Seed 2020
Judges Panel
Karol Griffiths is a development consultant, producer, script editor, writing coach and mentor with 20+ years of industry experience. Career highlights include working with the Coen Brothers, Steven Spielberg, Seth Macfarlane, Pamela Fryman, Steven Levitan, James Burrows, August Wilson, Lynda La Plante and many of the major studios and Indie production companies. Karol’s book, The Art of Script Editing: A Practical Guide to Script Development, is used as a textbook for writing and film programs and Universities around the world.
Karol Griffiths
Karol Griffiths is a development consultant, producer, script editor, writing coach and mentor with 20+ years of industry experience. Career highlights include working with the Coen Brothers, Steven Spielberg, Seth Macfarlane, Pamela Fryman, Steven Levitan, James Burrows, August Wilson, Lynda La Plante and many of the major studios and Indie production companies. Karol’s book, The Art of Script Editing: A Practical Guide to Script Development, is used as a textbook for writing and film programs and Universities around the world.
David Fa’auliuli Mamea has worked on film, television, theatre and radio projects in genres ranging from sci-fi to soap, comedy to horror, and documentary to drama. He has won the Adam Award for Best New Zealand Play, a New Zealand Writers Guild SWANZ Award for Best Play, and a New Zealand Radio Award for Best Dramatic Production. A Wellingtonian at heart, he lives in rural Northland with his Lovely Wife, son, cat, two dogs, two ponies, two kunekune pigs, seven sheep, and innumerable chickens, including a rooster called Ghost Dog.
David Fa’auliuli Mamea
David Fa’auliuli Mamea has worked on film, television, theatre and radio projects in genres ranging from sci-fi to soap, comedy to horror, and documentary to drama. He has won the Adam Award for Best New Zealand Play, a New Zealand Writers Guild SWANZ Award for Best Play, and a New Zealand Radio Award for Best Dramatic Production. A Wellingtonian at heart, he lives in rural Northland with his Lovely Wife, son, cat, two dogs, two ponies, two kunekune pigs, seven sheep, and innumerable chickens, including a rooster called Ghost Dog.
Stephen Cleary
Aroha Awarau
Kathryn is an award-winning screenwriter & playwright and script consultant. She won Best Script Drama at the 2021 NZTV Awards (with Riwia Brown) for "The Tender Trap" and was recently shortlisted for the 2022 NZ Adam Play Award. Kathryn has significant television credits - most recently “The Brokenwood Mysteries”, “Under The Vines”, Script Editor on TVNZ limited series "Black Hands", “Fresh Eggs”, and “The Cul de Sac.” She is currently on the writing team for Series 3 "My Life is Murder" and Series 2 "Bird's Eye View".
Kathryn Burnett
Kathryn is an award-winning screenwriter & playwright and script consultant. She won Best Script Drama at the 2021 NZTV Awards (with Riwia Brown) for "The Tender Trap" and was recently shortlisted for the 2022 NZ Adam Play Award. Kathryn has significant television credits - most recently “The Brokenwood Mysteries”, “Under The Vines”, Script Editor on TVNZ limited series "Black Hands", “Fresh Eggs”, and “The Cul de Sac.” She is currently on the writing team for Series 3 "My Life is Murder" and Series 2 "Bird's Eye View".
Mukilan Thangamani is a Writer/Director who was born in India, raised in Botswana and New Zealand, and now lives in Australia. He credits this nomadic upbringing for motivating his love of cultural diversity and passion for wanting to see it reflected more in media. He's done assignment work for the New Zealand Film Commission, won multiple writing contests, and was also featured on The Tracking Board’s annual ‘Young & Hungry List’.
Mukilan Thangamani
Mukilan Thangamani is a Writer/Director who was born in India, raised in Botswana and New Zealand, and now lives in Australia. He credits this nomadic upbringing for motivating his love of cultural diversity and passion for wanting to see it reflected more in media. He's done assignment work for the New Zealand Film Commission, won multiple writing contests, and was also featured on The Tracking Board’s annual ‘Young & Hungry List’.
Victor John Rodger ONZM is a New Zealand journalist, actor, and award-winning playwright of Samoan and Pākehā heritage. His work often deals with race and identity. In 2001, he won the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award. his plays include Ranterstantrum (2002) and My Name is Gary Cooper (2007), as well as the acclaimed Black Faggot. His television work includes Shortland Street and Teine Sa: The Ancient Ones.
