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At events in Wellington and in Auckland this week, the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) announced an annual scholarship programme for women.  Suggested by acclaimed New Zealand screenwriter, producer and director, Jane Campion, the programme will...

Five New Zealand Films to Screen at the Beijing International Film Festival New Zealand films will be in the spotlight at the Beijing International Film Festival with What We Do In the Shadows, Housebound, Slow West, Mt. Zion and Giselle selected to...

THE PATRIARCH (working title), directed by Lee Tamahori, finished filming on Friday May 22 after a successful 35 day shoot across 12 Auckland locations. The film is based on Whale Rider author Witi Ihimaera's novel, Bulibasha. Set in 1950’s and 1960’s...

Stan Walker and Rhys Darby to join Taika Waititi's  HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE  Multi platinum selling recording artist Stan Walker and international funnyman Rhys Darby have been announced today as supporting cast in Taika Waititi’s...

Embassy seige action thriller 6 Days starts shooting in New Zealand. 6 DAYS, an action thriller directed by Toa Fraser (The Dead Lands, Dean Spanley) and produced by Matthew Metcalfe (The Dead Lands, Beyond The Edge, Dean Spanley) starts principal...

Five short films selected for the Fresh Shorts May 2015 funding round.  Fresh Shorts is the New Zealand Film Commission’s competitive, low-budget short film funding scheme which aims to identify up-and-coming directorial talent who will be part of...

As you may be aware, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH), working with the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) and Film New Zealand (FNZ), have carried out an initial review of the New...

The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) is pleased to announce Maria Ines Manchego as the recipient of the JC CineFem Scholarship. Announced in April in conjunction with the NZFC’s new gender policy, the JC CineFem Scholarship is the first...

Dame Patsy Reddy has been reappointed as Chair of the New Zealand Film Commission, Arts, Culture and Heritage Minister Maggie Barry announced today. Charles Finny has also been reappointed as a member of the Commission. Both of Wellington, Dame Patsy...

Entries are still being accepted from New Zealand films for the 2015 Guangzhou International Documentary Film Festival (GZDOC). This year the festival features a spotlight on New Zealand women documentary filmmakers and is also inviting projects for...

Production starts today on The Rehearsal, the feature film adaptation of Booker Award winner Eleanor Catton’s debut novel. The Rehearsal marks the return to New Zealand of expatriate director Alison Maclean, who has been based in New York for many years...

Experienced film and entertainment lawyer John McCay has been appointed to the New Zealand Film Commission Board, Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Hon Maggie Barry announced today. “John McCay brings a breadth of experience in corporate and...

Chief Gary began principal photography this week in Rarotonga. The comedy feature film is the directorial debut of Jarrod Holt, Nigel McCulloch and Ryan Hutchings, collectively known as thedownlowconcept, creators of the hilarious local TV series 7...

Five Film Businesses Receive Boost Funding Announced today at the Big Screen Symposium, New Zealand’s annual film industry conference, are the recipients of the New Zealand Film Commission’s (NZFC) one-off business development scheme, Boost. Jump Film...

Internationally acclaimed director Lee Tamahori’s first New Zealand film in 20 years, Mahana, will open in cinemas nationwide on March 3, 2016. Mahana (previously The Patriarch) is an evocative family drama based on Whale Rider author Witi Ihimaera...

Kiwi director, Taika Waititi has released the first image from his heartwarming comedy, Hunt for the Wilderpeople today. The image shows the film’s leads, city kid Ricky (Julian Dennison) and a rugged Hec (Sam Neill) head to head in the wild New Zealand...

One Thousand Ropes commenced principal photography in Wellington on November 9, 2015. One Thousand Ropes is the new film from internationally acclaimed writer and director Tusi Tamasese (The Orator). A powerful character drama, One Thousand Ropes is an...

This is an exciting year for New Zealand film at the prestigious Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (TGHFF). The acclaimed film A Flickering Truth will screen at this year’s festival – the first New Zealand film to be shown in the main selection of the...

Human Traces has begun its second block of principal photography this week on the wild and remote Catlins coast on the southeastern South Island. A psychological thriller told from three perspectives, Human Traces is the debut feature from writer...

Twice as many applications were received for the October 2015 Fresh Short Funding round compared with the May submission period. Seven Fresh 10 and three Fresh 30 films have been offered funding.  An eleventh film has been offered $20,000. A...

New Zealand producer, Carthew Neal, will premiere two films at next year’s Sundance Film Festival. Tickled directed by David Farrier and Dylan Reeve will screen in the World Documentary section of the festival. Announced last week...

Two New Zealand films have been included in the programme of the 2016 Berlin Film Festival (Berlinale). Lee Tamahori’s Mahana will have its world premiere at the festival, screening out of competition, and Tammy Davis’s...

A film co-production agreement between New Zealand and Israel was signed at the New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) in Wellington earlier this week by New Zealand’s Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Hon. Maggie Barry and Israeli Ambassador, H...

A modern reimagining of the kiwi classic Goodbye Pork Pie is set to begin filming across New Zealand with Matt Murphy, son of the original film’s director, Geoff Murphy, announced as the reboot’s director.    As a fifteen-year-old,...

The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) and China Film Co-Production Corporation (CFCC) are delighted to announce the joint approval of 3D animated family film, Beast of Burden as the first official feature film co-production between the two countries. A...

Kiwi audiences will get their first look at the hotly anticipated documentary Tickled with the release of the films official trailer. Tickled - NZ Trailer Probing into the bizarre world of Competitive Endurance Tickling, Tickled follows...

The next generation of “Blondini Gang” have been announced. Dean O’Gorman (The Hobbit, The Almighty Johnsons) James Rolleston (Boy, The Dark Horse) and Ashleigh Cummings (Puberty Blues, Tomorrow when the War Began) will star in Pork Pie...

Taika Waititi’s adventure comedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople has broken New Zealand box office records by opening with largest opening weekend ever for a New Zealand film with a box office take of$1,300,000 NZD. “We’ve beat Boy’s opening...

Ten New Zealand films are being screened at a biennial showcase of New Zealand cinema in China that should reach a theatrical audience of over 10,000 people in 42 screenings across three major cities. The ten films, six features and four short films,...

The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Leanne Saunders as Head of Production and Development. Leanne replaces Lisa Chatfield who recently left the NZFC for a role at Pukeko Pictures. Leanne has over 15 years’...

The New Zealand Film Festival was launched in Shanghai on Thursday 21 April. Jointly hosted by the New Zealand Consulate General and the Shanghai Film Distribution and Exhibition Association, the festival opened with a screening of  Roger Donaldson'...

Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople continues to break box office records, taking the number two slot in the list of highest grossing local films at the New Zealand box office.  At the close of business on Wednesday 27 April, ...

25 April will screen in competition at the highly regarded Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June. It will join eight other films in the competition line-up, only one of which is also a documentary. Directed by Leanne Pooley and produced...

NZIFF continue to appoint prominent NZ filmmakers to select the latest and best in NZ short films with Lee Tamahori confirmed as Guest Selector for the 2016 New Zealand’s Best competition. Five to six selected New Zealand shorts will premiere in...

An acclaimed documentary about the design and construction of a unique cultural building for the Tūhoe iwi will be be screened in Venice this month at the beginning of the city’s famous Architecture Biennale.   Ever the Land tells...

Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople has cemented its place in the record books overtaking the 2010 Kiwi classic Boy (which Waititi also directed) to become the largest grossing local film at the New Zealand Box office. Already...