Filmmakers to Watch: Day One Challenge Edition
Meet the next wave of bold Kiwi storytellers shaping the future of Aotearoa’s screen industry. The Day One Challenge filmmakers are bringing fresh perspectives, fearless energy, and deeply personal stories to life. Dive into their creative journeys, discover what fuels their work, and be inspired by the new voices of film.
KELSEY CHAPMAN
Film: Top 50 Jazz Classics
Age: 23
Pronouns: She/Her
City: Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland
Area of expertise: I mainly work in the production side of film but also dip in and out of directing and also love to 1st AD.
How & Why did you get into your area?
During my film study's at uni fell in love with the production side of film. It joined my love for creativity and organisation together perfectly. I also love the management side of it and worked as a production manager / 1st AD on most of our shoots and absolutely loved it!
What advice/tips would you give to those who want to work in your area?
Do what you love! If you are interested in learning whats behind film and tv its never to late to join. Its such a fun place to be creative and work with the best people. Don't be afraid of stepping into your creative side.
What motivates you to take on challenges and lead others in your filmmaking journey?
I love working with everyone! Joining an amazing crew and meeting new people is amazing! I love to help bring new people into my projects and watch them learn and love what they see! This motivates me to start new projects and find more crew to see the joy and happiness in the teams when we are all working together to make something we love.
What does collaboration mean to you, and how do you inspire those you work with?
I always strive to be positive and aim to have a positive and collaborative work environment on every set i'm on. Everyone is a creative, everyone has amazing ideas. I make sure everyone is comfortable and knows that no idea is a bad idea. My sets are a safe space to be yourself and I hope that inspires my crew and anyone I work with.
What are your tips for keeping morale up during challenging moments?
I always try to keep the energy high and happy on set! Sometimes if sound is not required I bring music so when moments are low Ill start a little dance party or a sing along. I try to bring my energy to set and share positive vibes. I am also make sure that I am always around for anyone to talk to. Having a space that is safe for all ideas to flow allows us to find solutions to any tricky situations.
Can you share a project or moment where you felt your creative vision truly came to life?
My creative vision first truly came to life on 'Trust Issues' a visual album for the artist adv. Alex is one of my close friends from Uni and when they offered me the opportunity to produce their visual album I was thrilled! This started my producing journey (although i'm still new) and I have now started my own small business (Procrastination Productions) and produced many more music videos since then. This project helped me see that anything is possible and seeing it on the big screen inspired me to keep going.
What’s a specific area of your craft you’re passionate about mastering, and why does it excite you?
I am passionate about mastering producing and running sets. My dream would be to 1st AD or produce a big project and I strive to work on my skills all the time. I love bringing projects to live and the feeling of being immersed in a film or tv show. Finishing a movie or show that I love and seeing my name in the credits with all the people ive worked with is what excites me.
SUJI SON
Film: The Unsent Letter
Age: 19
Pronouns: She/Her
City: Te Whanganui-a-Tara/Wellington
Area of expertise: Directing or DP
What advice/tips would you give to those who want to work in your area?
I’m not expert enough to give advice to others, but here are my small tips: Enjoy it. I truly enjoyed the process, so the challenges didn’t feel like problems. The joy of making films kept me going.
What inspires your storytelling, and how do you approach bringing fresh perspectives to the screen?
The Unsent Letter, the title of the documentary, is inspired by my childhood story. When I was little, there were many activities where we wrote letters to our parents—on Mother’s Day or at Christmas, for example. I always wrote long letters to my mom, but I would end up hiding them deep in a drawer. I tend to keep my feelings and thoughts even from the closest people. So, I wanted to finally tell the story I had always wanted to share but had been hesitant to. This documentary is actually my first 'sent letter' to my mom.
What are your tips for keeping morale up during challenging moments?
I’m always scared of challenging moments, especially when they involve unfamiliar territory. However, I just do it if I believe it’s something I have to face—because I know that some challenges must be taken in order to reach the next level.
