Latest news with #Oscar®-
Scoop
16 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Doc Edge Festival Announces Finalists For 2025 Oscar-Qualifying Awards
Press Release – Doc Edge Festival Doc Edge, New Zealand's premier international documentary festival and an Oscar®-qualifying event, is proud to announce the finalists for the Doc Edge Awards 2025. The Awards will be held on Thursday, 3 July, at the Grand Millennium Auckland and will be co-hosted by respected broadcaster Neil Waka and beloved cultural icon Geeling Ching. The festival kicks off on 25 June – 3 July in Auckland before also heading to Wellington and Christchurch (16 – 27 July) and online in The Virtual Cinema (28 July – 24 August). The 2025 jury includes a diverse panel of esteemed local and international industry professionals: Alex Behse (Auckland, NZ), David Tingey (Wellington, NZ), Doug Dillaman (Auckland, NZ), Emile Guertin (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), Kate Cresswell (Auckland, NZ), Kathy Susca (California, USA), Kenneth Tan (Singapore), Mark Cochrane (Auckland, NZ), Meg Smaker (California, USA), and Sam Witters (Christchurch, NZ). New Zealand Feature Film Finalists (including director, editing, sound, cinematography): Devils on Horses Mana Moana Mana Tangata Mighty Indeed No Tears on the Field Shayni in the Sky Three Days in February Wildboy New Zealand Short Film Finalists: Winners of the Best New Zealand Short and Best New Zealand Feature categories will receive cash prizes sponsored by NZ On Air and be eligible for Oscar® consideration in 2026. International Feature Film Finalists (including director, editing, sound, cinematography): A Quiet Love (Ireland) Before the Moon Falls (USA) Blame (Switzerland) Carrousel (France) Click the Link Below (Norway) The Dancer (USA) The Dating Game (USA) Fatal Watch (USA) Food Delivery: Fresh from the West Philippine Sea (Philippines) In Waves and War (USA) Os Barcos (France) The Pool (Australia) The Promise (Netherlands) Yurlu | Country (Australia) International Short Film Finalists: The winners of Best International Short and Best International Feature will receive cash awards sponsored by Park Road Post and Oscar® consideration in 2026. Last year's recipient of Best International Feature Sugarcane was subsequently nominated for Best Documentary at the 2025 Oscar Awards. Doc Edge and The Raye Freedman Trust are also proud to launch a new award, The Raye Freedman Legacy Award, in memory of Mrs Raye Freedman, a passionate supporter of education, music, and the arts. This $5,000 award will be presented to a female documentary filmmaker at the Doc Edge Awards. Festival Director Dan Shanan said: 'Doc Edge shares Mrs Raye Freedman's passion for the arts, culture, and education, which also forms the foundation of why Doc Edge was created. It is a privilege to support female storytellers in honour of Mrs Raye Freedman.' Ruby Chen, the previously announced recipient of the Doc Edge Superhero Award, will be celebrated and formally presented with her award on the night. In addition to these honours, awards will also be presented for NZ Emerging Filmmaker, the NZ Student Competition, Immersive Exhibition projects, standout industry pitches at the Doc Edge Industry, and more. For more information about the festival and full programme, visit 2025 KEY FESTIVAL DATES & VENUES Industry: 30 June – 3 July, Grand Millennium Auckland Auckland: 25 June – 13 July, Bridgeway Cinema, The Capitol Cinema, SkyCity Theatre and Silo 6 Wellington: 16 – 27 July, The Roxy Cinema Christchurch: 16 – 27 July, Lumiere Cinemas, Christchurch Art Gallery, Tūranga Central Library, and the University of Canterbury Awards: 3 July, Grand Millennium Auckland
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oklahoma's film industry is growing. We help local filmmakers meet demands.
A growing film industry needs a workforce to support it. deadCenter Film is helping build the pipeline. By Cacky Poarch, Executive Director, deadCenter Film Twenty-five years ago, deadCenter started as a hyper-local film festival ― a nod to OKC's heartland location even reflected in our name ― and we're proud to have grown into one of the best fests in the country over the years. We've worked with thousands of filmmakers, and many of us are filmmakers ourselves. That's given us plenty of chances to see firsthand how important it is to develop Oklahoma talent ― people who are trained and experienced enough to step onto a film set and get the job done, from directing to building sets to designing costumes or acting. Right now, too many film and TV projects bring in crew from other states because Oklahoma doesn't have enough skilled people to do those jobs. Sure, those out-of-state workers spend money while they're here on location, but they take the bulk of their paychecks back home. deadCenter and many others are working to change this by developing a robust filmmaker and film crew pipeline in our state. deadCenter's mission to inspire, promote and celebrate creativity and community through film is aligned through a three-pillar organizational structure ― Festival, Education, and Continuum ― intentionally developed to support the full spectrum of the filmmaking process and filmmakers at every stage of their careers. Our annual Festival continues to be a high-profile platform for showcasing local, national and international talent, and we're one of only 27 U.S. film festivals Oscar®-qualified in all three short film categories. Opinion: Oklahoma is cutting its way to poverty. Business, industry scouts will turn away. Our Education initiatives form the cornerstone of our mission to cultivate Oklahoma's film industry by nurturing and developing talent, connecting students to professional filmmakers and expanding access to filmmaking education across the state. Continuum ensures support beyond the festival through year-round skill-building workshops, partnerships and networking. All pillars work together to strengthen Oklahoma's film industry by helping it grow, making it easier for people to get involved and encouraging long-term participation. Talent and passion should drive creative opportunities for workforce development in film, yet venturing into a career in film can be expensive and intimidating. To remove money as a barrier, all our Continuum opportunities and Education initiatives are free to participants. As a result, we can involve student filmmakers from not only central Oklahoma but the farthest rural reaches of the state in authentic filmmaking experiences, giving them invaluable industry connections and a leg up on a future in the business. Opinion: Arts and culture is one of our greatest investments. We're at risk of losing it. Our partnerships are critical to making the magic happen. deadCenter Film is working with Oklahoma City Community College (recently named one of the Top 30 film schools in North America), Rose State College, OFA Studios and others on deadCenter University initiatives that give young filmmakers real-world experience. The student films resulting from these experiences will have their world premiere at the deadCenter Film Festival to an audience of family, friends and a larger community of filmmakers in town for the fest. Students even get credit for their work on the global IMDB website, and we enter their films into other fests. Talk about a powerful workforce development experience! Through programs like ours, more young people get access to film education and career paths. As a result, Oklahoma will see more films made, more jobs created and more money coming into and more importantly staying in the state. This ongoing support will make Oklahoma a leader in creativity, new ideas and Okie-centric storytelling for the next 25 years and beyond. Cacky Poarch, executive director of deadCenter Film. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OK film industry needs trained workforce. We're building it | Opinion
