The NZMFF Charitable Trust recognises the opportunity to support the development of Kiwi adventure filmmaking, and to encourage new entries it has more than doubled the prize money for the Best NZ Made Film to $2,500 for 2021. A Grass Roots Award, with $500 prize money, will also be on offer to encourage beginner filmmakers to have a go at making and submitting a film. The festival provides an opportunity for budding directors to build their filmmaking skills to a professional standard and showcase their work at a high-profile national event.
Festival Director Mark Sedon says, “The Trust is committed to investing back into the Kiwi adventure filmmaking community. Doubling the prize money aims to encourage more budding filmmakers out of the woodwork. The Pure NZ segment of our programme is one of our most popular and fastest-selling shows. The audience loves the New Zealand-made films and we expect there will be some creative submissions this year given the circumstances.” The International film competition opens 1 January and closes April 20, while the Book competition also opens 1 January and closes March 30.
The Book Competition first place prize money has also increased to $1,000 with a bequest from Dave Bamford and John Nankervis.
