Thanks to everyone who joined us for the 2025 Southern Screen Summit!
It was a full day of kōrero, learning, and connection with filmmakers, producers, and creatives from across Aotearoa—from Invercargill to Auckland. Whether you tuned in live or caught up on recordings, we’re stoked you were part of it.
That’s a Wrap: Highlights from the 2025 Virtual Southern Screen Summit
Speaker Highlights
"They (successful filmmakers) are no smarter or cooler or better people than you are. You can do this. You just have to figure out who your audience is, how you're going to get to them, and how you're going to get them to concentrate on your work."
- Steve Barr, Practical Strategies for Alternatively Funding Your Project
“You don't need anyone else's permission to make a movie. All you need is your own permission.”
- Tom Levesque, The Art of Low Budget Filmmaking
"What excites me, and what I think, is more a useful framing is generative (AI) as a partner in improvisation. The presence I mentioned earlier—that collaborator who doesn't sleep, who's always ready, who remembers every draft, every prompt, every angle you explored and discarded."
- Justin Matthews, Rewiring Creativity and Future Skills in Filmmaking
“There are the two R words — resilience and risk — and the two P words — passion and perseverance.”
- Judith Curran, How Filmmaking From the Remote South Can Tell Important Stories for Our World
“Lean into the wonderfulness of unpredictability and spontaneity, and the true unscripted nature of the format, because that's where a lot of the magic happens.”
– Jon Kroll, Unscripted Storytelling
As a young woman in the nineties in London I was really gripped with lack of confidence, and I couldn't see versions of myself at a senior level as frequently as you do now. I would love to say back to myself, you know I know you can't see it, but you should become it. Be braver and take up more room.
–Gwen Issac, Unscripted Storytelling
What’s next?
We’re already thinking about future events and ways to keep the kōrero going. Make sure you're subscribed to our newsletter to stay in the loop on upcoming workshops, meetups, and next year’s Summit plans.