Victor Rodger
Victor John Rodger ONZM is a New Zealand journalist, actor, and award-winning playwright of Samoan and Pākehā heritage. His work often deals with race and identity. In 2001, he won the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award. his plays include Ranterstantrum (2002) and My Name is Gary Cooper (2007), as well as the acclaimed Black Faggot. His television work includes Shortland Street and Teine Sa: The Ancient Ones.
Claire Dobbin
Seed & Seed Advanced Results Announcement Date:
May 5, 2020
Grant Recipients
Seed Recipients:
Two co-dependent best friends, in desperate need of cash, decide to throw a fake wedding for profit. Then one of them falls in love...
Alex MacDonald
Gold Diggers
Two co-dependent best friends, in desperate need of cash, decide to throw a fake wedding for profit. Then one of them falls in love...
In a future where human aging has been cured and the world's population is strictly controlled, an expecting couple must convince three individuals to euthanise themselves before the government forcibly aborts their unborn triplets.
Raul Sharma
2BRO2B: To Be or Not to Be
In a future where human aging has been cured and the world's population is strictly controlled, an expecting couple must convince three individuals to euthanise themselves before the government forcibly aborts their unborn triplets.
A lonely young man immerses himself into the music scene to impress a local musician, but his desire to be noticed soon turns sinister as admiration gives way to obsession and resentment.
Will Agnew
The Demon
A lonely young man immerses himself into the music scene to impress a local musician, but his desire to be noticed soon turns sinister as admiration gives way to obsession and resentment.
A troubled teenager is separated from her brother by the state, so she escapes to the bush where she finds a tribe of homeless allies.
Jessica Smith & Benedict Wall
Minors
A troubled teenager is separated from her brother by the state, so she escapes to the bush where she finds a tribe of homeless allies.
New Zealand, 1861. Man’s hunt for gold is feverish. Through the snow-capped mountains a horse and rider flee; on their heels are blood thirsty dogs and furious men. When the rider encounters a horrific scene she makes a decision which will alter the course of two lives.
Jodie Hillock
Blood & Gold
New Zealand, 1861. Man’s hunt for gold is feverish. Through the snow-capped mountains a horse and rider flee; on their heels are blood thirsty dogs and furious men. When the rider encounters a horrific scene she makes a decision which will alter the course of two lives.
The true story of a neglected teenage Ninja who recruited his only friends to form a terrorist organisation that committed burglaries, robbed banks, and attempted to assassinate the Queen to gain the acceptance he desired.
Brian Challis
New Zealand Ninja
The true story of a neglected teenage Ninja who recruited his only friends to form a terrorist organisation that committed burglaries, robbed banks, and attempted to assassinate the Queen to gain the acceptance he desired.
A woman leaves behind life in colonial New Zealand to endure loneliness, poverty and prejudice on her quest to conquer the European art world.
Rebecca Tansley
Portrait of a Modern Woman
A woman leaves behind life in colonial New Zealand to endure loneliness, poverty and prejudice on her quest to conquer the European art world.
A cynical fame-hungry chef, starts to lose his grip on reality as he pursues perfection in his food.
Allan George
Hiakai
A cynical fame-hungry chef, starts to lose his grip on reality as he pursues perfection in his food.
Seed Advanced Recipients:
A hellfire preacher is forced to atone for his sins on the 1860s Otago goldfields.
Ezekiel Craw & His Cross-Eyed Daughter
A hellfire preacher is forced to atone for his sins on the 1860s Otago goldfields.
A small group of people on a study, led by psychologist Eshe, wintering over in Antarctica, watch the mutually-assured destruction of the world happening from afar, and come to terms with the fact that they are among the world's few survivors.
White Mars
A small group of people on a study, led by psychologist Eshe, wintering over in Antarctica, watch the mutually-assured destruction of the world happening from afar, and come to terms with the fact that they are among the world's few survivors.
When the body of a Māori man is found in the mountains of Taiwan, an indigenous Taiwanese police officer believes it is connected to her missing daughter; to uncover the truth she must travel to New Zealand and confront the immense spiritual powers of both cultures.
The Child
When the body of a Māori man is found in the mountains of Taiwan, an indigenous Taiwanese police officer believes it is connected to her missing daughter; to uncover the truth she must travel to New Zealand and confront the immense spiritual powers of both cultures.
When a retired clone soldier meets a geneticist who serially dates retired clone soldiers, the pair set out on a quest to find the clones’ genetic progenitor - and a sense of purpose.
Cookie Cutter
When a retired clone soldier meets a geneticist who serially dates retired clone soldiers, the pair set out on a quest to find the clones’ genetic progenitor - and a sense of purpose.
Join the New Zealand Writers Guild
Become a member and access exclusive benefits and resources.
