Grand Finals
The Vista Foundation 48Hours culminates in the Grand Final event. The very best films from across the country are judged by a panel of national and international judges and screened at the Grand Final Event.
Grand Final 2024
Venue - The Embassy Theatre, Wellington
Date / time - July 27, 8pm
This event will also be live-streamed for those who can't make it along.
National Judges
Our team of national judges will be selecting the Grand Finalists and Winner.
Judges will be announced as they are confirmed. You can find out about the judging process on the Judging page.
Sir Peter Jackson
Judge for the Sir Peter Jackson Wildcards.
Jackson was a mere eight years old when his parents were given a Super 8 cine camera for Christmas, fanning the flames of his love for cinema. He went on to make home movies in Pukerua Bay experimenting with stop-motion, practical effects, and special effects. He famously sourced some WWII uniforms, rallied his mates, and made his first film titled The Dwarf Patrol – which would later resurface as a bonus feature on the Bad Taste DVD release.
While working at a daily paper, Jackson enlisted help from his friends and colleagues to make a feature film. He upgraded to a second-hand Bolex camera in 1983 which was mounted onto homemade dolly tracks, cranes, and Steadicams to film his first feature, horror comedy cult classic Bad Taste. He went on to film the black comedies Meet the Feebles and Braindead before 1994's feature film Heavenly Creatures took Jackson from cult status to a mainstream, global audience.
Fast forward to 2024, Jackson has two epic Tolkien trilogies under his belt, Academy Awards to his name for Best Director, Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, numerous Hollywood hits, and has made waves in the documentary world with 2021’s The Beatles: Get Back and 2018’s They Shall Not Grow Old. Jackson is officially Hollywood royalty, but he’s never forgotten where he came from and continues to support grassroots NZ filmmaking.
Jess Hong
Jess Hong is an actor with thespian roots based in Tāmaki Makaurau. After graduating from Toi Whakaari Drama School in 2018, she performed predominantly on stage before transitioning into television with on-screen appearances on 'Inked', 'The Brokenwood Mysteries' and ‘My Life is Murder.’
Jess makes her cinematic debut in the NZ feature film 'Grafted’, and she currently stars in Netflix's genre-bending sci-fi series, '3 Body Problem.'
Jon Kroll
Jon Kroll has produced TV shows for more than 30 years, including “The Amazing Race,” for which he was honored with a Primetime Emmy Award. He is currently Executive Producer for “Million Dollar Marlin” on FOX, as well as NatGeo’s enduring hit, “Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted,” which he has run since its inception. He also recently Executive Produced NatGeo’s “Never Say Never with Jeff Jenkins” and “Extraordinary Birder" with Christian Cooper”, for NatGeoWild.
Kroll’s other projects include the award-winning feature documentary, “From Hell to Hollywood,” which won the Audience Award at Kansas City Film Fest International; “Pink Collar Crimes” for CBS; two seasons of “American Grit” for Fox starring WWE superstar John Cena; three seasons of “Big Brother” for CBS; and the controversial UPN series, "Amish in the City,” which critics hailed as “one of the best new reality series of the year.” He has also directed three movies, written multiple graphic novels and built a Hello Kitty theme park.
Originally from Northern California, Kroll was raised on a Mendocino County commune without television or electricity. He lives in Wellington, New Zealand.
Viva La Dirt League
Viva La Dirt League Best Comedy judges
Viva La Dirt League is a comedy troupe hailing from Auckland who have a popular YouTube Channel currently at an impressive 6.3 million subscribers. Their pathway into digital content-making involves the Vista Foundation 48Hours competition and now they want to give back to the filmmakers by sponsoring the Viva La Dirt League $2000 national comedy prize!
Dame Gaylene Preston
Dame Gaylene Preston & WIFT Best female/gender diverse director judge
Dame Gaylene Preston is celebrated as a leading filmmaker, having produced and directed some of the most enduring popular classics of NZ cinema. Preston is a storyteller whose work has a distinctive flavour that entertains while presenting serious subjects with humour and warmth. Her compassion and understanding of real life, and real people, combined with her talent for portraying on film metaphoric stories, over four decades has contributed to Gaylene’s peerless reputation as a distinct local voice. Preston’s generosity of spirit and powerful mentorship and advocacy skills have been central to the development of NZ's filmmaking community.
