Director Jackie Van Beek Chosen for Niki Caro Mentorship

Director Jackie Van Beek Chosen for Niki Caro Mentorship

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

1 June 2016

The Directors & Editors Guild of NZ (DEGNZ) is excited to announce DEGNZ member and director Jackie van Beek as the recipient of the 2016 International Director Mentorship – Drama with renowned New Zealand director Niki Caro.

Caro will provide one-on-one mentorship to Van Beek on her projects and career, offering genuine insight into creative process and engagement with the industry as a whole, while providing a solid platform upon which to build an international career.

“Jackie van Beek is an exciting film maker with a strong and original point of view, and I’m thrilled to be able to support her in this stage of her career,” said Caro.

“I'm really excited to have the opportunity to meet and spend time with Niki Caro. I look forward to discussing directing, parenting and everything in between,” Van Beek said.

Niki Caro is most well known in New Zealand for her hit feature film Whale Rider, which touched audiences worldwide. It was a critical and box office success and earned Kiwi actor Keisha Castle-Hughes an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Caro went on to an international directing career that saw her make films with the likes of Charlize Theron in North Country, Kevin Costner in McFarland, USA, and Jessica Chastain and Daniel Brühl in The Zookeeper’s Wife. Her next film, Callas, is a biopic on operatic singer Maria Callas, starring Noomi Rapace.

“We are so pleased to have a Kiwi actively working on the international stage in director Niki Caro, mentoring one of our emerging directing talents,” said DEGNZ Executive Director Tui Ruwhiu. “Jackie will benefit immeaureably, learning from a New Zealander who has been there and done it.”

The International Director Mentorship is an initiative funded by the New Zealand Film Commission and managed by DEGNZ. This latest mentorship is one of a small number awarded over the last two years that has seen filmmaker Tusi Tamasese in a director mentorship with Sundance Artistic Director Gyula Gazdag, docmentary maker Bryn Evans paired with Canadian documentary filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal (Watermark, Manufactured Landscapes), editor Cushla Dillon with expat Kiwi editor Justine Wright (Locke, Iron Lady, The Last King of Scotland), and editor Tom Eagles matched with Australian editor Dany Cooper (Holding the Man, The Sapphires).

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