Day One Shorts (2024)

Series Classification: Differs per Documentary | Day One for Day One Stories, RNZ & Whakaata Māori

Day One Shorts is an opportunity for filmmakers to convey what change and impact they want for the future. Funding eight short films, this immersive talent-development program offers workshops, mentoring, and funding for filmmakers, and provides a pathway for young voices to break into the screen industry and forge sustainable careers.

Day One Shorts holds space for diverse creatives to get a foot in the door by restricting the initiative to new and emerging directors who haven't received film- or series-production funding in the past.

The idea is that Day One Shorts are innovative, imaginative, relevant, or thought-provoking, intended to spark ideas, stimulate debate, and convey important information. Previous films have covered societal issues, culture, body image, health, gender identity, human rights, mental health, the environment, climate change, cultural issues including preservation, integration into NZ society, and more.

Day One Shorts 2024: Yeah Pare

4 Sep 2024

PG - Drama. Lost at the night markets, Janjan tries to find his parents. While searching, he befriends Kiuga, who takes him on a fantastical journey to find his loved ones. Read more Video
Day One Shorts 2024: Detangling the Stigma

4 Sep 2024

G - Documentary. Through her work in film, 28-year-old creative Jzayla Hughey is detangling the stigma of demonstrating that afro-textured hair plays a significant role in Aotearoa's film industry. Read more Video
Day One Shorts 2024: Lemons

4 Sep 2024

PG - Drama. A young Māori woman is given her estranged birth mother's ashes and has to figure out what to do with them. Read more Video
Day One Shorts 2024: Sua: Portrait of a Retired Bus Driver

4 Sep 2024

G - Documentary. A day in the life of a retired bus driver as he reflects on his journey as a Samoan immigrant traversing the streets of Auckland and the work he does in the church and community. Read more Video
Day One Shorts 2024: Wilbert Wire

4 Sep 2024

PG - Drama. A robot art student who is othered by his human teacher and classmates is tasked with creating a painting about love. Read more Video
Day One Shorts 2024: Behind the White Wall

4 Sep 2024

G - Drama. A Korean immigrant dad, working as a construction painter, mentors a new, young worker while simultaneously battling melancholia and guilt as he awaits the arrival of his family. Read more Video
Day One Shorts 2024: Taurewarewa

4 Sep 2024

M - Documentary. A documentary on bipolar disorder, Taurewarewa explores the highs and lows of tides and emotions in a sequence of insightful kōrero framed against a backdrop of Aotearoa's oceans. Read more Video
Day One Shorts 2024: Holy Ghost

4 Sep 2024

M - Drama. A queer relationship falls out of sync as one woman loses touch with what is real and what may or may not be coming to her from the divine. Read more Video
Day One Shorts 2024 | Trailer

4 Sep 2024

Day One Shorts is a series of eight funded short films made by young, emerging filmmakers that explore cultural, social, and political issues. Read more Video