Script to Screen and the New Zealand Writer’s Guild proudly present our first Wellington Writer’s Room of the year. We are joined by BAFTA and Academy Award winning screenwriter David Seidler.

David is a prolific writer for stage and screen who won Best Original Screenplay at both the Academy Awards and BAFTA’s in 2011 for THE KING’S SPEECH. He will speak to writer/actor Loren Taylor (EAGLE VS SHARK) about his journey as a writer and the story behind his current magnum opus.

Tuesday 3rd March, 5:30pm drinks, 6pm-7pm talk, Ngā Taonga Sound and Vision. $5 koha appreciated, includes a complimentary glass of wine.

Join us afterwards for a slice of Heaven Woodfire Pizza.

David generously gave his time and expertise to mentor at our inaugural Writers’ Lab Aotearoa. Applications for this year’s Lab are now open and close on April 20th.

After an astounding year for local film, New Zealand is enjoying a strong presence at international film festivals. How can we make sure film festival hype equates to real outcomes for our films and filmmakers?

The producers of three recent festival successes delve into their experience taking the film to an international audience including how they dealt with media, buyers and critics to get the film the best exposure they could.

For our first Writers’ Room of 2015, hear from New Zealand producers Tim Riley (Turbo Kid), Tom Hern (The Dark Horse) and Paula Jones (Hip Hop-eration) as they talk to producer Julia Parnell (Loading Docs) about growing and maintaining international interest in their three very different films.

Tuesday 24th February, The Loft, Q Theatre, 305 Queen Street. Join us for a drink at 7pm in the main bar for a 7.30-8.30pm session. $5 koha appreciated.

NZ-Canadian co-production Turbo Kid, a post-apocalyptic action comedy has been an instant hit. The film had its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival last month and is due to screen later in the year in the Midnighters section of SXSW 2015. The film is written and directed by Montreal-based filmmaking trio Anouk Whissell, François Simard and Yoann-Karl Whissell, and produced by Ant Timpson (NZ), Tim Riley (NZ), Anne-Marie Gélinas (CAN) and Benoit Beaulieu (CAN).

Written and directed by James Napier Robertson, The Dark Horse is an inspiring true story based on the life of a charismatic, little-known New Zealand hero, Genesis Potini, played by Cliff Curtis (Once Were WarriorsWhale RiderBoy). The film had its world premiere at the New Zealand International Film Festival and won six awards including best picture, best director, best screenplay and best actor at the New Zealand Film Awards. It had its North American premiere at Toronto IFF and went on to screen at the prestigious IFFR in Rotterdam where it won the Audience Award, and became the film with the most votes on record in the history of the film festival.

New Zealand feature documentary Hip Hop-eration follows Waiheke-based hip hop crew Hip Op-eration (aged 65-95) as they prepare to attend the World Hip Hop Dance Championships in Las Vegas. The film had a successful local theatre release in late 2014, and won best documentary, best director and best cinematographer at the New Zealand Film Awards. It screened in competition at the prestigious IDFA in Amsterdam, where it was the fourth most popular film of the festival, and went on to win the Audience Choice award at the Santa Barbara Film Festival in February 2015. The film is directed by Bryn Evans and produced by Paula Jones and Alex Lee.

“Housebound manages to balance consistent, fantastic comedy with a properly eerie mystery and what should be a star-making turn from lead Morgana O’Reilly.” Samuel Zimmerman, Fangoria

With so many elements to juggle to get a film to shine, it’s a feat when a low-budget first feature gels. Escalator funded horror-comedy Housebound has been hailed as a remarkable accomplishment by US reviewers after its SXSW festival debut earlier this year, where it was praised for freshness of voice, strong performances, carefully handled script, and the perfect dose of NZ’s dry humour.

Join us for a special NZ International Film Festival Writers’ Room with Housebound’s writer, director and editor Gerard Johnstone (The Jaquie Brown Diaries) and producer Luke Sharpe (The Jaquie Brown Diaries) as they talk to filmmaker Jackie Van Beek (Go the Dogs) about the challenges of writing and making this stellar debut feature.

Join us afterwards for some nibbles on us and a drink.

Tues 29 July, The Wintergarden (Civic Theatre), 7pm drinks, 7:30-8:30pm discussion, free.

Note: There will be spoilers!!

