New Funding Opportunity for Pasifika and Asian NZ Filmmakers

New Funding Opportunity for Pasifika and Asian New Zealand Filmmakers Announced
MEDIA RELEASE
27 OCTOBER 2018

Pasifika and Asian filmmakers have an exciting new opportunity to develop stories that reflect their diverse communities and voices on screen, with a new funding initiative announced today by the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC), NZ On Air and TVNZ at the Big Screen Symposium in Auckland.

The new funding opportunity is focused on developing a compelling one-off feature-length Pasifika or Asian New Zealand story to screen in prime time on TVNZ. It is anticipated that the successful project will be of award-winning quality and will secure festival invitations and international sales.

NZ On Air’s 2018 Diversity report showed that Pacific and Asian producers are underrepresented in proportion to their population. This new fund has been designed to develop Pacific and Asian New Zealand creative talent to better reflect New Zealand’s diversity onscreen. The NZFC, TVNZ and NZ On Air are committed to increasing diversity in the screen industry and encourage people from all New Zealand’s diverse communities to express their unique voices.

Up to $90,000 in development funding is available for up to three projects where Pacific or Asian New Zealand filmmakers are in two of the three key creative roles (writer, producer, director), and with strong Asian or Pacific cast representation.

Designed with TVNZ’s successful Sunday Theatre slot in mind, the fund seeks feature-length scripted proposals that tell compelling real-life stories to highlight the cultural diversity of New Zealand’s population. The duration of the content will be between 90 and 110 minutes and the intention is that at least one of the three projects to receive development funding will be supported into production in the 2019/20 financial year.

Applications will open on 2 November via NZ On Air’s online application portal, and close on 1 December. The three projects chosen for development funding will be announced on 15 December.

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