NZFC is proud to announce that Māoriland Indigenous Co-Lab and A Wave In The Ocean - 2 Deep Dive are to receive funding from the newly established Industry Led Talent Development Fund.
Proposals were submitted through the RFP process requesting a total of $7,378,500 of funding from an allocated budget of $1,200,000. The two successful proposals offer key programmes for the development of the sector, for diversity and tangata whenua considerations, and the growing progression of creatives and practitioners.
The Māoriland Indigenous Co-Lab is for emerging to mid-level Indigenous filmmakers who aspire to achieve excellence in feature filmmaking.
The programme is made up of four pou or pillars starting with Pou Tuatahi which is a full-time paid residency program for experienced Māori screenwriters. Pou Tuarua is the next pillar where producers and directors join the writers to build key creative teams. In Pou Tuatoru teams will package their project for international markets and during Pou Tuawhā they will receive market training and support as they head to international markets and festivals for showcases of the Māoriland Indigenous Co-Lab.
Māoriland Film Festival Director Madeleine de Young says “Māoriland exists to celebrate Indigenous storytelling through film. In the 11 years of the Māoriland Film Festival, we’ve seen the rise of Indigenous cinema, and we've supported both emerging and established filmmakers through programs like M.A.T.C.H Creative Intensifiers, the Ngā Pakiaka Incubator Program and the NATIVE Slam. What we've seen over this time is the power of international Indigenous collaboration to advance careers and deliver incredible films. The Māoriland Indigenous Co-Lab is our first feature film lab, and by engaging the relationships we've across the Indigenous world we'll support five Māori feature film projects to become finance and production-ready.
From Dame Jane Campion and Philippa Campbell, the creators of the pop up directors’ intensive A Wave in the Ocean (AWITO) comes AWITO 2 Deep Dive – a new opportunity that gives creatives the critical guidance and support to write and direct an original short film.
Six filmmakers will be selected for a full time 15-week distillation of the original AWITO workshop programme, followed by a 12-month period in which they are financed and mentored through the development and production of a short film. The first iteration of A Wave In the Ocean was sponsored by Netflix, and NZFC is proud to support AWITO 2 Deep Dive.
“Building on the inspiration from the inaugural A Wave in the Ocean cohort, Deep Dive aims to make a profound and practical contribution to the lives and careers of highly motivated and talented New Zealand filmmakers." Dame Jane Campion.
NZFC is committed to investing in creativity and capability development with diversity, equity and inclusion at its core. Supporting these two organisations to deliver their distinctive programmes supports the growth of filmmakers, and film projects in Aotearoa.