Housebound screened at the Civic in Auckland at the New Zealand International Film Festival on Sat 26 July at 9pm.

Application Deadline: 5pm, Monday 9th March 2015

Following on from a successful inaugural year, we are delighted to call for applications for FilmUp Script Development, a dynamic multi-faceted programme that significantly up-skills producers and script editors who want to hone their skills in story development.

We warmly welcome back renowned story consultant and acting/directing coach Brita McVeigh who will helm the programme, providing engaged one-on-one coaching.
She’s a genuine collaborator. Every project is different and Brita’s skill is that she knows how to find the weak spots and strengthen them. She knows how to work closely on the script with the writer/director, or in rehearsal with the cast, to enhance the vision – that’s how she worked with Taika on BOY. – Ainsley Gardiner

The programme is built on the understanding that story knowledge in itself is simply not enough. Practitioners who excel in script development possess skills that are harder to come across, and it is these skills that enable a robust development process that strengthens the project.

For this reason, we deliver an exciting practice-based programme that will support New Zealand producers and script developers, help identify and strengthen their individual process, and at the same time ensure that this process yields results.

One-on-one coaching that supports the development of a feature project will sit at the heart of programme and be supplemented with facilitated group work, round tables with esteemed filmmakers, and a one-day intensive with a renowned Australian script editor.

It’s a rare and precious thing to have someone to discuss my work with as I’m doing it and I feel like the mentorship has not only accelerated my learning but also profoundly deepened it. – Julie Alp, 2014 Script Development participant.

Application Deadline: 5pm, Monday 9th March 2015

Click here for full information and apply now.

FilmUp 2015 is made possible with financial assistance from the New Zealand Film Commission.

Application Deadline: 5pm, Monday 9th March 2015

Applicants may also apply for FilmUp Mentorship – please let us know when you apply which is your preference.

You can pretend to be a good collaborator, but that won’t deepen or strengthen a screenplay. What will strengthen the projects you work on is finding your own true voice as a developer. Collaboration is as much about breaking the rules together as it is about observing them, especially with storytelling.
 Brita McVeigh

FilmUp Script Development enables those working with writers developing feature projects to take a big step up in their development craft.

Our programme is the very opposite of a quick-fix workshop. We believe that a good story developer needs to embrace the confidence of their own working methodology, and therefore the strand is designed to extend and accelerate the abilities of individual participants.

One-on-one coaching that supports the development of a feature project will sit at the heart of the programme, and be supplemented with facilitated group work, round tables with esteemed filmmakers, and a one-day intensive with a renowned Australian script editor.

The FilmUp Programme has been an incredibly valuable experience for me in terms of my creative thinking, and my approach to script editing under the guidance of mentor Brita McVeigh. Brita opened up new ways of thinking about script for me that benefits the project I took into the mentorship and my future practice. Thank you Script to Screen! – Tui Ruwhiu, 2014 Script Development participant.

Who is the programme for?

Two participants will be selected each year and applicants can be producers or script editors. The programme is for those with prior filmmaking and/or development experience and an already sound knowledge of story who want to hone their script development skills and discover a method that works.

Applicants must have a writer attached with a feature film project at a treatment or draft stage. It is crucial that the applicant and the writer they are working with are in a position to move the project forward significantly over the year. (Treatment to draft/draft to fully revised draft.)

What will you get out of the programme?

– An opening half-day intensive with Brita McVeigh, your writer and the other participants;
– A one-on-one session with Brita, tailoring your programme plan in alignment with where you are at in your development practice;
– Observed sessions with you and your writer, and subsequent private one-on-one reflective sessions with Brita;
– Feedback on notes you provide your writer;
– An introduction day and 3 x hub days in conjunction with the FilmUp Mentorship Programme including round tables, group work and a day long intensive with a renowned Australian script editor;
– A closing half-day intensive with Brita, your writer and the other participants.

The strand has also been designed to develop the core skills required to be outstanding in development. The ability to:

– Employ empathy in order to enable the writer’s vision;
– Genuinely listen to a collaborator;
– Determine clear boundaries, or terms, for your collaboration;
– Recognise story issues;
– Identify on a case-by-case, meeting-by-meeting basis how any story issues are best addressed, i.e. through character, theme, structure, premise or an issue within the writer’s process;
– Recognise when the fundamental questions underneath the material need to be readdressed for the work to progress;
– Express oneself with dexterity, either intimately or in a more functional manner depending on what is constructive for the writer at the time;
– Reflect on one’s own process.

