This evening, the performers union, Equity New Zealand, formally launches the Intimacy Guidelines for Stage and Screen
in New Zealand to their peers from across the industry.
Equity President and New Zealander of the Year 2020, Jennifer Ward-Lealand, together with Equity Vice-President , Tandi
Wright, and in consultation with industry guilds and unions have been developing the guidelines over the last 2 years.
“In 2015 after hearing of some very challenging, and in some cases dangerous experiences actors were having with
intimate scenes, Equity gathered a panel of performers to share their experiences with members. It was from this event
we created the first Equity Guidelines to Performing Nudity and Simulated Sex on Stage and Screen,” says Jennifer
Ward-Lealand.
These new and expanded guidelines, Intimacy Guidelines for Stage and Screen, aim to:Create respectful processes for all workers in the stage and screen industriesEncourage best practice and open communication around the performance of intimate scenesEnsure informed consent is at the core of all intimacy workEnsure that a sense of play, trust and goodwill remain central to the creative processEncourage the use of an Intimacy Coordinator where appropriateOutline industry expectations even where a production does not engage an Intimacy CoordinatorBest serve the spirit and intention of the project
This work, and this way of thinking about and executing intimate scenes is relatively new. In the post #metoo era, New
Zealand is one of the leading practitioners globally, shifting practice and culture and establishing a highly trained
pool of experienced Intimacy Coordinators under the mentorship of Intimacy Coordinator, Ita O’Brien, Founder of Intimacy
on Set in the UK.
Jennifer Ward-Lealand explains: “Intimate scenes are where the performer is most vulnerable and most exposed - people
can get hurt in these scenes, either physically or psychologically. Again and again we come back to the comparison with
stunts, because it helps reframe the way we all think about these scenes. What level of care would you put into a stunt
scene, how much resource and planning? Would you hire a stunt coordinator?”
Tandi Wright says “Let’s not forget that our statistics are horrific - one in three NZers will experience some form of
sexual abuse in their life, so between all of your cast and all of your crew it is not a possibility there will be people living with sexual trauma, it is a certainty.
These scenes are an absolutely legitimate part of the actor’s work but everyone needs to be safe when they go to work -
cast and crew.”
The guidelines were created in consultation with, and are endorsed by, Equity New Zealand, The Screen Production and
Development Association of New Zealand, Screen Safe, The Screen Industry Guild, Directors & Editors Guild of New Zealand, Women in Film & Television and the Actors Agents Association of New Zealand and are drawn from the previous Equity New Zealand
Guidelines, MEAA Intimacy Guidelines for Stage and Screen, Ita O’Brien, Intimacy On Set and ‘The Pillars’, used by
Intimacy Directors International.
The guidelines are freely available at: