Success for pilot shows created in Asian Kiwi film programme at University

More Asian Kiwi filmmakers are better equipped to tell their own stories, thanks to a ground-breaking programme run by the Pan Asian Screen Collective (PASC) and hosted by the University of Auckland.

Six teams of mainly pan-Asian New Zealand creatives, including around nine University of Auckland staff and alumni, took part in the year-long, part-time programme to develop their series’ ideas and produce a pilot, closely supported by a team of industry experts.

The programme was designed by Associate Professor Shuchi Kothari, a filmmaker who has been teaching screenwriting and producing in the University’s Faculty of Arts since 2001.In 2021, she approached the PASC board suggesting she design a programme to emulate the kind of pilot season they have in the US.

“You develop an idea, write the pitch deck (standard presentation template) and screenplay and then shoot the pilot, so you learn through the whole process and also have something tangible to show for your vision.

“There’s no way to learn except through doing, but there’s also no better way to learn than with a lot of smart people helping you along; it’s a model we call ‘scaffolded development’.”

PASC received funding from NZ on Air through the Ministry of Culture and Heritage’s special Covid fund for development in the arts. The Faculty of Arts agreed to host the course.

Five pilots were created and, of those, two projects have since received broadcaster support and further development funding, and one has been optioned by a production company to be developed further.

“The course was hard work, they all did so well to complete it,” says Shuchi. “The goal was to develop teams and build capacity, so this is just the cherry on the cake!”

Watch the pilots. 

Read the earlier story.