Across Aotearoa - A letter from 48Hours to teams outside the main centres
Posted 20th May 2025

Across Aotearoa - A letter from 48Hours to teams outside the main centres
Kia ora koutou,
As we prepare for the 2025 Vista Foundation 48Hours, we want to share a major update for teams entering from outside Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch.
To ensure the competition remains sustainable and strong into the future, we’ve made the decision to combine the Gisborne, Taranaki, Bay of Plenty, Hamilton and Dunedin regions into one single new Super Region under the banner 'Across Aotearoa', with an online final and dedicated regional manager. This change allows us to continue supporting filmmakers outside the larger centres while keeping the spirit of Vista Foundation 48Hours alive and thriving.
We know its really important for teams to get together and watch their films so we will be focussing our resources on making sure that we run heats screenings in all the previous regions - Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Taranaki, Hamilton and Dunedin, as well as adding in additional locations where we have a number of teams entering, but who are currently missing out on in-person screenings. If your community or local film office is interested in a local heat, then we’d love to hear from you.
We acknowledge this is a significant change, especially for the many teams who’ve helped shape the identity of the Vista Foundation 48Hours in their areas. This decision wasn’t made lightly, and we’re incredibly grateful for the legacy and energy you’ve brought to the competition.
Here’s what’s new for 2025:
This year there will be four regions to register in -
- Tamaki Mākaurau / Auckland
- Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington
- Ōtautahi / Christchurch
- Across Aotearoa (which covers everywhere outside these main centres, including international teams).
Across Aotearoa = More Films, Bigger Energy
Registering your team as Across Aotearoa means competing alongside a wider community of filmmakers from around the country, with increased competition, and more national attention.
Live Streamed Regional Finals
Across Aotearoa films will be judged together and the top films will make the regional final. This will be screened online (instead of as an in-person event) so that teams from across the country can tune in together to watch and celebrate the best of regional filmmaking. All winners in each award category will be elevated into the national finals, where they’ll compete for top honours.
New heats locations
We'll be running heats in all the 2024 areas and want to add more. There are groups of filmmakers in many more areas of Aotearoa who don't get to see their films in a cinema and we want to change that. If there are anough teams in a location for a heat then we're keen to make that happen - giving you visibility and a shared sense of place in the competition. If your community or local film office is interested in helping get a heat going in your area then we’d love to hear from you.
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We know this is a change, but we see it as a step forward—toward a more resilient, inclusive, and nationally connected Vista Foundation 48Hours. Thank you for your continued creativity, passion, and dedication to this wild, wonderful weekend of filmmaking.
Ngā mihi nui, The Vista Foundation 48Hours Team