On 3rd July the Prime Minister announced the creation of the New Zealand Screen Production Incentive Fund (SPIF).
In the coming weeks NZFC will hold workshops for producers to explain SPIF, how it works and what it means for you.
In the meantime, full guidelines and criteria for the fund are available on www.nzfilm.co.nz and a media release detailing SPIF follows:

NEW SCHEME TO BOOST NZ FILM AND TELEVISION

Prime Minister Helen Clark said today that the new fund designed to boost New Zealand film and television is available to qualifying projects from this week.

“Cabinet has now approved the eligibility criteria for the New Zealand Screen Production Incentive Fund. It will be a very important source of production finance for New Zealand screen projects,” Helen Clark said.

“Cabinet has agreed to a five-year pool of funding for the new Screen Production Incentive Fund of $68.5 million. This pool contains significant new funding plus funding reprioritised from existing Film Commission funds, as was announced in the Budget.

The latest e-news from Film Festivals went out on 5th August 2008, for news and a list of upcoming festivals go to
http://www.filmfestivals.com/newsletter/newsletter375.shtml

'Ruki's Voice' a half-hour drama written by Gabrielle Huria from Ngai Tuahuriri completed its shooting on Friday 4 July.
Starring Mere Boynton, Aaron Rice-Edwards, June Harvest and newcomer Harikoa Bronsdaughter-George, RUKI'S VOICE is thought to be the first television drama written and filmed on Ngai Tuahuriri ancestral lands by a Ngai Tuahuriri iwi member. Director/Producer Whetu Fala says " How amazing to be part of the first Maori drama filmed in the South Island. Gabrielle is a great writer and our predominately local cast and crew were outstanding. We need to keep telling our stories!"
RUKI'S VOICE is funded by NZ On Air and is produced by Fala Media in association with First Hand Productions for screening on Maori Television in 2008.
For more information contact: FalaMedia Ltd
whetu@falamedia.co.nz

The Screen Directors Guild of New Zealand and the New Zealand Television Broadcasters' Council have come together to recognise the best of the best in the New Zealand film and television industry. Previously run as separate awards (the New Zealand Screen Awards and the New Zealand Television Awards) the new awards programme will celebrate achievements in 58 categories.

Award finalists will be announced on Tuesday August 12. The Craft Awards will be celebrated on Friday September 12 and on Saturday September 13 everything comes together when over 1000 guests arrive at Auckland's Civic Theatre. Once the winners of the Qantas Film and Television Awards have enjoyed their moment of fame, a post show party will kick off in the Auckland Town Hall. If you have any queries please email Katie at qantasfilmandtvawards@dazzleevents.co.nz.

The next International Environmental Film Festival organised by the Ile de France Region will occur in Paris in the Cinema La Pagode from the 19th to the 25th November 2008.

Previous editions festivals have screened features films, documentaries and short films dealing with ecology, sustainable development, global warming, urbanism, evolution of the world ...
The following films have premiered at our festival, Darwin's Nightmare, Heisei tanuki gassen pompoko, Lost in Translation, Sisters In Law, Arbres, Microcosmos, Terres et cendres, Winged Migration, Our Daily Bread, En El Hoyo, Ironeaters, Sharkwater...

Screenings give producers, directors and actors, the opportunity and chance to discuss the film with the audience.
The jury members come from different professional backgrounds: directors, journalists, artists, scientists, all concerned by environmental issues, attended the Festival (Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Jacques Perrin, Jean-Michel Jarre, Allain Bougrain Dubourg , Tom Novembre, Jean Becker , Humbert Balsan...).

The Human Rights Arts and Film Festival is hosting a short film competition to focus on the human action of climate change. Thousands of dollars worth of prizes are up for grabs. Entries are due 15th August. For more information visit http://www.hraff.org.au/

Australia.

"A true United Nations of cinema, showcasing films from around the entire world" VIA Magazine

The 8th Annual Tiburon International Film Festival (TIFF) will be held March 19-27, 2009 in Tiburon , California , a showcase for the independent films and filmmakers from around the world.

Submissions are open to all genres of film: Fiction, documentary, short, animation, experimental, student, children, sports, music video.....from any nation in the world.

TIFF screened more than 200 films from 92 countries in March of 2008 from over 3000 entries.

The festival has honored many great filmmakers: Orson Welles, Sam Pekinpah, Luchino Visconti, Blake Edwards, Santiago Alvarez, John Frankenheimer, George Stevens, Brad Bird, Shirin Neshat, Malcolm McDowell, Saul Zaentz, Paul Mazursky, Mark Rydell, Bob Rafelson.....

The new and improved Film Auckland website is now online. From the homepage the visitor will find five sector streams for easy navigation - Features, Television, TVCs, Post-production and Gaming/Animation.
The website will also contain case studies related to each sector and will include moving image video examples.
The new website will hugely enhance Film Auckland's ability to market the Auckland screen production industry as a first-rate filmmaking destination. It will aid promotion of all the services Auckland offers including those of Film Auckland's members.
Check it out at www.filmauckland.com