The New Zealand Screen Awards Reels Entries In

News release
Wednesday 4 May, 2005

The New Zealand Screen Awards Reels Entries In

Entries for the country’s premium film and television honours, The New Zealand Screen Awards 2005 have now closed with organisers receiving more than 450 entries across 48 categories.

The sheer number of entries has certainly pleased organisers and proves that the industry is once again ready to be formally recognised at the highest level.

With leadership for the initiative provided by The Screen Directors Guild of New Zealand (SDGNZ) and strategic partnerships formed with New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and the NZ Film Commission, The New Zealand Screen Awards 2005 has attracted entries across the category spectrum.

SDGNZ President Dan Salmon says that while the concept had already received invaluable support from all sectors of the film and television industry and commercial sponsors, the real litmus test was always going to be the number of entries received.

“Putting together an event of this magnitude was always going to be incredibly challenging but with more than 450 entries received, we now know we truly do have the full backing of the industry and can commence judging with confidence,” he says.

“Our judging panels have been chosen for their ability and expertise in their chosen fields and with more than 110 judges about to commence the daunting task of viewing submissions and agreeing finalists for each category, we are looking forward to announcing the three finalists in each category at the Finalist's Announcement on June 28 at Sky City’s Bar 3.”

While the number of entries has thrilled Salmon and the entire organising committee, he says ensuring quality is still paramount. So, with seven of the 48 categories receiving less than the required five entries, these will not be proceeding to judging this time around.

“For there to be true competition we believe there needs to be a minimum of five entries in any given category. This is a consideration that will help lift the entire standard of entries both now and in the future, and help us to create and maintain credible and sustainable awards that honour excellence at all times,” says Salmon.

Along with the high number of entries, The New Zealand Screen Awards 2005 has also received the backing of some of the country’s top businesses for the inaugural year.

Air New Zealand, Kodak, Sony, Images Post and SkyCity have all joined the Awards as premium sponsors while further support has been confirmed by NZ On Air, Auckland City, On Film Magazine, Tiger Beer, and Urbis Magazine.

Finalists will be announced at a special event in Auckland on June 28, 2005, one month before the inaugural New Zealand Screen Awards 2005 presentation ceremony on Wednesday 27 July.

For a full list of Film and Television categories or to gather more information, please visit the official website, www.sdgnz.co.nz (and go to the AWARDS tab).

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The official spokesperson for the New Zealand Screen Awards is the SDG president, Dan Salmon.

Dan is a busy local director and is out & about or out of town on location often. For this reason we recommend you contact either Debbie Ebbett or Jane Torrance to assist you in your liaison with Dan.

ENDS

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