Connect With Your Short Film Community

There’s no getting past it, you’re going to need a team to make your short film. Start connecting with our short film community now.

1. Meet people:

Here’s a handy list of local industry organisations that provide networking events, professional development and screenings that you could join:
 

Events like our Opening Nights are also great networking opportunities. Pictured: the Auckland afterparty

• Actor’s Equity NZ

• Directors & Editors Guild of NZ

• Film Societies of NZ

• Nga Aho Whakaari (Maori in Film & Television)

• NZ Cinematographers Society

• NZ Writer’s Guild

• Screen Composers Guild

• Screen Production & Development Association

• Script to Screen

• Stunt Guild

• Techos’ Guild

• Women in Film & Television

• Writers Guild

2. Stay up to date:

These industry news and events websites are useful for staying current with industry news, events and job listings. Visit them often, sign up for their email newsletters and follow them on social media:
 

• Film NZ

• Flicks.co.nz

• New Zealand On Air

• NZ Film Commission

• ScreeNZ

• The Big Idea

3. Hone your craft:

Attending screen industry training, seminars and courses is a great way to meet others interested in filmmaking. It can also be a low-risk way of trying out working with people and starting to build your team. Here are some New Zealand organisations that offer relevant professional development for making short films:
 

Events like our Opening Nights are also great networking opportunities. Pictured: the Wellington pre-show crowd

• Animation College

• Aoraki Polytecnic

• AUT

• Eastern Institute of Technology

• MAINZ (Music and Audio School of NZ)

• Massey University

• Media Design School

• New Zealand Broadcasting School

• New Zealand Film & Television School (Whitirea)

• NZ Film Academy

• Otago University

• SAE (School of Audio Engineering)

• Script to Screen

• SIT (Southern Institute of Technology) Film and Animation Programme

• South Seas Film & Television School

• UNITEC Film School

• University of Auckland Screen Production Programme

• University of Canterbury Theatre & Film Studies

• University of Otago

• Victoria University

• Waikato University

• Wanganui Polytechnic

• Wintec

• Yoobee School of Design

4. Pilot your project team:

Once you’ve started building your team of like-minded filmmakers, test yourselves out by making something together. It helps you stay motivated if you have a goal to work towards. There are a number of entry-level film festivals where you can practice working together and hone your storytelling skills, including:
 

• Enter a team in the 48 Hour Film Festival

• Create a short film for Tropfest

It’s most likely you will all be working for free on your short film, so remember to have fun with your team and use this as a chance to experiment and try out ideas.