Seed 2025

Claire is a script editor/ EP/ Creative Producer who works globally with development agencies, screenwriters, producers, directors, broadcasters, streamers and film festivals. Claire was Senior Executive (Creative) at Australia’s national screen agency and was instrumental in establishing the First Nations Film Fund. From 2003 – 2019 Claire was Chair of “Australia’s most significant screen event” (International Screen Guide), the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) where she devised, established and secured the funds for MIFF’s acclaimed industry programs and is a longstanding mentor with eQuinoxe Europe. Claire was awarded an AM for Services to the Australian Film Industry and the Jill Robb award for outstanding leadership in the Victorian Screen Industry.

Karin is a descendant of British settlers in Aotearoa and ancestors from the Pacific island of Aitutaki. She began her career as a reporter at the Cook Islands News in Rarotonga, going on to work for broadcast networks in New Zealand and the USA. She founded Multinesia Productions to support global indigenous storytelling, working with First Nations communities in Canada, Alaska and the Pacific on grassroots community projects. Her independent films have screened on PBS prime time and at festivals around the world. Credits include Burning of the Gods, an experimental short film which premiered at NZIFF, and Pacific Mother, a feature documentary on Moana birth practices. Karin co-chairs the Board of Script to Screen and is a former board member of SPADA, the NZ producers’ guild. She also serves as a company director for Taro Patch Creative, a South Auckland arts hub.

Briar Grace-Smith (Ngāpuhi) is an award-winning writer and director of plays, screenplays, and short stories. Briar wrote the feature film The Strength of Water, directed Charm as part of the acclaimed omnibus Waru, and co-wrote, co-directed and acted in Cousins, an adaptation of Patricia Grace’s novel. She also co-directed and wrote for Rūrangi: Series 2 – Rising Lights. Her television writing credits include Fishskin Suit, This is Piki and Kaitangata Twitch (NZ) and Grace Beside Me and Swift Street (Australia). Briar is a recipient of the Arts Foundation Laureate Award and was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in 2019 for services to theatre, television, and film. That same year, she and Ainsley Gardiner received the Sundance Merata Mita Directing Fellowship. In 2022, Briar was invited to join the Directors Branch of the Academy.

Nick Ward is an award-winning screenwriter and producer with a career spanning everything from supernatural thrillers to romantic comedies. His feature credits include the cult hit Stickmen and the box-office success Second-Hand Wedding. Recently, he was the script mentor on Tinā. On television, Nick’s name is behind some of New Zealand’s most successful and enduring series, including Fresh Eggs, Outrageous Fortune, The Brokenwood Mysteries, Westside, Under the Vines, Bird’s Eye View, and the international hit Wellington Paranormal. A storyteller with range, edge, and serious staying power.

Katherine Fry is a producer and script editor with a passion for developing bold, playful, and distinctive screen stories. Known for her empathetic and collaborative approach, she is committed to nurturing new voices and working closely with writers to shape projects into their strongest possible form. Her recent credits include White Fever (ABC), a critically acclaimed 6 x 30-minute comedy series which premiered in 2024. She is currently developing projects including Waylaid with Brodi Snook (Screenwest) and Sons of Samoa with Jeremiah Tauamiti and Sweetshop (NZFC). Katherine has held key development roles at Every Cloud Productions, the New Zealand Film Commission, and South Pacific Pictures, and is a recipient of Screen Australia’s Enterprise People initiative.

Karol Griffiths is a development consultant, producer, script editor, writing coach and mentor with 20+ years of industry experience. Career highlights include working with the Coen Brothers, Steven Spielberg, Seth Macfarlane, Pamela Fryman, Steven Levitan, James Burrows, August Wilson, Lynda La Plante and many of the major studios and Indie production companies. Karol’s book, The Art of Script Editing: A Practical Guide to Script Development, is used as a textbook for writing and film programs and Universities around the world.

Christina Andreef has recently been in India coaching writers at the National Film Development Corporation’s Screenwriters Labs in Mumbai and Goa. She was Development Executive at the New Zealand Film Commission for 9 years, providing script and creative support to the Writers, Directors and Producers of Aotearoa. She was Development lead on many high profile NZ films including the new or recent: Big Girls Don’t Cry (Dir Paloma Schneiderman); Pike River (Dir Rob Sarkies); Caterpillar (Dir Chelsie Preston Crayford); The Rule of Jenny Pen (Dir James Ashcroft); Went Up The Hill (Dir Samuel Van Grinsven). An award-winning Writer/Director herself, she made films out of Sydney Australia which have screened at over 100 festivals worldwide; Excursion To The Bridge of Friendship – official selection Sundance and Cannes, The Gap - Sundance and Telluride, Shooting The Breeze - Sundance and Berlin. Her feature film Soft Fruit brought a fourth Sundance invitation and also screened in Critics’ Week in Cannes. Soft Fruit won the FIPRESCI prize in San Sebastian and AACTA Awards in Sydney.

Hone Kouka (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Kahungunu) MNZM is an acclaimed Māori writer, producer and director for Theatre & Film , the youngest winner of the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award and a multi award winner. In 2004, Hone co-founded the production company, Tawata Productions, focusing on the development and presentation of new theatre and film by Māori and Pasifika artists. Hone became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to Contemporary Māori Theatre in June 2009. In 2013 he was awarded the NZWG Mentors Award. Created in 2015, Hone is the Artistic Director/Chief Executive and founder of Kia Mau Festival, a Māori, Pasifika and Global Indigenous contemporary performance platform based in Te Ūpoko o te Ika a Māui. In 2017 he was awarded Wellingtonian of the Year - Arts Category. In 2022 Hone was an Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate Award winner.