What is required from the writer of the project?

– To enter into a contract with you and Script to Screen that provides a clear framework and protects the writers’ intellectual property;
– To attend both an opening and closing half-day intensive with you, Brita McVeigh and the other participants;
– To attend three intensive script sessions with you and Brita McVeigh;
– To commit to the deliverables agreed to by you, the writer and Brita McVeigh at the outset of the programme;
– To commit to taking their project from treatment to draft or draft to fully revised draft over the course of the programme.

Being a part of the FilmUp Script development strand was such a great experience for me. Writing can often feel like such a lonely process and the colossus of a feature film can seem incredibly daunting. Having the support of this program and someone to go on this journey with..proved invaluable. I didn’t have a first draft this time last year. Now I do. – Zia Mandviwalla, 2014 Script Development writer

Key Dates

Applications open 10th February and close on Monday 9th March 2015 at 5pm.
An industry selection panel will choose the successful applicants mid-March and all applicants will be advised of the results.
Shortlisted applicants may be required to participate in a 30-minute Skype interview;
Successful applicants must be available to attend an a full-day intensive with FilmUp Mentorship on Thursday 16th April and a half-day on Friday 17th April 2015.

Application Requirements

Applicants must be able to come to the programme with a writer and a feature film project to develop. The film can be at treatment or draft stage. You must be able to progress with the project significantly over the course of the programme.

Applicants must submit:

– A 1-paragraph biography;
– A up to one-page statement about where you are currently at in your development practice and what you hope to achieve from the programme;
– A 1-2 page synopsis of the feature film project you plan to bring into the programme;
– Confirmation and commitment from a writer to take part in the programme;
– A short project history from the writer including information about where the project is currently at and its journey so far;
– A short biography of the writer.

Download the application form here.

Please email or post your application to Ben:

Email: In a single .pdf file only to ben@script-to-screen.co.nz

Post: Script to Screen, PO Box 147263, Ponsonby, Auckland, 1144
Courier: 195 Ponsonby Road, Ponsonby, Auckland, 1011

Applications close at 5pm on Monday 9th March, 2015.

Any questions can be directed to ben@script-to-screen.co.nz, or you can call the office on 09 360 5400.

FilmUp 2015 is made possible with financial assistance from the NZ Film Commission.

The first Writer’s Room for 2014 featured kiwi-born producer Helen Bowden (THE SLAP) in conversation with producer Philippa Campbell (TOP OF THE LAKE). Helen spoke about her experiences developing and making high-end television drama in Australia for Matchbox Pictures, with particular reference to the Emmy-nominated drama series THE SLAP (2011), the tele-feature UNDERGROUND (following the early life of Julian Assange) and her latest six-part mini-series DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND.

Helen’s work pre-Matchbox began in 1993 when she started producing shorts, documentaries, feature films and enjoying the privilege of working with some great actors like Cate Blanchett. “Like many New Zealanders I went to London after university. I shared a flat with a young Israeli director. She asked me to produce her film … and that was the beginning, a trial by fire really, but I loved it.”

After a four-year stint in London working on short films and waitressing, she made the move to Sydney and began a career making educational and corporate videos. It soon became clear to her that she was in the wrong ‘groove.’ “I realised it was just sucking up my energy. I knew I wanted to do drama.”

And so Helen began a gradual shift into the world of dramatic series and feature films.  “I was a ‘suitcase producer’. I was essentially making one thing at a time and keeping my overheads very low. That was the only way to make things viable.”

In spite of the uncertainties that came with this territory, Helen enjoyed the ‘suitcase’ life. “You could do what you really wanted. Sometimes I had bigger overheads, an office, an assistant … but then there was often the pressure of trying to keep the cash flowing. This type of approach can be lonely at times, but I loved it anyway. You’re very mobile and can join forces with others. However you can be seen as being ‘successful’ – but after each project, you’re back at ground zero again. Disheartening, but that’s the nature of being part of a small industry.”

Then in 2008 the Australian government introduced the ‘Producer Offset’. Put simply, it is a tax rebate for producers, offering 20% of the total budget for television and 40% for film projects. The rebate is claimed back once the entire budget is spent, so you have to borrow against it to make the show.