Can you share a project or moment where you felt your creative vision truly came to life?
During the planning stage, I actually struggled with preparing questions for my interview with my mom. One aspect of the documentary that can be tricky—but also a strong point—is its unpredictability. Since I didn’t know how my mom would respond to my questions, it was really hard to predict the flow of the story. That made it difficult to set a clear direction for the climax of the documentary. However, after I conducted the interview with my mom, I began to see how the documentary would come to life. I wanted to express what I felt in response to my mom's answers during the interview.
What kind of stories do you hope to tell in the future, and what impact do you hope they’ll have?
Like my documentary, I am trying to find small moments from my life that resonates with people and channel them into the film. This time, though, it’s not a documentary—but a narrative short film. I’m currently working on this project at school, and it’s also about a kind of guilt I’ve felt toward friends I eventually drifted apart from. I don’t know why, but I guess I’m the kind of person who always ends up regretting something.
What’s a specific area of your craft you’re passionate about mastering, and why does it excite you?
I want to study cinematography more deeply because I ’m especially fascinated by stories that have the power to move people emotionally. If I were a good writer, I might have dreamed of becoming a screenwriter—but I’m not. Still, what amazes me about film is that a single shot, without any words, can convey a message I could never fully express through writing. The angles, lighting, mise-en-scène, and other cinematic elements—all of them come together to create stories.
UR HASSAN
Film: VISA
Age: 18
Pronouns: He/Him
City: Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland
Area of expertise: Directing, screen writing & set design
How & Why did you get into your area?
Directing and writing intrigued me. So I applied to south seas film school to learn more and connect with other creatives!
What advice/tips would you give to those who want to work in your area?
As I’m still new to filmmaking i don’t have many tips. But for beginners like me accept collaboration, you don’t have to be on your own. Film is a collaborative effort and you can build stronger connections by doing so.
What’s a specific area of your craft you’re passionate about mastering, and why does it excite you?
I want to master directing and screen writing. Because I feel it’s the best way I can express myself.
MARIA HEWISON
Film: Step into Seduction
Age: 21
Pronouns: She/Her
City: Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland
Area of expertise: Directing/Assistant Directing
How & why did you get into your area?
I’ve loved the art of storytelling ever since I was little, whether in writing or acting I was always telling stories. Like most high schoolers, I was panicked, dramatic and unsure about what next steps to take and committing to a degree that will ultimately predetermine my entire life (it doesn't ). South Seas Film School was close by and I had a good friend going to attend it. FCC let me explore all the areas of film and I learnt that I really love directing which then later I specialised in Documentary Directing in FTV.
What advice/tips would you give to those who want to work in your area?
I don’t have years of experience but to young people who might be looking at this world and wondering where they might fit into it in this world of filmmaking, there is a place for you. Creativity is a gift. Embrace and share it with others and don’t be afraid of rejection, there will be a lot of it.
What motivates you to take on challenges and lead others in your filmmaking journey?
Everyone that I surround myself with motivates me to be creative. I see how hard they work and what they achieve with their own creativity makes me inspired to pursue my own creative passion even if there are challenges because how can you learn if there aren’t any obstacles?
What inspires your storytelling, and how do you approach bringing fresh perspectives to the screen?
My cultural heritage inspires me a lot when it comes to filmmaking. The music, folklore and history and understanding of the world and how that relates to myself. Also observing the world and taking a seat to look at our people and society and my own life and what I’ve learnt and overcome to create stories and bring attention about themes to an audience.
What does collaboration mean to you, and how do you inspire those you work with?
Listening to your team and having a good understanding of your role within the team.
What are your tips for keeping morale up during challenging moments?
Always try have a positive outlook. There will be many challenges but keeping calm and focused and using your problem solving skills with your team will always work. At the end of the day, it’s just filmmaking :)
Can you share a project or moment where you felt your creative vision truly came to life?
Coming from a drama background and making docos was quite hard for me, ‘Step into Seduction’ was the first time I truly felt my form of self and directing style was achieved in a documentary form.
