Distinguish yourself as a writer! Meet filmmakers! Get connected! First prize is $500!

Entries for the  Unproduced Feature Film Script Competition  - part of the Scriptwriter Awards NZ (SWANZ) for 2013 – close this Friday 21st June.

The aim of the competition is to draw attention to the fantatic scripts we know you have slaved over for ages. (And to also give some of you a deadline to aim for!) Make sure your hard work gets all the attention it deserves.

This competition is a great way to get noticed,  with a list of the ten finalists published,  and the winner presented with the award at the SWANZ evening event. The SWANZ are attended by top NZ writers, producers, and other creators of film, theatre, and television.

*NB This competition is for unproduced feature film scripts, that the writer still holds the rights to.

Entries Due: Friday 21st June 2013

For further information and entry form click FeatureFilmScriptComp2013

Come again and bring your friends, crew and collaborators! An exciting line-up of speakers will be announced in the weeks to come at www.bigscreensymposium.com.

DATES: August 10th & 11th, which is just after the NZWG SWANZ Awards Evening on Thursday the 8th of course! A great long weekend!

 Categories this year include: 

Best Feature Film Script

Best TV Episode Comedy Script

Best TV Episode Drama Script

Best TV One-off Drama Script

Best Factual Script (Film or television documentary)

New Writer Award (For a debut by a scriptwriter that is entered into one of the above categories)

Best Short Film Script

Best Play

Best Radio Play

 “The idea of an event recognizing the excellence in writing that is originated by writers and the Guild is fantastic, and has a lot of support as its different from a big awards event that covers a huge diversity of television and film. It is really special to have an Awards about the craft of writing, I was so rapt when the Guild created it. It’s a great event where writers recognize writers. “

Michael Bennett, 2011 SWANZ Winner for Best Feature Film Script

“We believe that our stories should be shared and should be celebrated. These awards and the evening event do just that for the best in the country.” Steven Gannaway, Executive Director, NZWG.

In November 2010, the NZ Writers Guild (NZWG) launched the inaugural awards evening for scriptwriters, the SWANZ. This initiative was created to recognize and acknowledge the talented storytellers behind the screens and stages of New Zealand.

For a nomination form click SWANZNomForm2013

For more information email steven@nzwritersguild.org.nz

Jeff has performed versions of this seminar at M.I.T.’s Futures of Entertainment Conference; the Game Developers Conference; Turner Entertainment Networks; Globo Network of Brazil; Kidscreen Summit; London Book Fair; and Televisa in Mexico amongst others.  Jeff has completed two sold-out tours of Australia. He has also presented to corporations such as: the Walt Disney Company; 20^th Century Fox; Microsoft; The Coca-Cola Company; Sony Pictures; and Wieden+Kennedy.

Creating Blockbuster Worlds: the Power of Transmedia Storytelling is Day 2 of the Transmedia Toolbox event at Unitec’s Te Noho Kotahitanga marae on 30-31 July 2013. Day 1, expert panellists from Australia and New Zealand will introduce the tools of transmedia storytelling. Topics include: An Introduction to Transmedia Storytelling; The Power of Social Media; Investing in Transmedia Production; & The Changing Nature of Collaboration. The programme is curated by Transmedia NZ.

Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner Entertainment, is the world’s leading expert at expanding entertainment properties, premium brands, and socio-political themes into highly successful transmedia narratives and international campaigns.

As a consultant to Fortune 500 companies, Jeff develops corporate and individual brand narratives and contributes strategic planning and production for the extension of narrative content across digital and traditional platforms. He also extends films, toys, novels, comic books and graphic novels, animation, and videogame titles across multiple access points and product lines, which generate massive fan communities and multiple revenue streams.

Jeff created the hit Hot Wheels animation universe for Mattel, and has worked with such companies as The Walt Disney Company (Pirates of the Caribbean, Fairies, Tron Legacy), 20^th Century Fox (Avatar), Sony Pictures Entertainment (Men in Black 3, The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Microsoft (Halo), Coca-Cola (Happiness Factory), Nickelodeon (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Showtime (Dexter).

He was selected by Details magazine to be one of the 2010 Mavericks for his contributions toward shifting the business and artistic paradigm in the global film and entertainment industry. He was designated a Hollywood “Power Player” by Variety in January 2012.