A number of companies had been finding it hard to be viable prior to this initiative but the Offset meant that if a film made money, its creators would too, something that did not happen before. This form of financial support from government gave Helen and four other producers the certainty they needed to establish Matchbox Pictures in 2008.

Matchbox was set up to produce television drama, documentaries and some feature films. Friend and colleague Tony Ayres (Melbourne-based writer/director) approached Helen, asking if she would like to do something with him and his longtime producer Michael McMahon. The time was right with the Producer Offset. They asked Penny Chapman to come on board and she brought Helen Panckhurst with her as a ‘package deal’.

It was about this time that THE SLAP came into the frame, a book written by Christos Tsiolkas. At a suburban barbecue, a man slaps a three-year old boy (not his own child) across the face. The child has been misbehaving with no intervention from his parents and the book explores the reverberations of the incident through the voices of eight characters, each with their own chapter.  The characters range in age from two year 12 students to a 71 year old man, four male and four female, and the book itself offers up an insightful portrait of contemporary Australian society.

“I ran into the office one day not long after we started Matchbox,” Helen said, “waving this book saying ‘I’ve found it! This is what we should do next!”.  Tony and Michael were good friends with writer Christos and both agreed the book would make a great television series. There was stiff competition from others who thought it would be better as a film. We had to develop a presentation based on why we thought it would suit TV and how an eight-part series would do justice to the book. Fortunately Christos understood and agreed with us. When we secured the rights, ABC was in touch with us right away. The book was already making a splash and several networks wanted it.”

Helen and her colleagues knew ABC was keen. “We were lucky because ABC had received new money for drama. They’d been starved of funding by successive governments and the end result was no money for drama. They’d cut back from 100 hours a year to only 6 in 2007. Shameful … but Mr Rudd and a new government gave ABC a lot of money for drama and we were one of the first projects to benefit from that. The ABC wanted to do something multi-cultural and contemporary, so the timing was perfect.”

The pitch was a ‘dream’. “It was an easy pitch to make when I went off to raise the money. A man slaps a child that is not his own … the story resonates so widely because it is an urban one about child rearing that people really engage with … a child no one wants to deal with, and then a line is crossed. It’s very exciting when you have a strong idea that you can pitch. It makes your life so much easier – and the fact that potential financiers can then pitch it up the line too, is also really good.”

There were five writers on The Slap and Christos had input into the creative process too. “He was very good to work with, very modest and wanted to learn more about screenwriting and be involved. Tony and I met a lot of writers and eventually put together a team of five that we felt were a good mix for the novel and who showed a real willingness to collaborate. We wanted people who would put the project ahead of themselves and not think solely of their own episodes – some did one episode and others did two –  but rather of the whole story. The book was ideal and inspiring, constructed around eight chapters and eight different points of view.”

To kick-start the process, Tony, Helen, Christos, a script editor and the five writers participated in a three- week workshop. “It was an expensive exercise,” said Helen, “Australian writers are quite heavily unionised, so workshop fees are high, but it was a fantastic thing to do. Essentially, we paid the writers to sit in a room and have their ideas go into a general pot, because then those ideas belonged to the company and the project. They received a ‘brainstorming fee’ which was different to their writing fee. Christos was very supportive of the workshop process. At the end, we had a storyline and a series outline and the writers went off to start first drafts. We then had another two-week workshop before starting on second drafts. We had a luxurious time frame for the writing because we wanted to do it well and give the writers enough time to write.”

With financing in place and the scripts at a certain point, the Matchbox team met with directors, once again looking for those who were the most collaborative in their approach. They then selected  people they felt were best suited to the episodes. “Our set up director was Jessica Hobbs (another Kiwi), very accomplished, open, clever and thoughtful. She became a key member of the team in terms of setting up the series and working with Tony and me.”

The workshop approach was used with the directors too. They participated in a successful four-day workshop, arguing and talking around the table, generating ideas and discussing style and tone. “There was huge excitement from everyone. We felt we were making something special and important about contemporary life.”

Casting director Jane Norris rose to the challenges, finding ‘the most incredible people’ for every role. “We wanted good actors, of course, but we also wanted to be authentic to the culture portrayed in the book and to surprise people. It was great to find cast members that Australian viewers didn’t know.”

