Francesca Carney, 2022 Write Room Producer Intern
Toi Pōneke Arts Centre is delighted to announce Francesca Carney as the Write Room Producer Intern for 2022.
Francesca Carney (Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi) has worked in the screen sector for the past two decades. Her most recent credits include roles in production on feature films Cousins, Poppy, Going Going, Red, White & Brass and TV series Wellington Paranormal.
Born in Ahuriri, Hawkes Bay Francesca now lives in Wellington and has worked as a production manager and coordinator for the Gibson Group, RedSky Film and Television, 20:20 Vision and Gaylene Preston Productions.
Francesca spent some time at the New Zealand Film Commission as coordinator for the NZFC Talent Development team where she was heavily involved in the Fresh Shorts funding and short film development labs. During this time she also helped develop the NZFC’s Te Rautaki Māori (Māori Strategy) and later worked as the Co-ordinator for the Rautaki and its adjoining funds and initiatives.
Francesca recently produced short film Song For Serbia written and directed by Bulgarian writer/director Rouzie Hassanova. She is also Executive Producer on NZFC funded short film Ave Marie.
Currently Francesca is working as production manager on feature documentary River of Freedom and Supernatural comedy series Little Apocalypse.
Francesca is passionate about uplifting and supporting diverse and underrepresented voices.
Write Room is a screenwriter residency and producer training programme. The programme has been running for 4 years in partnership with Toi Pōneke Art Centre.
Each year an emerging or mid-career Producer is selected to shadow the process of selecting a screenwriter to undertake the 12-week residency at the Toi Pōneke Arts Centre to develop a draft of their feature film screenplay with the support of a group of experienced industry mentors.
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. 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)
Applications for the 2022 Write Room Screenwriter residency are closing soon! Have your submissions in by 5pm on the 24th of October if you’d like to apply. For more information check out our call for submissions here.
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