Hi 

Welcome to June.

The year's almost half gone and we're almost halfway to our 2023 edition, so we'll keep this intro brief! 

Our second submission deadline has come and gone and we're excited to share a few more early selections below. It's great to have them confirmed, and we look forward to adding a few more next month.

For now, we're very happy to see updated rankings for the inaugural Audio Fiction World Cup, and also to see the inaugural rankings for this year's Web Series World Cup.

Aaaand, as always, we're happy to keep you up to date with some of the deadlines, selections, nominations and awards being handed out around the circuit. 

Enjoy!

 
Team #NZWF23

It's always a pleasure to announce early selections, and we've covered a bunch of bases with our choices this month. They're chosen from all submissions so far received.

From the podcast submissions, we're announcing actual play titles The Dirty Twenty and The Valkyrie Cycle; our first standalone audio fiction title Slightly Sleazy Speakeasy; and audio fiction titles Muckey Landing, Sidequesting and Starship Q Star.

In our short film categories, we're naming two more music videos - Luis Dias' video for Zé do Telhado by Portugual's O Gajo; and local Faith Ward's video for Jan Hellriegel's Sportsman of the Year.

We've also added one local short doco, Brooke Benton's Preventing the Preventable, and a pair of fiction shorts from overseas - Peter Filimaua's Fili, from the US, and Matt Bolin's animation, The Adventures of Wolfdogg and Red Riding Hood (above) from Australia.

In our web series selection categories, we're announcing two factual shows - NZ's Amplified, directed by HASH; and Francis Papillon's Canadian show Decolonizing History.

Four narrative series join those - two from serial submitters and two from first-timers. 

The new arrivals are British show Retail is Hell, from Mathias Swann and Sarah Sawyer-McCarthy, and Spanish vertical series Break a Leg Guys, directed by Verónica Mey. 

Returning creators back for more include one of our 2022 Alum Award winners, Quentin Lewis, with Medea; and Sally McLean with the second season of Australian show Walking Shadows. 

You can see all our 2023 selections so far right here

On 11 May, the latest rankings for the Audio Fiction World Cup came out. Congrats to the leaders - for now at least. 

1.   We're Alive: Descendants
2.   The All Night Society
3.   Savage Waking: Obliteration

Two of the top three were shows we'd already announced as early selections for NZ Web Fest. 

In the Web Series World Cup, we've got a top three of four shows, with two tying for second place at present. 

1.   Chateau Laurier (above)
2.   (tie): A Arte a ser mal pai (How to be a bad dad) and It's Fine, I'm Fine
3.   Tokens

Chateau Laurier and Tokens were among our previous early selections, and maybe the shows tied for second will join them - but not this month. 

Congrats, too, to NZ pilot Roadie, the highest-placed NZ show on the chart. 

You can see the rankings on the Web Series World Cup facebook page. 

Several shows currently placing in the top 10 of the WSWC rankings are likely to fade as the year goes on, as they began their runs during last year and won't be submitting to as many festivals this year as some of the other shows. 

But, while they last, it's great to see them still going strong.   

Congrats to all the shows in the running for both events, and we look forward to the next set of updates to see which shows are moving around.

We're all about the shout-outs but, before we get there, changes to a couple of festivals you may be interested in. 

Up in Canada, T.O. Webfest has pushed out its final submission deadline to 9 June, so you've still got time.

Towards the other end of that landmass, Chile Digital Fest has pushed back its 2023 edition - originally slated to run in mid-May - to open on 29 June. 

Thassit for the PSAs, so on to the shout-outs!

Congrats to a couple of our early selections who won at Stareable LA at the end of April. Bogan Moths won Best Virtual Filmmaking, and Gay Mean Girls took out Best Drama. 

Congrats too, to all the winners at last month's LA Web Fest, which included shows who've been winners with us - podcast Party of One and series Lady Ada's Secret Society from our 2022 edition and, back in 2020 when it was a pilot, Hammersmith (above).

We're wishing lots of luck to all the nominees at Die Seriale, which opens next week, and at Cinema Jove, which opens 22 June.

Wrap your eyes and ears around ...

Season 2 of Naashon Zalk's doco series No Place Like Home (above), the first season of which was a finalist with us last year. 

Billed as the world's first Tongan language web series, season two of Brutal Lives. If you didn't catch season 1, here's a link to a 12-minute catchup. 

Celebrating its win at LA Web Fest, the full season of Hammersmith is available on YouTube. If you love a good send-up of the good, bad and ugly of making movies, you'll be in the right place.  

The current chart-topper in the Audio Fiction World Cup, Wayland Productions' podcast, We're Alive: Descendants.

And, if you missed our chat with the creators and cast members of current Web Series World Cup chart-topper Chateau Laurier last week, it lives on here on facebook.

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We love to give shout-outs to new content in these newsletters and on our socials, but we don't have much time to trawl for it every month. So, we've decided to make that your opportunity! 

If you're releasing something, be it brand new or (for series and podcasts) a new season, shamelessly self-promote by dropping us a line or adding [email protected] to your media list if you're really fancy and have one of those.

Tell us what, when and where your stuff's releasing, and we'll do the honours. We'll give preference to stuff that isn't geo-blocked or behind pay-walls, but all-comers are welcome :)

If we don't know, we can't spread the word, so do share. Help us to help you!

If you're looking for some festival love and laurels, including from us, here are some deadlines that'll slide on by before our next newsletter hits your inbox.

Recently opened is Lima Web Fest, which has FREE submissions. Why wouldn't you?

T.O. Webfest, final, now 9 June

Minnesota, final, 14 June

Stareable New York, regular, 16 June

New Jersey, final, 17 June

Baltimore, late, 18 June

Bilbao Seriesland, final, 25 June

Panama, final, 25 June

Apulia, final, 30 June

Buenos Aires, final, 30 June

Hollywood Series
(fka Asia Web Awards), early, 30 June

IOWF, early, 30 June

Miami, early, 30 June

For more deadlines, check out the events page on our site, which includes deadlines and event dates for Web Series World Cup and Audio Fiction World Cup festivals, plus listings for other (mostly NZ) festival deadlines and event dates.

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If you've submitted a series to us, don't forget that you can submit to our trailer category for free. One you've submitted a series to us (factual or fiction, live or animated, but not a pilot) drop us an email to [email protected] and we'll send you a fee waiver code for your trailer. 

Easy as!

If you enjoy our monthly newsletters, but want info more than once every few weeks, give our social channels a go (links are just below). 

We post a few times a week, mostly on facebook and instagram. Our twitter is a bit more podcast-focused than our other channels, and LinkedIn we only use occasionally. 

We also have a linktree, which you can find here or access via our instagram bio.