The History - Act Three

The  second half of the 1990s and it’s over to Kathryn Burnett to tell the story. Kathryn is a  screenwriter, playwright and writing tutor.

Act  Three: 1995-2000 By Kathryn Burnett (abridged)

This  was a period of extraordinary growth for the Guild. Executive Director,  Philippa Boyens changed the face of the Guild and by 1995, the Guild had a  new membership database, a registration service, and an information pamphlet.  Regular craft evenings and seminars were held. Hardly surprisingly, this rush  of new activity attracted more members.

Improving work conditions for writers  remained the Guild’s principal goal and proved to be as challenging as ever.  The Guild had long attempted to negotiate standard rates and practices with  the Independent Producers and Directors Guild (the organisation was soon to  morph into SPADA) with little success. 1995 was also significant in that it  saw the Guild undertake its first official credit arbitration – a valuable  industry service the Guild still performs…  Another achievement during  this time was the lobbying of the NZFC to elect a writer to the NZFC board...

By the  end of 1996, the Guild membership was up to 370, and the organisation had  initiated discussions with the NZFC for underwriting of the Guild’s core  activities. The successful culmination of these discussions in 1997 resulted  in an ongoing funding relationship with the NZFC, which would ensure the  Guild’s continued survival…

By  mid-1999: membership had risen to 430, we had a website, we’d convinced the  NZFC to increase their core funding, and we had a new president. Guild  stalwart Greg McGee had finally thrown in the towel and was replaced by  Alannah O’Sullivan, who had been a long-standing board member.  1999 was  an intensely political year as the Guild worked alongside other industry  organisations to make broadcasting policy and arts funding an election issue.

The  most significant work undertaken by the Guild executive during 1999 was the  drafting of model contracts… to negotiate with SPADA…  SPADA hated our  first draft – but despite the ill-disguised antagonism during that first  meeting, I was grateful that they’d come to the table to discuss the  contracts at all.

So all  in all, a stressful, eventful time but an exciting couple of years that  raised the Guild’s profile and saw it establish and re-establish important  relationships throughout the industry both here and overseas.

Read the Full Story Here

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ONLINE - Comedy Panel, Thurs 18 June 2026

So You Think You're Funny? An online live comedy panel event exploring the nature of New Zealand comedy onscreen. Is it just enough to be funny? Is there a will to fund New Zealand comedy on screen. What legacy have our emerging comedians been left with?

Thispanel brings together outstanding comedy screenwriters: Oscar Kightley, AliceSnedden, Pax Assadi and Janaye Henry.

PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

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TABLE READS - Apply Now

Six actors, a writer, and a director team or a writer/director, will work together for a virtual table read of a feature filmscript. Next Table Read is on Saturday 13June 2026.

Projects are drawn two weeks before the read. If you’re not picked this time, your script will remain in the draw for a year.

Applications Open - 21 April 2026

Applications Close - 21 May 2026, 12noon

APPLY HERE

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WRITERS CREDITS - Update Your Credits

We are making the longest credit reel in NZ screen history!

It is going to name all those who have a writer credit on projects in Aotearoa between 1976-2026. This is to show the work that has actually been done by screenwriters in New Zealand.

We need your input.

Jump into the survey to check your own credits, make sure we are not leaving anyone out. The results will be shared with all at the Gala dinner in October.

Thanks to AWGACS for supporting the project.

SURVEY LINK