Will Agnew

Toi Pōneke Arts Centre is delighted to announce Wellington writer, director, musician and graphic artist Will Agnew as the recipient of the 2021 Wellington Write Room Screenwriter’s Residency with his project The Demon.

Wellington producer Jaimee Poipoi will join the programme’s mentor team as this year’s Producer Intern.

Jaimee Poipoi

Applications for the Auckland Write Room Residency remain open until 16 August.(https://www.popfilm.co.nz/write-room ).

Write Room is a screenwriter residency and producer training programme offered in Auckland and Wellington. The Wellington programme has been running for 4 years in partnership with Toi Pōneke Art Centre. This year Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga - The New Zealand Film Commission is also supporting the programme, enabling it to extend to Auckland for the first time. Two projects previously identified by Write Room are currently in development with the Commission’s support.

Write Room recognises the challenges for New Zealand screenwriters to create space in their lives to write and find a place to do their work. The programme offers a writer a room to write in for 12 weeks, a stipend and mentor support to enable them to complete a draft of their screenplay. The programme ends with a read-through to present the writer and their work publicly. Alongside the writer residency, the programme offers an emerging producer a chance to shadow the process to upskill in key development areas such as project selection and creative support for writers.

Mentors include some of the country’s finest ‘script heads’ including Rob Sarkies (Out of the Blue, Consent, Scarfies), Briar Grace Smith (Cousins, The Strength of Water) Max Currie (Rūrangi, Everything We Loved), Karin Williams (SIS, Mou Piri: A Rarotongan Love Song, We Live By The River) and Vicky Pope (Savage, Two Little Boys, Gardening with Soul)

The 2021 Wellington resident Will Agnew is a graduate of Victoria University’s Institute of Modern Letters with an MA in Screenwriting. He is also a director, graphic artist and musician, collaborating with local bands on music videos, gig posters, album covers, and live videos. He is the primary songwriter of prolific Wellington psychedelic group The Spectre Collective.

 This was Will’s third application to the Write Room programme, having been shortlisted previously by the scheme. “I took on their previous feedback to write something specific, relatable and truthful. Of all my work so far, The Demon is the perfect representation of my artistic voice, and therefore the best project for me to push forward with at this stage in my career.”

Toi Pōneke Arts Centre currently run three residency programmes to support Wellington based arts practitioners across a variety of mediums, a Dance Residency, and a Visual Arts Residency. For more information on their opportunities. https://toiponeke.nz/support-and-opportunities