By Georgia Wales, Southern Filmmakers Collective

On Saturday, March 29, filmmakers from across Aotearoa gathered online for the 2025 Southern Screen Summit—our biggest virtual event yet. Whether tuning in from Invercargill, Auckland, or somewhere in between, attendees spent the day soaking up insights, inspiration, and straight-talking advice from some of New Zealand’s leading industry voices.

And what a day it was.

I was tuning in from a hotel boardroom in Auckland (classic Zoom chaos), while the rest of our incredible team—Amalia Remus, Erin Murdie, and Reece Hallum—held it down from Wānaka, and our chair Sue Marshall ran the unscripted storytelling panel from Dunedin. The audience was just as spread out, proving regional boundaries mean nothing when the kōrero is rich and relevant.

Judith Curran opened the day with stories of wild resilience—from dodging leopards in Africa to wrangling funding in New Zealand’s ever-shifting industry. She reminded us that stories from the margins can have global power.

Sue then dived into a lively panel with Judith, Jon Kroll, and Gwen Isaac on unscripted storytelling. Jon challenged us to “stop playing small” and backed the power of specialisation—urging filmmakers to find their voice and aim wider with their stories.

Steve Barr’s **Keynote //** Practical Strategies for Alternatively Funding Your Project

Steve Barr had us laughing while learning—making graphs and finance feel oddly accessible. His session reframed film funding in bold, practical ways.

Justin Matthews gave a standout talk on AI that sparked more follow-up questions than we could count. Insightful, layered, and genuinely exciting—we’re wondering if he should start an AI school.

Tom on set of his debut feature film, Shut Eye

To wrap up the keynotes, Tom Levesque dived into feature filmmaking. After being told he was destined to be a camera op only, he’s now in post-production on his second feature—one he’s written, directed, and is currently editing. His session offered a grounded look at how constraints can sharpen creativity, and how resourcefulness, not resources, often shapes the best stories.

And then we wrapped the day with an epic Q&A featuring all our speakers. As a team, we were quietly loving watching them chat and react to each other’s talks backstage throughout the day—so it was awesome to bring them all together for a proper discussion. And discuss we did—the Q&A ran over time and we still didn’t get through all the questions. Huge engagement from everyone who attended—thank you for your energy and curiosity!

📣 Some Love from the Chat:

"Thanks everyone! That was a great day, excellent variety of content and well organised too." – Helen Marie O'Connell
"Really informative! Thanks everyone!" – Rob Morgenstern
"Thanks Tom, you have a great attitude and approach to filmmaking." – Helen Marie O'Connell
"Fabulous with all the insights to the people who never gave up with their positive stories. Well worth every moment." – Kevin James Gregory
"Thanks so much to the SFC and the speakers!" – Mee Moi Edgar
“You made a difference, Judith.” -Mike Peters

We’ve had a bunch of people reach out asking for recordings—so yes, we’ll be looking to share selected talks online soon. Stay tuned!

🧡 A Big Thanks

To our brilliant speakers—Judith Curran, Gwen Isaac, Jon Kroll, Justin Matthews, Steve Barr, and Tom Levesque—thank you for showing up, sharing honestly, and inspiring us storytellers.

To our behind-the-scenes crew—Amalia, Reece, Erin, Sue and Mike—thank you for keeping everything running smoothly on the day.

To Film Otago Southland, thank you for supporting the Summit and helping us make it happen.

And to everyone who joined us—thank you for being part of the community. More highlights and updates to come soon.

Ngā mihi nui,

That’s a Wrap: Highlights from the 2025 Virtual Southern Screen Summit

📣 Some Love from the Chat:

🧡 A Big Thanks

Surviving The Wilderness: Judith Curran’s Lessons For Southern Filmmakers