Features: MR WRONG (1985), RUBY & RATA (1990), WAR STORIES OUR MOTHER NEVER TOLD US (1995), PERFECT STRANGERS (2003), HOME BY CHRISTMAS (2010) and MY YEAR WITH HELEN (2017)
In 2001 she was the first filmmaker to receive an Arts Foundation Laureate Award and in 2002 she was made an Officer of the NZ Order of Merit for her services to the film industry. In 2016 she was awarded a NZ Woman Of Influence Award for Arts and Culture and in 2017 was given the Premium Moa Award for services to cinema.
Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa
Puipa'a, Toamua, Alafua - Samoa
Stallone Vaiaoga-Ioasa is a film maker who has written and directed four feature films in five years - all of them self funded and self distributed - Three Wise Cousins (2016), Hibiscus & Ruthless (2018), Take Home Pay (2019) and Mamas Music Box (2020). His combination of comedy and community are at the core of the Pacific Island films he makes and the reason why they have punched above their weight at the NZ and Pacific Islands box office.
He credits his five years of competing in previous 48 Hour competitions as a great way to find like minded people and as a training ground for the creative and technical demands of feature film making. He hopes more film makers make the jump from 48 to feature films
Abba-Rose Vaiaoga-Ioasa
Puipa'a, Toamua, Alafua - Samoa
Abba-Rose brings a wealth of expertise to the screen industry, with her versatile skill set in development, producing and distributing. From producing four feature films in five years - all of them self-funded and self-distributed to recently marking a milestone with the release of the second season of her successful vertical comedy series 'I Got You.' Abba-Rose has been working towards amplifying under-served narratives.
Recently she was recognized as the 'Woman to Watch' at the 2024 WIFT Awards and as one of the co-founders of Pacific Islands Screen Artists (PISA), she plays a pivotal role in fostering an inclusive space for individuals of Pacific Islands heritage, solidifying her as a dedicated force in shaping the landscape of the New Zealand screen sector. As mentioned in her interview with RNZ Abba-Rose hopes not to just inspire young Pasifika people, but to create an industry formed from a bedrock of opportunity and equality.
James Ashcroft
Ngāti Kahu / English
James formed Light in the Dark Productions in 2014, specialising in contemporary screen adaptations from New Zealand’s literary canon.
His feature film directing debut Coming Home in the Dark premiered at the Sundance Film Festival 2021 to great acclaim, followed by a global festival tour. He is currently working on a slate of features in the US including adaptations of Max Brook’s Devolution and Grady Hendrix’ How To Sell A Haunted House, for Legendary Studios and Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures, The Whisper Man for the Russo Brother’s AGBO Productions/Netflix and an adaptation of the graphic novel Old Haunts for AWA Studios. His sophomore feature The Rule of Jenny Pen is currently in post-production.
He attended the Venice Biennale Cinema College as one of 12 teams selected worldwide. He was also one of 15 directors/producers selected for the Torino Film Festivals inaugural Up & Coming Programme, showcasing talents from around the world.
From 2006-2013 he served as Artistic Director and Chief Executive of national Maori theatre company Taki Rua Productions, developing and touring New Zealand works both nationally and internationally. James is a graduate of Victoria University and Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School. He has served internships with acclaimed theatre company The Wooster Group in New York. He is represented by CAA and GRANDVIEW MANAGEMENT in the United States.
Damon Fepulea’i
Damon Fepulea'i is a freelance writer/director with over 20 years experience in
the television and film industry, making drama and documentaries. He directed
and co-wrote the feature film “Red, White and Brass” which was released in
March 2023.
He has written and directed two Film Commission funded short films,
"Watermark" and "Karma". He also directed several episodes of the first Pacific Island television drama series "The Market" as well as numerous episodes of Pacific Island youth shows "Pacific Beat Street" and “Fresh”. He recently directed episodes of the South Auckland drama series “Head High”. Damon has directed various children shows such as "Kids TV Club", "Let's Get Inventin" and "Play it Strange". He also has many years of experience directing comedy on "The Jono Project", "Jono and Ben”, "Funny Girls”, "Mangere Vice" and “Mean Mums”.
