Exciting openings for director
DUNEDIN film director Jan Oliver Lucks is ‘‘super excited’’ to be selected for a mentoring programme for New Zealand filmmakers and an artists’ residency in Finland.
The 33yearold director has been selected for the ‘‘highly contested’’ FilmUp mentoring programme, an eightmonth professional development programme for New Zealand filmmakers.
The programme begins in Auckland on Friday.
At the programme, he will be matched with an established industry mentor, based in New Zealand or abroad.
Up to eight New Zealand filmmakers are selected for the programme each year.
During the programme, he will develop his second feature film, which was recently given funding from the New Zealand Film Commission.
He would not disclose the subject of his new film to the Otago Daily Times yesterday but said it would be a mix of documentary and fiction, similar to his first feature film, The King in the Ring, which was in the postproduction stage.
The film was created in the South — Dunedin suburb Caversham featured heavily — and would premiere in Dunedin this year.
He had also been selected for the Arteles Artist Residency in Hameenkyro, Finland.
The monthlong residency in July would be completed with 12 others artists from across the world.
The programme and resi dency would allow him to be ‘‘with my tribe’’ of creative people.
‘‘While it is amazing to be based in Dunedin, a down side is the lack of community. There are other filmmakers here but we don’t have a good network — somehow I don’t bump into anyone else — and being in a room with other creatives will be great, after working in Dunedin for the last eight months by myself.’’
shawn.mcavinue@odt.co.nz