Speakers
Simon Marler: Friday Evening April 29th
Simon Marler is head of New Zealand film organisation Script to
Screen, which aims to develop the craft and culture of
storytelling for the screen. Marler’s film industry experience
includes stints as a casting director, and as a director of shorts
and documentaries.
Juliette Verber: Saturday Evening May 1
Director Juliette Verber’s debut feature length documentary
Trouble is My Business premiered to acclaim in the 2008 New
Zealand International Film Festival. She had already established
herself in the film industry as a producer, working closely with
director Harry Sinclair on The Price of Milk and Toy Love. The
resulting documentary premiered to great acclaim in the 2008
New Zealand International Film Festival. In 2006, Verber moved to Wellington to
take up the position of Short Film Manager at the New Zealand Film Commission -
a position she still holds.
Vincent Ward: Saturday Evening May 1
Vincent Ward is a filmmaker living between New Zealand and
Australia. His two passions are film and painting – In his many
other incarnations he has worked as an actor in LA, a screenwriter
and has put out several books.
www.vincentwardfilms.com
Workshop Presenters
Hone Kouka: Saturday May 1
An acclaimed NZ playwright, Hone has written 13 plays which have been staged in New Zealand and worldwide including Canada, South Africa, New Caledonia and Britain. Kouka’s plays have won multiple awards at the Chapman Trip Theatre Awards, the ‘Oscars’ of New Zealand theatre. Kouka has also worked as a theatre director and producer. In September 2009, Kouka was honoured with the Insignia of the new Zealand Order of Merit for services to contemporary Māori theatre. Kouka has ancestral ties to the Māori tribes of Ngati Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Raukawa.
Nick Ward: Sunday May 2
Nick Ward broke into feature screenwriting with pool comedy Stickmen. An instant Kiwi hit, Stickmen won Ward a 2001 NZ Film and TV Award for best script. He went on to originate and co-write the script for hit romance Second-Hand Wedding, and pen episodes of TV series Outrageous Fortune and Burying Brian. Ward also scripted horror flick The Ferryman and has a number of stories in development.
