a very competitive round of 106 applications; and will attend a three-day residential development lab this November as part of the Fresh Shorts initiative.
The Fresh Shorts programme offers grants of up to $15,000 to six new or emerging filmmaker teams to make a short film. The selection also includes experienced filmmakers in new roles. As part of the selection process, each team will attend a three-day development lab in the Auckland region where they will receive tailored script feedback from industry mentors and participate in group workshops to further develop their scripts and strengthen their skills for future projects.
Following the lab and submission of the re-worked projects, six teams will be selected to receive a grant of up to $15,000 to make their short film. An announcement will be made early February 2020.
The 16 selected teams and their projects are (L-R):
Fresh Shorts is a New Zealand Film Commission initiative run in partnership with Script to Screen.
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 creators of many of our recent most loved and successful films are being brought together for a pioneering new programme focused on building sustainable businesses in our film industry.
The programme is called Strength in Numbers and will be delivered in a series of two-day workshops beginning in Auckland June 5-6. Ten of New Zealand’s most exciting up and coming producers, including those who brought us HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE, BOY, THE DARK HORSE, LOVE STORY, THREE WISE COUSINS, and LOADING DOCS are the first participants in the programme.
This trans-Tasman partnership is run by Script to Screen and led by David Court. David recently founded Compton School, a new business school for creative people. He will be familiar to New Zealand filmmakers from his former role as Head of Screen Business at AFTRS and his work on the Jackson/Court review of the NZ Film Commission.
Script to Screen is thrilled to be working with David Court and Compton School, strengthening ties between the two countries. Strength in Numbers will foster crucial discussion within New Zealand’s filmmaking community about how practitioners can work together to build sustainable creative businesses.
Dianne Taylor stands down as chair of the Script to Screen Board of Trustees, after a term of five and a half years, four of which were at the helm.
Executive Director Esther Cahill-Chiaroni notes, “Dianne’s devotion to the organisation has been invaluable to staff, the board, and the wider community alike. She has provided endless support to me over a time of great development for the organisation, whilst guarding our founding creative vision to foster and develop storytelling craft and culture. She will be so very missed, but we are pleased that moving on will enable her to focus even more on her own screenwriting career.”
Dianne’s tenure has seen the creation of the Big Screen Symposium, the FilmUp Mentorship programme, and the Writers’ Lab Aotearoa. Dianne reflects positively on her time with the organisation. “Chairing Script to Screen over the past four years has been an enormous privilege. We’ve been able to develop and drive exciting new initiatives for our community. It’s been particularly gratifying to see the seeding of relationships between so many local and international filmmakers.”
We are delighted to announce that Brita McVeigh, who joined the board late last year, will step into the chair position.
Brita works to empower writers, directors, and actors in her own cross-disciplinary practice, and brings a wealth of relevant expertise to the role. “Brita already has such a strong understanding of the organisation, its aims and our kaupapa. We are very much looking forward to working with her in this new capacity and to the skills she will bring.” – Esther Cahill-Chiaroni, Executive Director
Brita expresses her enthusiasm to take up this new role. “It is an exciting time to be working with Esther and the team. Script to Screen has an excellent group of people on the board – I am honoured to be stepping into the chair.”