Big Screen Symposium & Script to Screen

Three Canadian guests with diverse backgrounds and experiences will discuss international co-productions and industry trends in Canada. The shared concerns, values, and history of New Zealand and Canada make them an ideal country to partner with and partnering is a great way to fully finance your projects.  Fraser Ash has worked with renowned creatives on complex film and TV productions, Alain Str...

Story creators Robyn Malcolm, Dianne Taylor and producer/director Peter Salmon come together with moderator Max Currie to talk about their collaborative process, from the very earliest story conversations to the writing, all stages of production, and publicity. Peter, Dianne and Robyn will discuss some of their learnings and how they managed challenges that inevitably arose along the way. 

Following the recent New Zealand release of The Moon is Upside Down, Loren Taylor (writer/director/actor) joins moderator and writer Duncan Sarkies (Scarfies, and Two Little Boys) to discuss her writing process, the challenges of creating stories and characters that come alive on screen, and how she and her team moved this unique and beautifully crafted feature from her initial idea to production...

Kimball Thurston leads the strategy for future technology for VFX production at Weta FX. This session uses real-life examples as he offers insight into the AI intersections with creative artists and how these tools add to the creative process, not take away from it. This session is presented by Weta FX and WingNut Films. 

The eleven regional film offices around New Zealand might be seen as competitors, but they’ve found a way over the last decade to cooperate and collaborate with each other in the spirit of ‘NZ Inc’, recognising the healthy ‘coopetition’ can be the best way to combine resources and achieve shared goals. They’re working towards a vision shared by many, a well-functioning Aotearoa New Zealand screen...

Australian Casting director Anousha Zarkesh, an influential creative force in the Australian screen industry, is in conversation with producer Fraser Brown discussing how to establish a great relationship with your Casting Director. They cover searching for new talent and attaching high-profile actors, the importance of cultural considerations and respect protocols and considerations in early deve...

ALEXANDER SWORDS presents Diverse Story Telling Patterns. He introduces the building blocks and patterns discovered in his research for Narrative Design. This gives an insight “under the hood” of how the different conventions function to engage audiences around the world. You’ll discover what film and tv writers can learn from narrative design in games. 

Historically speaking, there has been a lack of representation and access for those who are deaf, disabled or neurodivergent within the screen industry. Chelsea Bridges, Jared Flitcroft and Felicity Hamill have a mission to improve industry standards by using their skills as access coordinators. This new role helps create a safe place on set for everyone. It can also improve every stage of product...

With many people unable to continue working full time due to changing life circumstances and wellbeing concerns or outright leaving the screen industry, job-sharing is becoming a widely recommended practice. Jonathon Dutton from Screen Well Australia presents the findings from the Screen Australia funded initiative, Breaking Down the Barriers to Job-Sharing which involved piloting job-sharing on a...

NZ On Air Head of Partnerships Raewyn Rasch introduces a case study of Sky Originals show Miles From Nowhere, where producers Ahmed Osman and Sam Wilton talk about the strategies they implemented to ensure inclusive representation of the Muslim community throughout the entire production process from casting to call sheets to creative decisions. Focused on representing the changing face of Aotearoa...

NZ On Air Head of Music Teresa Patterson presents a conversation with experienced music supervisor Amine Ramer and Executive Producer Philippa Rennie to discuss the use of music in New Zealand screen stories. This includes forensic examination of a script, advice on budgeting for music, deciding how to use what songs where, and collaborating with the director, producer and editor on song choices....

Hear how three friends came together to create the groundbreaking YouTube sensation Viva La Dirt League. After 13 years they had amassed 6.27 million subscribers and 3.4 billion views. In this session with Adam King and Alan Morrison, they tell their story which led to over 1,000 sketches and videos being released and several projects in development. This session is presented by Screen Auckland. 

Getting on the Same Page is a method devised by Alexander Swords, a designer, a director, and a game runner, to get key creatives working together towards the same outcome. His “one page” of six instruments are taken from a range of creative processes to act as a source of truth. It holds intention, facilitates clearer communication, and helps teams hold themselves to account. During development i...

Screen industry practitioners Piripi Curtis, Te Kohe Tuhaka, Angela Cudd, and Tihini Grant discuss the diverse strategies Māori producers employ within their unique productions, with the aim of creating a greater awareness of Māori values, practices and perspectives when it comes to filming on iwi and hapu owned land.   This session shares respectful engagement practices and nuances of engaging wi...

Three leading screenwriters, Michael Bennett, Dianne Taylor and Lulu Wang share their experiences on the craft of writing for film and series, from the first idea being conceptualised through to the final draft for production based on examples from their own acclaimed work. This session is moderated by Marc Laureano and presented by South Pacific Pictures.  

James Napier Robertson has established himself as one of New Zealand’s most successful filmmakers over the last ten years with acclaimed films I’m Not Harry Jenson, The Dark Horse, Whina and Joika. Delving into the craft of directing, James’s masterclass offers insights into how a story can be told with visual choices and clarity of meaning. This session is presented by the Department of Post.    

Celebrating New Zealand talent the 2024 BSS Keynote address included seven New Zealand acting practitioners with unique stories and outlooks. In this podcast Robyn Malcolm shares her thoughts on the BSS 2024 theme Stepping into the Unknown.     This session, was presented by Te Mangai Paho.  

Celebrating New Zealand talent the 2024 BSS Keynote address included seven New Zealand acting practitioners with unique stories and outlooks. In this podcast Beulah Koale shares his thoughts on the BSS 2024 theme Stepping into the Unknown.   This session, was presented by Te Mangai Paho. 

Celebrating New Zealand talent the 2024 BSS Keynote address included seven New Zealand acting practitioners with unique stories and outlooks. In this podcast Lucy Lawless shares her thoughts on the BSS 2024 theme Stepping into the Unknown.   This session, was presented by Te Mangai Paho.   

Celebrating New Zealand talent the 2024 BSS Keynote address included seven New Zealand acting practitioners with unique stories and outlooks. In this podcast Shane Rangi shares his thoughts on the BSS 2024 theme Stepping into the Unknown.   This session, was presented by Te Mangai Paho. 

Celebrating New Zealand talent the 2024 BSS Keynote address included seven New Zealand acting practitioners with unique stories and outlooks. In this podcast Jess Hong shares her thoughts on the BSS 2024 theme Stepping into the Unknown.     This session, was presented by Te Mangai Paho. 

Celebrating New Zealand talent the 2024 BSS Keynote address included seven New Zealand acting practitioners with unique stories and outlooks. In this podcast Pax Assadi shares his thoughts on the BSS 2024 theme Stepping into the Unknown.     This session, was presented by Te Mangai Paho. 

 Celebrating New Zealand talent the 2024 BSS Keynote address included seven New Zealand acting practitioners with unique stories and outlooks. In this podcast Cliff Curtis shares his thoughts on the BSS 2024 theme Stepping into the Unknown.     This session, was presented by Te Mangai Paho. 

American writer, director and showrunner Lulu Wang speaks with NZ-based screenwriter Shuchi Kothari about her adaption process of the book The Expatriates, her journey finding her voice as a writer and her directing work. They touch on her feature film The Farewell which draws on a personal story for her, and more recently her six-episode drama series Expats which premiered at the Toronto Internat...

Script to Screen was delighted to present this in-conversation with Lee Tamahori, one of New Zealand’s most successful and celebrated filmmakers. He is the director and co-writer of The Convert, starring Guy Pearce and Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne and premiering at Toronto International Film Festival where it was described as ‘a stunning, sweeping & action-packed historical epic’. Paula Morris mo...