Guests
We welcomed the following filmmakers at screenings of their films in the Festival in Wellington.
Costa Botes
Director/Producer/Photography/Editor, Daytime Tiger
An independent filmmaker since the early 80s, Costa Botes co-wrote and co-directed the infamous mockumentary Forgotten Silver. More recently he has directed documentaries such as Struggle No More and produced Lost in Wonderland.
Sally Rowe
Director/Producer/Photography, A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt
New Zealand born Sally Rowe has been working in film since 1992. She has worked as script supervisor in the US on numerous independent features and television shows such as Chapelle’s Show. A Matter of Taste is her directorial debut.
Annie Goldson
Director/Producer/Editor, Brother Number One
Annie Goldson has been making documentaries for the last 20 years, including Punitive Damage and An Island Calling. She is currently a Professor at the Department of Film, Television and Media Studies at the University of Auckland.
Morgan Spurlock
Director/Screenplay, POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
New York based director Morgan Spurlock won Best Directing honours at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival for his first film Super Size Me. Since then he has been busy with multiple film and television projects, including the FX series 30 Days.
Florian Habicht
Director/Screenplay, Love Story
Since graduating from the Elam School of Fine Arts, Florian Habicht has been an inventive Festival favourite, beginning with his no-budget digital feature Woodenhead in 2004. Love Story is his fifth feature to premiere at the Festival.
Pia Marais
Director, At Ellen’s Age
Pia Marais grew up in South Africa, Sweden and Spain and studied film at the German Film and Television Academy (dffb) in Berlin. Her feature film debut The Unpolished won the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival and screened in the 2007 Festival.
Leon Narbey
Director, Illustrious Energy
One of New Zealand’s most acclaimed cinematographers, Leon Narbey has photographed films such as Desperate Remedies, Whale Rider and Dean Spanley. As a director he has made the features Illustrious Energy and The Footstep Man, both of which he co-wrote.
Amy O'Connor
Director/Screenplay, Strawberries with the Führer
Amy O’Connor studied film at the School of Fine Arts at Canterbury University and has been involved in filmmaking for eight years working mostly in the documentary field. She assisted on the documentary Trouble Is My Business which screened in the 2008 Festival.
Simon Ogston
Director/Producer/Editor, Rumble & Bang
Simon Ogston has worked as a television producer and director in various parts of New Zealand and abroad. In 2009 he established Bellbird Pictures, a production company dedicated to “telling extraordinary stories about ordinary people”.
Tony Hiles
Director/Producer/Photography/Sound, Michael Smither: Into Perspective
Tony Hiles has worked in film and television since 1966. In 1980 he and his partner Judith Fyfe set up City Associates to produce films and a variety of other media. Into Perspective is the third in a series of documentaries about painter Michael Smither.
Richard Riddiford
Director/Producer, The Temptation of Rossano Fan
Richard Riddiford has been working in film for over 30 years. His first short film Pheno Was Here screened in the 1982 Wellington Film Festival. In recent times Richard has been producing television documentaries such as View from Olympus.
Paul Wolffram
Director/Producer/Photography/Editor, Stori Tumbuna: Ancestors’ Tales
Paul Wolffram has completed a PhD thesis in ethnomusicology at the New Zealand School of Music, Victoria University. He has conducted extensive fieldwork in Papua New Guinea since 2001 and has directed and produced many ethnographic documentaries.
Jeff Smith
Director/Producer/Editor, Rumble & Bang
Jeff Smith describes himself as a bass player, songwriter and music nerd. Over the past twenty years he has amassed a long list of credits in all aspects of filmmaking. Rumble & Bang is his first documentary.