What kind of stories do you hope to tell in the future, and what impact do you hope they’ll have?
Real stories of real people, whether it be drama or documentary so that we can reflect and learn from lessons or understand something new about the world or ourselves to grow.
What’s a specific area of your craft you’re passionate about mastering, and why does it excite you?
I love working with actors and subjects and continuing to learn how to draw stories and moments from people that show the beauty and complexity of humanity. Wether through factual or scripted, it’s so important to provide and learn how to create spaces to bring performances and authenticity to the camera and I’m very passionate about trying to master and hone this skill.
Can you describe a moment where you contributed to elevating a project or solved a problem on set?
In the Burlesque doco, my location for the interview fell through the day before the shoot. I tried thinking where would I find a dancer dressing room in under 24 hours?! The answer was very much in front of me as I realised we can just ‘dress’ an empty space. Nothing has to be a 100% real! Even in documentaries.
HUNTER CHALLIS
Film: Top 50 Jazz Classics
Age: 23
Pronouns: He/Him
City: Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland
Area of Expertise: Directing, Writing, Editing
How & why did you get into your area?
Ive proven to be a competent director and editor during my university studies which has helped me get some more experience here and there. Film, editing especially was something I had always done since I was a kid making my own little projects.
What advice/tips would you give to those who want to work in your area?
Make films from the heart, not for money.
What motivates you to take on challenges and lead others in your filmmaking journey?
For me, art is an outlet to allow me to challenge, question and deeply explore ideas, norms, standards etc and shine them in new lights. I love exploring these ideas with other creatives.
What inspires your storytelling, and how do you approach bringing fresh perspectives to the screen?
My experiences inspire me. Being present and in a space of no judgement, my revelations during these times will be noted on my phone to potentially inspire future projects.
What does collaboration mean to you, and how do you inspire those you work with?
Collaboration is powerful and essential. The more collective minds working together only enriches the final product. I love talking with people during the creative process, and I believe my open nature inspires others to do the same.
What are your tips for keeping morale up during challenging moments?
Understand that film is a complex art, with a multitudes of different areas working simultaneously. Mistakes are inevitable. Challenges are the best ways for growth, I believe creating a safe working environment allows people to process these challenges with much more clarity.Can you share a project or moment where you felt your creative vision truly came to life?With my little experience, I think I am yet to have that moment. However, during the making of Top 50 Jazz Classics I cherished working together with my fellow creatives and collectively being passionate about this project.
What kind of stories do you hope to tell in the future, and what impact do you hope they’ll have?
I want to create simple but rich emotional narratives that seriously challenges the status quo and gives people the opportunity to challenge their own beliefs and perspectives.
What’s a specific area of your craft you’re passionate about mastering, and why does it excite you?
Storytelling through a visual media. Im a firm believer of show and not tell. Emotions, ideas etc can be conveyed just as effectively through cinematography, it excites me to come up with these metaphoric compositions.
Can you describe a moment where you contributed to elevating a project or solved a problem on set?
Morale had been low during the filming of Top 50 Jazz Classics towards the end of the shoot. We were the last out of 5 of the graduation films being shot over the month period, and everyone was exhausted. I do my best to keep things light hearted and entertaining on set, which people said really helped them get through the long days. Also being a director that encourages people to openly criticize me, it helped people trust and feel even more part of the project. Again, its a collaboration.
Apply for the Day One Challenge
For anyone up to 29 of any experience level. You could be in to win prizes, make meaningful film industry connections and just have lots of fun. Entry is free. What have you got to lose? Apply through the link below:
Enjoy reading this list? Read more of our Filmmakers to Watch series here:
https://dofilm.co.nz/updates/filmmakers-to-watch-in-2025-part-one/
https://dofilm.co.nz/updates/filmmakers-to-watch-in-2025-part-two/
https://dofilm.co.nz/updates/filmmakers-to-watch-in-2025-part-three-/