Christchurch: Summer 2023

It's been a busy few months for independent projects in Canterbury, filling in the gaps that the general slow down of the industry has left open. Block one of independent feature film, Sons' of a Bitch (dir. Zac Beckett-Knight), wrapped this week, which follows the exploits of farm dogs, Jack (Emma Newborn) and Russell (Amelia Dunbar) as they recount a recent traumatic trip to Ashburton for a cult-like flock of sheep led by a well- endowed Ram (Josh Thomson).

Maurice & I (dir. Rick Harvie, Jane Mahoney) is a feature-length documentary celebrating Sir Miles Warren and Maurice Mahoney’s hugely influential architectural partnership, and their legacy that was all but lost in the devastating Christchurch earthquakes. Boosted is running one of their biggest ever arts crowdfunding projects to get this film finished and in cinemas. Please consider donating if you read this in time!

Two short films from series 7 of Someday Stories were either produced or set in Otautahi. I Stand For Consent (dir. Liv McClymont), a documentary calling for compulsory consent education in schools and The World Around Me (dir. Hasan Jhan Arslan), a drama set in 2001 about a young second-generation Turkish immigrant, navigating life as an outsider in Aotearoa.

Round 6 of the Screen CanterburyNZ grant is now complete and the two recipients of the grant are Canterbury based productions, children’s drama series Maui & Elvis and a Kiri & Lou feature.

The inaugural Waitaha Screen Wānanga hosted several well-known screen professionals including film directors David White, Glenn Standring, Gillian Ashurst, Slavko Martinov and narrative design expert Alexander Swords in an all-day event at Lumière Cinema. The event was hosted by Te Puna Matarau | Canterbury Screen Industry Group with support from Screen CanterburyNZ, the New Zealand Film Commission, and New Zealand on Air. It will likely become an annual event.