Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington
Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington region includes teams from across the lower North Island, from Wellington City and the Hutt Valley to Kāpiti, Wairarapa and beyond.
Known for its screen industry and creative community, the windiest region is home of 48Hours HQ and has produced the largest number of teams for the last few years.
Screen Wellington Regional Guidelines
Please download and read the regional guidelines from Screen Wellington for filming in the wider Wellington Region. If you have questions during the shoot weekend, you can contact Carrie Thiel from Screen Wellington directly at +64 22 622 9183.
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, which had its world premiere in competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. It has since screened at SXSW, BFI: Flare and TIFF: Next Wave and was the Opening Night Film of Whānau Mārama New Zealand International Film Festival. The film releases in NZ Cinemas on the 8th of October.
Email Thomas
Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington Regional Winner
The Last Train to Pound Town by Glitter Swarm
Te Whanganui-a-Tara / Wellington Regional Runner Up
Mother of All Heists by Froblin
Wellington Finalists
Froblin - Mother of all Heists
Glitter Swarm - The Last Train to Pound Town
Grannies Cookies - My Universe
Grouchy Crouch - What's in a Cousin?
Killing Karma Studios - Puppet or Prejudice
MONKEY CAGE - The Faceless Man
Pikitia Rangihaeata - Koera
Pixel Pixies - You'd Make A Good Tree
Pixel Tradies - Submergence
Reuben.T.Edwards - The Caricature
Silver Window - Afters
Swan Ronson - Hot Chicks Lay Now
Twotors & Co. - Defiance
Typhoid Films - The Apparishioners
World Wide Wellington - Out of Frame
Wellington Shortlist
Daiso Run - Haymaker
HEATHERFOREVER - Heather & Hels Do Cyberterrorism
Kākāpō - Vestal
MEOWWOOF - Is He Pregnant?
Nutty Mosquitoes - Subject 4082
Registered - Cinephile Becoming
Squint Eastwood - Beyond Protocol
STUDS Production - The Bystander
Supernova - Disconncected
Underwater Dreams - Apparent Retrograde Motion
Wellington Award Nominations
Best School Team
Winner - Presidents and Assholes - HVHS for the wings - Hutt Valley High School
Nominees:
G.I.Z.M.O. - Colomish Films - Wellington College
Paul. - Family Friends - Onslow College
Vale, Uxor Mea - Green Light Productions - Paraparaumu College
The Art of Revenge - Do Justly - Tawa College
Best Use of Drawing/Portrait
Winner - Out of Frame - World Wide Wellington
Nominees:
Mother of all Heists - Froblin
What's in a Cousin? - Grouchy Crouch
Becoming - Registered Cinephile
The Caricature - Reuben.T.Edwards
Best Use of Interruption
Winner - The Apparishioners - Typhoid Films
Nominees:
Mother of all Heists - Froblin
Afters - Silver Window
Shit Show - Contrast
Lights, Camera, Axe Shinn - Chowder on the Rocks
Best Use of Rumour
Winner - The Caricature - Reuben.T.Edwards
Nominees:
What's in a Cousin? - Grouchy Crouch
You'd Make A Good Tree - Pixel Pixies
Apparent Retrograde Motion - Underwater Dreams
Puppet or Prejudice - Killing Karma Studios
Best Use of Extreme Closeup / Macro shot
Winner - Defiance - Twotors & Co.
Nominees:
What's in a Cousin? - Grouchy Crouch
Monkey See Monkey Do - On The Roll
Puppet or Prejudice - Killing Karma Studios
It's All Relative - Les Garçons
Best Use of Genre
Winner - What's in a Cousin? - Grouchy Crouch - Musical
Nominees:
You'd Make A Good Tree - Pixel Pixies - Revenge
The Caricature - Reuben.T.Edwards - Comedy of Errors
Heather & Hels Do Cyberterrorism - HEATHERFOREVER - Heist
Afters - Silver Window - Found Footage/POV
Regional Manager Award - Rising Star
Winner - Puppet or Prejudice - Killing Karma Studios
Nominees:
The Caricature - Reuben.T.Edwards
Koera - Pikitia Rangihaeata
What's in a Cousin? - Grouchy Crouch
Mother of all Heists - Froblin
Best Disqualified Film
Winner - The Last Word - Seriously Goose
Nominees:
Splitting Blood: The Brotherhood - Fine Medium A Team
Resurrection Romance - Harley's Angels
Playhouse - Salmonella Snags
1980s Mother of Four - That Old Metal Thing
Outstanding Female / Gender Diverse Filmmaker - Supported by WIFT
Winner - Annabelle Snelling - Glitter Swarm
Nominees:
Maggie Shore - World Wide Wellington
Elle Beeden - Swan Ronson
Bailey Palmer - Typhoid Films
Heather Hortillosa - HEATHERFOREVER
Best Original Score/Song
Winner - You'd Make A Good Tree - Pixel Pixies
Nominees:
What's in a Cousin? - Grouchy Crouch
Vestal - Kākāpō
Subject 4082 - Nutty Mosquitoes
Defiance - Twotors & Co.
