The Big Screen Symposium is approaching very soon, where over 400 delegates come together for two days of conversations, workshops, panel discussions and case studies with a stellar line-up of local and international speakers. This year’s programme will be shaped around the theme ‘Strengthening Our Collaborative Spirit’.
If you’re already aware of the goodness and greatness in store for inspiring filmmakers, then you can go right ahead and buy a ticket or check out the full 2015 programme. But if you’re still a little lost about what makes this event a Kiwi filmmaker’s necessity, allow us to enlighten you with a breakdown of this year’s line-up:
Leading the charge is the Jane Campion, our cinema national treasure responsible for The Piano and the superb mini-series Top of the Lake (which is getting a second season!).
Rachel Griffiths brings her knowledge and experience to the Symposium, the Academy Award-nominated Australian actor who co-starred in Hilary and Jackie while scoring a Golden Globe for her work on Six Feet Under.
Sebastiàn Silva is a very interesting writer and director from Chile, responsible for small-scale films Magic Magic and Crystal Fairy and the Magical Cactus (both of which we really liked). He also stars in one of his upcoming films, Nasty Baby, which recently dropped a trailer.
The symposium will also feature a host of local talent like Anthony McCarten (BAFTA-winning screenwriter of The Theory of Everything), beloved filmmaker Florian Habicht (Pulp: a Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets), veteran writer Duncan Sarkies (Two Little Boys, Scarfies), and heralded documentarians Chris Pryor and Miriam Smith (The Ground We Won, How Far is Heaven).
This isn’t even the full list – you can check that out over at the official Big Screen Symposium website. But there’s no doubt that if you want to delve deeper into filmmaking craft and become hopelessly inspired, you’ll want to head to this event on October 10/11 at the University of Auckland Business School.
It’s gonna be big.
