SAE Auckland is proud to support the next generation of filmmakers at Future Frames:NZ and Big Screen Symposium 2026
SAE Auckland was a proud session sponsor and exhibitor at this year’s Big Screen Symposium (BSS), held Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th July at the Faculty of Arts and Education, University of Auckland.
Big Screen Symposium is one of Aotearoa, New Zealand’s most important gatherings for the screen industry, presented by Script to Screen and led by Symposium Director, Dale Corlett, bringing together hundreds of practitioners from across writing, directing, producing, acting, animation, composition, and more for two days of kōrero, connection, and wānanga.
Alongside sponsoring a BSS session, SAE Auckland was also the premiere sponsor of Future Frames:NZ 2026, a nationwide Hybrid AI short film competition run by SMSG (Screen Music & Sound Guild of Aotearoa). Bringing industry expertise to the judging table, SAE Auckland’s Head of Screen Production, Graeme Bibby, served on the competition’s panel alongside Whetū Fala, Caroline Bell-Booth, Audee Halim, Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa, and Graeme Revell. The competition’s ten finalist teams joined BSS in Auckland, with the winners announced and presented during the symposium’s AI: In Evidence session: first place went to Team Loud Beans for Aggressively Arthouse, second to Butter Productions for Happy Feet Complicated Feelings, and third to Fairlie Artificial for Monslopter.
In addition to the sponsorship arrangements, SAE Auckland also held its exhibitor stall at the BSS Industry Hub, while a group of SAE staff, alumni, and current students attended multiple sessions across both days.
“Getting to talk with practitioners, students, and industry organisations side by side over two days was amazing”, says Aria Chaplin, Marketing Co-ordinator for SAE Auckland. “It was great to be able to share our screen and creative business programmes with the current and next generation of screen practitioners.”
This year’s symposium was powered by a big network of organisers, sponsors, and speakers. Event Partners included Images & Sound, the New Zealand Film Commission, NZ On Air, and Te Māngai Pāho. Premium Sponsors included Kōawa Studios, Screen Auckland, and WingNut & Park Road Post Production. SAE Auckland joined a line-up of Session Sponsors, including Greenstone, the Regional Film Offices of NZ, Screenrights, Sky, South Pacific Pictures, the US Consulate & The American Showcase, and the Vista Foundation.
The programme’s headline moments included the Aotearoa Screen Debate: Visions for the Future, a moderated discussion with political party representatives Reuben Davidson (NZ Labour Party), Oriini Kaipara (Te Pāti Māori), Hūhuna Lyndon (Green Party of Aotearoa NZ), Mark Roach (The Opportunities Party), and Dr David Wilson (NZ First), chaired by Toby Manhire, on the policy choices shaping the future of Aotearoa’s screen industry.
The sneak peek session offered exclusive first-look previews of unreleased New Zealand films and series, including The Dog Show, Kiri & Lou Go Raaa!, Good Bones, God Bless You, Mr Kopu, Ms X, LOMU, and Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF). The symposium also featured two dedicated funder Hui: an
NZ On Air Plenary on the organisation’s new strategic direction, featuring Cameron Harland and Amie Mills, and an NZ Film Commission Plenary, Local Stories, Global Reach: Connecting the Dots at NZFC, featuring Annie Murray, Ainsley Gardiner, and Esther Cahill-Chiaroni.
Further highlights included masterclasses from director James Ashcroft and writer-director Kiel McNaughton; conversations and panels featuring Pietra Brettkelly; Ursula Grace Williams and Vea Mafile’o; Tom Sainsbury and Holly Shervey; Chelsie Preston Crayford and Callum Devlin; Libby Hakaraia and Madeleine Hakaraia de Young (Māoriland); composers Karl Sölve Steven and Rob Thorne; Causeway Films; Dianne Taylor and Briar Grace-Smith; Thomas Pa’a Sibbett; Cathy Garcia-Sampana; and Penelope Essoyan, among many others; and a Building Future Practice session on sustainability and accessibility in production.
Big Screen Symposium gives SAE Auckland’s Screen Production students and graduates direct, hands-on access to the working industry professionals shaping New Zealand’s screen sector, from established directors, writers, and producers to the composers and sound designers whose work brings screen stories to life.
“Big Screen Symposium is one of the most important gatherings on the New Zealand screen calendar, and it was a privilege to be involved this year as an exhibitor, session sponsor, judge, and group of attendees,” says Graeme Bibby, Head of Screen Production at SAE Auckland. “Events like this are where our students and graduates gain the opportunity to meet the people they look up to and who they aspire to work alongside.”
Big Screen Symposium continues to carry creative collaboration across every corner of the screen sector! SAE Auckland is immensely proud to have been a part of this special event and to keep contributing to where the industry’s future is being shaped.
To see and read more about the 2026 BSS event, visit bigscreensymposium.com