Best Sound Design
Winner - Afters - Silver Window
Nominees:
Mother of all Heists - Froblin
The Last Train to Pound Town - Glitter Swarm
You'd Make A Good Tree - Pixel Pixies
My Universe - Grannies Cookies
Best Editing
Winner - Mother of all Heists - Froblin
Nominees:
The Last Train to Pound Town - Glitter Swarm
Afters - Silver Window
You'd Make A Good Tree - Pixel Pixies
The Apparishioners - Typhoid Films
Best Animation
Winner - Mother of all Heists - Froblin
Nominees:
My Universe - Grannies Cookies
Koera - Pikitia Rangihaeata
Submergence - Pixel Tradies
Hot Chicks Lay Now - Swan Ronson
Best Production Design
Winner - The Last Train to Pound Town - Glitter Swarm
Nominees:
My Universe - Grannies Cookies
Submergence - Pixel Tradies
Hot Chicks Lay Now - Swan Ronson
You'd Make A Good Tree - Pixel Pixies
Incredibly Strange Award
Winner - Heather & Hels Do Cyberterrorism - HEATHERFOREVER
Nominees:
Becoming - Registered Cinephile
Snap - Lost Signal Productions
It's All Relative - Les Garçons
Breakfast - Wetter Workshop
Best Cinematography
Winner - Defiance - Twotors & Co.
Nominees:
The Last Train to Pound Town - Glitter Swarm
You'd Make A Good Tree - Pixel Pixies
Afters - Silver Window
Vestal - Kākāpō
Best Script
Winner - The Last Train to Pound Town - Glitter Swarm
Nominees:
Mother of all Heists - Froblin
The Apparishioners - Typhoid Films
You'd Make A Good Tree - Pixel Pixies
Puppet or Prejudice - Killing Karma Studios
Best Performer
Winner - Zoe Courtney - Twotors & Co.
Nominees:
Reuben T Edwards - Reuben.T.Edwards
Hugo Montgomery - Killing Karma Studios
Lochlan Stevens - STUDS Production
Indigo Cody - Pixel Pixies
Best Director
Winner - Annabelle Snelling - The Last Train to Pound Town - Glitter Swarm
Nominees:
Michael Cox & Ebed Pohl - Defiance - Twotors & Co.
Matt Barnes - The Apparishioners - Typhoid Films
Luke Ross - You'd Make A Good Tree - Pixel Pixies
Spencer Rangihaeata - Koera - Pikitia Rangihaeata
Judges
Ashleigh Roworth
Ashleigh Roworth is a Producer based in Te-Whanganui-a-Tara who cut her teeth in filmmaking in commercial video production.
In 2022 she produced the short film ‘Mary Mary’ (Director: Ella Gilbert) through the Someday Stories initiative. In 2023, Ashleigh crowdfunded the short documentary 'Preventing the Preventable' (Director: Brooke Benton) about cervical cancer testing in Aotearoa, which was released through The Spinoff. Her more recent short films include 'A Very Good Boy' (Director: Samuel Te Kani), which was funded by A Wave In The Ocean and premiered at the Venice Film Festival and ‘Yes David’ (Director: Ghazaleh Gol), funded by Toi Whakaari. She has produced music videos for Dick Move, Bret McKenzie, Deva Mahal and Gin Wigmore.
Ashleigh has just returned from Dublin where she spent 6 months working for Keeper Pictures.
Awa Puna
Awa Puna is a whakawāhine director, writer, and actor of Ngāti Kahungunu and Tūhoe descent whose work explores identity, transformation through bold, emotionally resonant storytelling. She and her team's Z-Grade styled film, Death Blade Tiger 5, won Best School Team at 48Hours in 2017. Since graduating from Toi Whakaari in 2020, her screen credits include Whina, Shortland Street, and The Boy, the Queen & Everything in Between.
As a screenwriter, she has written for Rūrangi (Season 2), Testify for Warner Bros. and all of her directed projects. Her accolades include a nomination for Queer Māori Representative of the Year at the NZ LGBT Awards and a Best Shorts Award for Emerging Talent at the New Zealand International Film Festival for her short film TŪĪ.