The series was not shot completely in sequence and each episode took approximately 7 – 8.5 days to shoot the 55-57 minute hour. “Christos was often on set. He was very trusting and had many useful things to say.”

Helen credits Tony with the idea for Underground, a tele-movie about the early life of Julian Assange. “He is like this fountain of ideas! I then started working with journalist Mark Davis who had done the most interviews with Julian over the years. He told me about the book Underground about hackers in the 1980s, written by a friend of Julian’s who was part of the Melbourne hacking scene. The book contained a few stories about Julian’s early life.  We wrote up a two pager for the networks and pitched to the Head of Drama at Channel 10. They were interested but wanted a longer outline. This didn’t exist so we started working on it right away, got it into a form the Head was happy with and he agreed to make it.”

Once given the ‘ok’ the project grew wings and took off, something Helen felt it needed to do because of the nature of the story. “We had a three-day workshop in Melbourne. Matchbox had commissioned some research, which we often do, and that person did a breakdown of the book’s contents, a timeline of Julian’s life, and sourced some additional information. We started working on a storyline.”

While they were making the tele-movie, Julian’s real-time life ‘got crazier’ with the WikiLeaks issues and the accusations from Sweden. “It was mind-blowing,” said Helen.  “Julian’s mother was very upset about the making of the film. Director Robert Connolly is a very ethical person,  politically aware, left wing, and he found this quite distressing. We had heard she wasn’t happy and then she called him, talked for over an hour asking, ‘what are you doing?’ and ‘this is not going to help  – it will damage him! Live your own life and leave us alone’. Robert was very diplomatic but she would not step back and wrote to the papers, saying she was unhappy and the truth wasn’t being told.”

The movie was completed, went to air, received good viewer numbers and was later released as a feature film which  raised  some money for Julian. “Julian’s mother did speak with us after that, saying she loved the film, it was the best one done about him. As a young man,  Julian was very idealistic. His ideas have stayed the same but his life has become far more complicated, so telling the story of his early years was easier than trying to deal with the complexities of his later life.”

Helen said she has always felt very fortunate being able to bring important stories to the screen and the six-part mini-series Devil’s Playground is no exception. The series is a spin-off from the 1973 Fred Schepisi film which tells the story of a young boy growing up and going to school in a Catholic seminary, and realising that the priesthood is not for him. Helen explained that whilst the film  shows an ‘affectionate’ portrait of the Church, there are hints that all is not well.  In the series, Simon Burke returns to his role as Tom Allen – he is now a psychiatrist who is asked by the Church to counsel priests. Simon was also an executive producer on the film.

“The process to find the story was long,” said Helen. “We wondered what had become of Tom after he ran away from the Seminary. We wanted to know where he is now, what is he doing and explain why he left. It had to be something that people would turn on and watch, so the story also had to go into the contemporary problems within the Church but not overwhelm with those stories. Tom is like an ‘everyman investigator’ going into the world of this incredible institution.”

The series is yet to air on Foxtel but Helen is keen to see this happen before people become fatigued by the number of stories currently circulating about the Catholic Church.

In 2011 a 60% stake in Matchbox was sold to NBCUniversal and the remaining 40% was purchased in 2013. Helen said this was much needed and a very positive thing. “It gave  us the money to develop projects and put in more infrastructure. Universal has huge distribution and they look for high-end drama throughout the world.  We couldn’t believe the purchase in 2013. That we had started, built up and sold the company in such a short space of time, was amazing. I decided not to continue once the company was 100% American owned, so I left after Devil’s Playground and will move on to something else now.”

Written for Script to Screen by Jane Bissell

Story Camp evolves from our 2014 and 2015 writing labs, which have seen talented local writers workshop their feature film scripts with exceptional international and local mentors.   

This year each selected writer or writing team will have a rigorous five-day residential experience tailored specifically to meet the development needs of their feature film project. At the heart of the programme remains exceptional and experienced practitioners working with NZ’s exciting writers and filmmakers to foster voice and vision.    

The process for each participant will be made up of some or all of the following development techniques: one-on-one script sessions, project-based group workshops, read-throughs, and workshopping with actors. The writers’ key collaborators will be invited in to parts of the process in instances where that will be of additional benefit to the process and project.

Story Camp Aotearoa is brought to you with financial assistance from the New Zealand Film Commission.

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