Open the door for our future storytellers

Day One is the soil Aotearoa’s screen storytellers grow from.

We give emerging filmmakers the tools, guidance, and platform to share their stories.

We're the barefoot, backyard BBQ of the screen industry. A safe place to start, with an open door, particularly for those who've faced barriers to creative expression. Films about identity, belonging, language, the futures our rangatahi want to see.

Kelsey Chapman, Day One alumni: "Filmmaking has shaped who I am and I wouldn't be where I am without it. Day One opened up a space for me to feel encouraged to submit my work, and now I am a confident filmmaker."

The All Blacks didn't start training at 25. They started at five. If we want Aotearoa's emerging filmmakers to shape our screen culture, we have to give them somewhere to begin. That's the gap Day One fills.

Day One is a registered charitable trust. Every programme is free to participants, and as an organisation that runs on external funding, every dollar you contribute goes directly into real films, real skills, and real careers.

19 years in, our impact has never been stronger:

• Day One Shorts funds and mentors eight short films a year, launching real careers
• Day One Challenge is our nationwide film competition open to anyone aged 5 to 29, with prizes, screenings, and mentorship throughout the year
• Day One How To is our educational arm, workshops, e-learning, and video resources from idea to screen
• Day One New Filmmaker Festival launching November 2026, with screenings, awards, and kōrero celebrating the next generation of Aotearoa storytellers

The funding environment for arts organisations like ours is the hardest it's been in years. A number of the trusts and foundations that have long supported the arts sector are pulling back, overwhelmed by applications from too many great organisations in need. We've made the cuts we can. Now we're asking our community to help us bridge the gap before we have to reduce our programmes.

Supporting this campaign funds more filmmakers, grows our reach across the motu, and gets the Day One New Filmmaker Festival off the ground. 

Day One is led by Directors Chris Widdup and Anna Duckworth, Project Manager superstar Juliana Durán, and our ever-receipt-chasing bookkeeper Pauline. Behind us is a board of six trustees bringing expertise across law, governance, arts, and screen, and a wide network of industry mentors, judges, and alumni who give their time because they believe in our kaupapa.

Together we've spent 18 years building a pathway with many entry points because everyone's Day One looks different. Day one submitting to a film challenge. Day one writing your first funded short. Day one premiering at a festival. We meet people wherever they are on that journey and give them somewhere to go next.

We’re part talent development, part community-building, part platform, entirely focused on amplifying the voices and stories that need to be heard.

Like many arts organisations, we rely on a mix of trusts, foundations, and community support to deliver our programmes. Over the past year, a number of funders who have supported the sector for years have come under overwhelming pressure. Too many great organisations, not enough funding to go around. We've made the efficiencies we can. Now we're asking our community to help us bridge the gap, so we don't have to reduce the programmes that matter.

We're raising funds to;

Keep doing the good work: Day One Shorts, the Challenge, and How To don't run on passion alone. This campaign helps us continue delivering our programmes consistently and sustainably.

Grow the Day One Challenge: More events, more community-building, and more opportunities for young filmmakers across Aotearoa to make, submit, and connect.

Launch the Day One New Filmmaker Festival: Venue, programming, technical production, and promotion for our inaugural festival in 2026. A permanent new home for the stories our community is making right now.

Get us in front of the people who need us: Every time we tell someone what Day One does, they say: why haven't I heard of you? Part of this campaign funds the outreach to change that.

Day One runs three interconnected programmes, all free to participants.

Day One Shorts is eight fully funded, mentored short films a year, designed to build real skills and launch real careers.

Day One Challenge is our nationwide film competition and community programme, open to anyone aged 5 to 29, with multiple deadlines throughout the year with prizes, screenings and mentorship.

Day One How To is our educational arm including an e-learning hub, workshop series, and growing collection of video resources covering everything from idea generation to practical filmmaking.

Day One New Filmmaker Festival is what we're building toward. We're planning an inaugural event for November 2026 dedicated entirely to celebrating the films and filmmakers coming through our programmes.

We're thinking a curated programme across multiple screening blocks: a discovery session showcasing bold, fresh work from across our community, and a nominated films session culminating in a live awards presentation recognising excellence across key categories. Woven throughout, moderated kōrero with filmmakers reflecting on their work and creative process.

But the bigger vision is wider than one venue. We'd love to see libraries, community halls, and local spaces around the country hosting their own screenings; bringing the festival to audiences everywhere, not just those who can make it to the main event. A nationwide moment for Aotearoa to honour our emerging screen storytellers.

Kelsey Chapman submitted her first film to Day One because it felt like a safe place to start. She wasn't sure anyone would listen. Today her short film Kuia is funded and finished, two of her earlier films have won awards at an international festival, and she's building a full-time career in film.

"Filmmaking has shaped who I am and I wouldn't be where I am without it. Day One opened up a space for me to feel encouraged to submit my work, and now I am a confident filmmaker."

Kelsey is one of thousands. Over 19 years, 9,260 people have come through our programmes, each one someone who needed a place to begin.

Help us keep opening the door for the next generation of screen storytellers.