James Hayday
James Hayday is a sound designer whose first taste of filmmaking was at a 48Hours competition in Auckland 22 years ago. That film missed the submission deadline by one (1) minute. In the intervening years, he has missed other deadlines, including the submission of this bio, lived and worked between London and Auckland, and lent his ears to Black Mirror, Mission: Impossible, Wolf Hall, Big Girls Don’t Cry, and 48Hours’ own ArchMage, Ant Timpson’s Come to Daddy, where his nut-stabbing sounds were initially rejected, being informed “...we’re running a classy operation here.” With an enduring fascination for how sound can bridge the brain-body barrier and melt time, coaxing us into the experience of a character, and with a BAFTA and an Emmy nom garnered for his efforts, he now excitedly accepts the post of and can’t wait to have his ear bones tickled by the entries.
Betsy Bauer
Betsy Bauer is an award-winning editor, colourist and producer currently working as the Senior Media Producer at the legendary Wētā Workshop. With a career spanning acclaimed television series (Wellington Paranormal, Kid Sister, Little Apocalypse), feature films (Shut Eye, Deathgasm, Avatar: The Way of Water), shorts (Cleaver, Smog, Kōkako), and snappy short-form content, she thrives on combining technical craft with creative storytelling.
Betsy has competed in the 48Hours Film Competition six times and knows firsthand the chaotic magic and collaborative brilliance it brings out in filmmakers. She’s also served as a jury member for both national and international film festivals, and is excited to return to the 48Hours competition as a judge - this time with the luxury of sleep!
Chia Chi Hsu
Chia is an editor based in Tamaki Makaurau (Auckland), originally from Taiwan. She had the pleasure of working with veteran and award-winning filmmakers where she explored her own creativity as well as acquiring well-rounded editing skills. Her credits includes THE GIRL NEXT DOOR (short), premiered at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, as part of A Wave in the Ocean collection, a filmmaker program headed by Jane Campion; CROCODILE, a documentary feature, by Pietra Brettkelly, premiered at Berlinale early this year and continued its festival success around the world with the most recent stop at Tribeca. And Chia’s first drama feature BIG GIRLS DON’T CRY will soon open the 2026 New Zealand International Film Festival after its amazing festival runs including Sundance. As a first time judge she is just as anxious, excited and pumped as the participating filmmakers, and can’t wait to see the whacky, outrageous, daring works that are to come!
Mark Papalii
Mark Papalii is a Samoan filmmaker and cinematographer based in Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand. He has built a diverse career across narrative film, television, documentaries, commercials, and major international productions. With extensive experience in cinematography, lighting and directing, Papalii is recognized for his visually driven storytelling and strong technical expertise.
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.
Grayson Gilmour
Grayson Gilmour is an acclaimed Te Whanganui-a-Tara based composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist who has established a prominent career scoring for film, television, and international screen media since his performing days as both a solo artist on Flying Nun, and part of the post-punk outfit So So Modern.
His work in screen music has earned him a NZ Film Award (The Most Fun You Can Have Dying, dir. Kirsten Marcon), an APRA Silver Scroll (Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story, dir. Robert Sarkies), and a Global Independent Film Award (Fetch, dir. Sam Gill).
Other notable screen credits include composing for the feature film Shopping (dir. Mark Albiston & Louis Sutherland) which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and the feature documentary The Chills: The Triumph and Tragedy of Martin Phillipps (dir. Julia Parnell) which premiered at SXSW. In recent years he has also expanded his talents to major network television, serving as the on-set music supervisor and post-production music editor for Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s A24 / Apple TV+ series, Mr. Corman.
Rachel Fawcett
Rachel Fawcett (she/her) is a Chinese-Kiwi producer and founder of Lusty Productions—a multi-media company focused on creating obsessions and connections through female-centric stories.
Rachel launched her career as a co-producer on Friday Night Bites s2 from writer-director Roseanne Liang, before cutting her teeth as the producer on various short films including; Munkie (Steven Chow), Wind, Song and Rain (Matariki Bennett), Anu (Pulkit Arora), and the NZFC Catalyst-funded short, Chrysanthemum (Jolin Lee), all of which toured festivals globally.
Alongside Victoria Boult, she co-created the hit TikTok series, n00b, and served as producer. In 2024, she produced and released its network adaptation, which was released in NZ on Three and Three/Now, as well as Netflix AU, and CANAL+ in France. That same year, Rachel co-created, storyline and produced the NZOA-funded YouTube web series, Literally Dead, alongside K-Ci Williams.
She's currently working as an associate producer on the NZFC feature film, Shearing the Love, from director Tom Hern, and as producer of the short action film, Bodyworker, from writer-director Roseanne Liang. This year, she was nominated for Achievement in Television/Digital at the WIFT Awards for her work on n00b.