He has also directed music videos, TV commercials, award winning short films
for the 48 hour film competition, and numerous documentaries, including "A life
in death", "A thousand words", "Dying for a lung", "Forensics NZ" and most
recently, "Life after Footy”, which looked at the issues facing legendary Pacific
Island rugby and league players as they transitioned out of professional sport.
Damon was born in Auckland to a Samoan father and Palagi mother. His family
lived in a small house in Grey Lynn, which they shared with the extended family,
until they moved out west to Avondale in the early 70s. Damon is especially
interested in telling stories about the experience of Pacific Islanders growing up
in New Zealand.
Emma Slade
Emma Slade has worked in the film and television industry for over 20 years, beginning in the UK and moving back home, passionate to tell stories that resonated internationally but were firmly rooted in New Zealand. Her credits include the supernatural thriller THE CHANGEOVER, the NZ/Chinese co-production INTO THE RAINBOW, The Brazilian/NZ feature LITTLE SECRET, which was nominated as Brazil’s Oscar entry for Best Foreign Film 2017, political drama RAGE, and more recently THE BREAKER UPPERERS, THE JUSTICE OF BUNNY KING, NUDE TUESDAY, MISTER ORGAN, UPROAR and has the upcoming BOOKWORM releasing in August.
Desray Armstrong
Te Aitanga-ā-Hauiti, Ngāti Porou, Pākehā
Desray Armstrong is a film and television producer based in Aotearoa New Zealand with two decades of physical production experience across documentary, factual, studio, short and long-form drama.
Her short films and webseries’ have screened in competition and won awards at multiple prestigious festivals around the world including Cannes, Berlin and SXSW. In 2018, she released Dustin Feneley’s STRAY (Moscow 2018). Amidst the challenges of Covid, in 2021 she completed and released three feature films in a single year – James Ashcroft’s COMING HOME IN THE DARK (Sundance 2021), Matthew J Saville’s JUNIPER starring Charlotte Rampling (Edinburgh 2022, Palm Springs 2023) and Michelle Savill’s MILLIE LIES LOW (Berlin, SXSW 2022) and was subsequently awarded the New Zealand Film Commission’s Te Aupounamu Māori Screen Excellence Award. Alice Englert’s BAD BEHAVIOUR (Sundance 2023) starring Jennifer Connelly, Ben Whishaw & Alice Englert released in New Zealand and the UK in late 2023. Rachel House’s THE MOUNTAIN is currently screening in over 100 cinemas around New Zealand before premiering at Sydney Film Festival in June 2024 and she is currently in post production with Chelsea Winstanley’s feature doc TOI TŪ, TOI TONU. Her film and television development slate has a strong female and indigenous focus, including a number of projects with Māori women at the helm.
An active member of multiple guilds and industry groups, Desray regularly advises on various issues pertinent to the NZ screen sector and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Elijah Wood
Elijah Wood is an American actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003) and in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012).
Riding on the back of the astronomical success of the trilogy, he landed several other projects and continued to deliver impressive performances in films, such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Sin City (2005), Everything Is Illuminated (2005), and Green Street Hooligans (2005).
Subsequently, he was seen in critically acclaimed movies such as I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017) and Come to Daddy (2019).
Mette Marie Kongsved
Mette Marie Kongsved is a notable Danish filmmaker. Most recently, she produced Nine Days (2020), Get Duked! (2019), and Come to Daddy (2019).
She is also known for producing The Raid 2 (2014), ABCs of Death 2 (2014) and I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017).
IMDB.
Julie Cadzow
Julie Cadzow represents the founders of Vista. She is a retired primary and secondary school teacher, and an advisor on Dance Education in the tertiary sector. She has written many resources for dance in schools, with a focus on ways to use 'movement to learn' in all areas of the curriculum. Her interest in integrated education has extended into the Vista Foundation, and their current partnerships offer a portfolio of programmes for people of all ages to learn through, in and around film.
Brian Cadzow
Brian Cadzow was one of the founders of Vista and has helped coordinate the initial funding of the Vista Foundation through four of the Vista founders and Vista Group. Brian provides his commercial and administrative knowledge as well as more than a 25 years association with the cinema and film industry to the Vista Foundation. Brian is passionate about the goals of the Vista Foundation, building a more successful film industry in New Zealand and seeking more pathways/funding to achieve all of this.