Screenwriters residency returns to put focus on local film industry

Great Southern Television and the Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) film office are proud to announce the return of the Tāhuna Screenwriters Residency for 2023.

QLDC Film Office Coordinator Kahli Scott said after a hugely successful 2022 programme, the hunt was back on for a new range of exciting voices who want to tell brave, ambitious and bold stories with international appeal.

“We’re excited to be supporting Tāhuna for another year. The project aims to boost local TV production work which plays a key role in our economic diversification efforts. Last year’s programme attracted a high calibre of applicants from around the country. We look forward to seeing what talent this year will bring,” she said.

This month-long retreat will give successful applicants the tools, knowledge, connections and inspiration to write a bible for a drama series set against the diverse and cinematic landscapes of the wider Queenstown Lakes District.

Across the course of the retreat, writers will be taken on a familiarisation tour of the district, work with guest speakers covering such subjects as global marketing and genre, and given dedicated writing blocks – supplemented by sessions with mentors – to develop projects to the treatment stage.

Whilst writers will not be paid to attend Tāhuna, travel and accommodation costs will be covered along with a small living allowance.

At the end of the residency writers will pitch a concept for an original television drama – with international appeal – to be filmed in the Queenstown Lakes District. Great Southern will have the first right to option chosen concepts and commission a pilot script. All intellectual property will remain with the writer.

Applications are open now and close at 5.00pm on Friday, 11 November.

Further information about the programme and a link to the application form can be found here: greatsouthern.tv/tahuna

ENDS|KUA MUTU.

• QLDC media contact: communications@qldc.govt.nz or call 03 441 1802.

• Great Southern media contact: tahuna@greatsouthern.tv

FURTHER INFORMATION | Kā pāroko tāpiri:

Quotes from last year’s participants:

“I can’t put into words how refreshing and creatively fulfilling this feeling of trust and support throughout the residency has been for me and the creation of this new concept for a series.”

• Tom Augustine

“This initiative was put together by creatives who cared about the process and you could tell — we were given spaces in which to dream, wonder, play, and smash our heads against the wall: a home away from home.”

• Malinna Liang

“There are places that are untouched down there [Queenstown] – that in itself makes it an even better place to start a story from scratch.”

• Danny Aumua

“The opportunity to get to know other writers at a similar level intimately instead of competing against them for an application was so refreshing. I now have three new wonderfully talented friends who I hope to collaborate with in the future.”

• Isla Macleod