Screen Industry to Congregate in Auckland for SPADA 2011

3 November 2011

Screen Industry to Congregate in Auckland for SPADA Conference 10-11 November 2011

SPADA Conference organisers announced today leading-edge Australian producer Joe Connor of Renegade Films will be attending conference next week. Connor will share his insights into Renegade’s longevity in the high-risk business of film and television; as well as discuss the tale of WILFRED, the Australian hit about a man and his bong smoking dog, the format of which was sold to the US and has become the highest ever opening for an FX Network comedy premiere.

Hot topics being discussed at next week’s conference include 3D technology, public broadcasting, children’s drama, indigenous low-budget filmmaking, and all-media production. Leading the discussion on 3D technology and all-media production will be International Emmy® Award winning Australian producers Marcus Gillezeau and Ellenor Cox from Firelight Productions.

“Our conference speakers will bring fresh new ideas on how to get projects across the line; especially now that the Screen Production Incentive Fund threshold has been lowered, and bring inspiration and opportunities for new partnerships and collaborations, particularly Trans-Tasman,” says SPADA CEO Penelope Borland. SPADA’s commitment is to the screen production industry’s commercial and cultural health, with a focus on the importance of content creation as the industry faces the challenges and opportunities of a multi-platform digital environment.

This year the screen sector is congregating in Auckland, as for the first time Conference is taking place just prior to the Aotearoa Film and Television Awards (AFTAs) and the Asia Pacific Producers’ Network Symposium (APN). SPADA has its own Industry Awards (including the SPADA New Filmmaker of the Year (Principal Sponsor Park Road Post Production), the CrombieLockwood/MTJ’s Independent Producer of the Year and the SPADA/Onfilm Industry Champion); however, it is delighted Conference 2011 is a cornerstone of the wider celebration and acknowledgement of the film and television industry.

Key networking opportunities at this year’s SPADA Conference includes Māori Television’s Sponsored Lunch on Thursday, the AIA Welcome Drinks, and the Great Screenrights’ Lunch featuring South Pacific Pictures’ Big Pitch, and the TVNZ Wrap Drinks on Friday.

Conference also features a special industry screening of Ivan Sen’s new film, Toomelah, which screened in this year’s Official Selection Un Certain Regard at Cannes. The film’s lead actor Daniel Connors has been nominated for Best Actor at this year’s Asia Pacific Film Awards also being held this month. Toomelah’s producer David Jowsey will be discussing the film as well as low budget/high quality filmmaking at the Conference with Catherine Fitzgerald, producer of the acclaimed Samoan feature The Orator, written and directed by Tusi Tamasese. Toomelah opens in Australian cinemas on November 24; and screens on New Zealand’s Rialto Channel in early 2012.

The staging of the SPADA Conference is made possible with the generous support of its Sponsors: Principal Sponsor - NZ Film Commission: Principal Sponsor- TVNZ, Key Sponsors - Māori Television, Screenrights, Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED), TV3 and NZ On Air. Sponsors and Supporters – AIA, CrombieLockwood/MTJ, The Film Archive, Film Finances, FIUA, Goethe Institut, Images and Sound, Kodak, Onfilm, Panavision, Park Road Post Production, South Pacific Pictures, Sony, Voyage Affaires: and SPADA’s Premiere Partner Telecom.

For further programme details and registration information go to www.spada.co.nz.

SPADA: Formed in 1982, the Screen Production and Development Association of New Zealand (SPADA) represents the collective interests of independent producers and production companies on all issues affecting the business and creative aspects of screen production in New Zealand.

ENDS

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