Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington
Regional Manager
Your Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington City Manager is Thomas Coppell.
Contact
Email Thomas Coppell
Call Thomas on 027 741 1967
Join our National Facebook Group
Thomas Coppell
Thomas Coppell (they/them) is a proud Hutt kid, producer & storyteller passionate about empowering rangatahi and under-represented humans to make cool screen art. They have extensive experience producing factual & scripted content for big and small screens, substantially for rangatahi, the young at heart, and the rainbow community. Their producing credits include two NZIFF NZ’s Best Short finalists, most recently, teen drama Gate Crash, and four NZ On Air funded series; including Little Apocalypse, New Zealand’s first children's drama by, for and about rainbow young people currently available on TVNZ2 & TVNZ+. Thomas also co-wrote and co-created the series. Thomas is currently producing their first feature film, Paloma Schneideman’s debut feature, Big Girls Don't Cry.
Filming guidelines
Filming guidelines from the team at Screen Wellington will be posted here closer to the shoot weekend.
Heats
All heats in 2025 will be screened at the Massey University National Academy of Screen Arts Cinema, as well as online so teams can watch all entries.
Venue - Massey University National Academy of Screen Arts Cinema - Block 10 Tokomaru, Pukeahu Mount Cook, Wellington.
Dates - 28th, 29th, 30th August and 5th, 6th of September.
A final heats schedule will be released after the shoot weekend.
Regional Final
Date / time - Thursday 18th September
Venue - The Embassy theatre - 10 Kent tce, Wellington
Judges
Our team of judges will be selecting the Finalists and Winner.
Judges will be announced as they are confirmed. You can find out about the judging process on the Judging page.
Ahmed Osman
Ahmed Osman is a producer and filmmaker based in Aotearoa New Zealand, working across film, television, and documentary. He produced the SKY Originals NZ drama series Miles From Nowhere, the RNZ music documentary Can We Kick It?, and is currently developing the YA comedy series Amira’s Odyssey for TVNZ. His directing credits include the award-winning TVNZ+ docu-series Third Culture Minds, which explores mental health and belonging among young people in Aotearoa. Most recently, he completed Arrival, a short film funded by the New Zealand Film Commission. Ahmed is also the co-founder of Homegrown Pictures, a production company focused on bold, character-driven stories for local and global audiences. A longtime fan of the 48Hours film competition, he still remembers the thrill of taking part during film school and loves the creativity and chaos it inspires.
Rachel Fawcett
Rachel Fawcett is a producer from Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa. After kick-starting her career as a co-producer on Roseanne Liang’s award-winning series, FRIDAY NIGHT BITES (season 2), she has gone on to produce Steven Chow’s award-winning short thriller, MUNKIE, the Te Reo short Loading Docs documentary, WIND, SONG AND RAIN, Pulkit Arora's short drama, ANU, and the hit TikTok series, n00b. She also served as associate producer on the feature film biopic, JOIKA.
Rachel launched her production company, Lusty Productions, with actress and producer, JJ Fong, which focuses on creating obsessions and connections through female-centric storytelling, and uplifting pan-Asian voices in front of and behind the camera. In 2024, she released her first network series, n00b, for Three Now, which just screened at Berlinale and Cannes Series. Additionally, she co-created and produced YA muder-mystery series, LITERALLY DEAD, for YouTube, and the upcoming short, LADS, from director Victoria Boult.
Tina Cleary
Tina is a prolific local Casting Director who has been working in the Film & TV world for over 27 years. She co-directs The Casting Company with Miranda Rivers. She is an Emmy nominated Casting Director for Jane Campion's TOP OF THE LAKE, she also worked with Jane on her award winning film 'THE POWER OF THE DOG'. She cast NZ box office success BOY for Taika Waititi and WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS for Taika & Jemaine Clement along with TIME BANDITS. Her over 40 Credits include: COUSINS, THE MOON IS UPSIDE DOWN, MILLIE LIES LOW, PIKE, AFTER THE PARTY, WELLINGTON PARANORMAL, WARREN'S VORTEX, and ONE THOUSAND ROPES.
Fifi Colston
Fifi Colston is a graduate of Massey University Visual Communications Design majoring in illustration, and holds a Master of Creative Writing specialising in scriptwriting through the IIML at Victoria University, She is an award-winning junior fiction writer and children’s book illustrator of more than 50 published titles. She also works in the TV and film industry making costume and props in addition to being a multiple award-winning World of WearableArt designer with 30 finalist entries in show since 1995. Fifi is very active visiting schools and community groups, inspiring budding artists and writers through workshops in creative process.
Anahera Parata
Anahera Parata is an award-winning Aotearoa-based music video director and show runner whose work is deeply rooted in cultural narratives. Recognised at the 2020 Artisan Awards with the NZ On Air Best Music Video for SWIDT’s "Bunga"—a short film style video that poignantly explores Pacific diasporic history in Aotearoa - she followed that success by winning Best Music Video Content at the 2024 Aotearoa Music Awards and NZ On Air Best Pacific Music Video for Aaradhna’s "SHE".
Anahera began her creative journey immersed in Te Ao Māori as a native speaker and nurtured her filmmaking passion working in production on local flagship drama and documentary programmes. She has worked in international markets, including the U.S., Argentina, the Pacific, and the Middle East. Her signature style weaves authentic cultural storytelling into each project, honouring ancestral narratives while pushing contemporary aesthetics.
Anahera champions indigenous voices and supports emerging creatives. Current projects include a second season of Hui Hoppers, a feature film, and a reality series spotlighting life on the pā.
Adam Luxton
Adam Luxton is a cinematographer based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa, New Zealand, known for his eclectic and insightful approach to image-making.
Recent work includes Loren Taylor’s arthouse comedy The Moon is Upside Down (2023), David White’s crime drama series Far North (2022) and Jake Mahaffy’s psychological horror Reunion (2019). He is a graduate of Elam school of Fine Arts and hold a masters degree in Creative and Performing Arts.