ASDCS is the Auckland Screen and Digital Content Strategy Group – an industry leadership group established to champion cross sector collaboration in maximising opportunities in the screen and digital content sector for Auckland.

WIFT NZ, Women in Film and Television Incorporated, is a not-for-profit organisation working to offer an educational forum; provide information and career support for women in film and television; and to build capacity and benefit the screen industry as a whole.

Tickets will go on sale Friday 31 May 2013.

For further information contact Patricia Watson on 09 373 4071 or at office@wiftnz.org.nz

Symposium events include talks by internationally reknowned scientists; panel discussions on indigenous peoples and water; farming and water and more.

Reel Earth also require some volunteers so please contact them if you are available.

Also featuring:
Our Far South: Photography exhibition of the South Sea and Antartic marine life and environment
Te Awa: River Project(ion) experimental collaborative film curated by local multimedia artists and projected onto buildings during the festival.
Location/venue:
Palmerston North, New Zealand
Date: 14 Jun 2013 - 22 Jun 2013
Cost: Free to filmmakers, Entry fee to film attendees
Contact details:
director@reelearth.org.nz
http://www.facebook.com/ReelEarthFilmFest?fref=ts

48HOURS is the World’s #1 Limited-Time Filmmaking Contest. Hundreds of teams write, shoot, cut and hopefully survive making a short film in one weekend. Then over a million view the shorts in cinemas, online and on network television.

http://www.48hours.co.nz/2013/

Application dates: Submissions for this annual funding opportunity open on 6 May 2013.

Level of funding: Up to 16 films can receive funding, which usually breaks down as eight films funded at $10,000 (Fresh 10) and eight films funded at $30,000 (Fresh 30).
Please find further information, criteria and documents on the NZFC Website.
http://www.nzfilm.co.nz/funding/short-films/fresh-shorts

Projects need to plan for theatrical distribution in at least three New Zealand cities and also have a New Zealand free-to-air broadcaster attached.  The broadcaster will need to commit to screening the documentary in prime-time around six months from the documentary’s theatrical premiere date, and contribute a licence fee towards the cost of production.  The documentary m ay NZ On Air and the New Zealand Film Commission are announcing a new documentary fund for feature-length documentaries.

It is expected that this new collaboration between the two organisations will invest in at least five quality documentary projects to screen in cinemas, on television and online.

It will focus on funding one-off documentaries from experienced New Zealand documentary filmmakers.  There are no restrictions on treatment or style.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for talented New Zealand documentary makers to develop and make top quality documentaries likely to catch the eye of international film festival programmers” says NZFC Chief Executive Graeme Mason.

“We want to fund projects with clear New Zealand relevance that will interest and challenge a prime-time television audience” says NZ On Air Chief Executive Jane Wrightson.

also be released on DVD and we anticipate it will be made available in its entirety to NZ On Screen for free public viewing around five years from its theatrical premiere date.

The NZFC and NZ On Air will release a request for proposals on 18 April with a view to green-lighting successful projects in October.  You can read more about the fund here.

Beginner’s Guide To Screenwriting – Auckland – 25th & 26th May

Busting to write for the big screen but not sure where to start? Beginner’s Guide is an intensive two day workshop designed to demystify the nuts and bolts of screenwriting. Screenwriting has much in common with other forms of creative writing and storytelling but it has a distinct form and language. This workshop provides an excellent grounding in both and offers insight into how film and television projects are put together.

Participants learn the basic how and whys of writing for film including premise, plot, story structure, formatting, dialogue, character creation/development, character arc and the visual grammar of screenplays.

Book now: http://www.beginnersguidetoscreenwriting.eventbrite.co.nz

Who’s it for? Aspiring screenwriters or industry professionals looking to up skill
When: 9.30am – 4.30pm
Where: St Columba Centre, Ponsonby, Auckland
Cost: $295.00 (gst incl) Student and Guild/Equity discount available.

“Kathryn Burnett’s workshop was the perfect introduction to screenwriting – an absorbing, entertaining and provocative session which made the intricacies of the art seem logical and accessible. I left the course energised and informed, and ready to write.” Duncan Greive – Journalist/Critic