Join Michael Bennett for a fun, fast-paced tour through the writing toolbox of an acclaimed screenwriter, using short films, music videos, and excerpts from great movies to explore some of the most important fundamentals of storytelling for the screen. Suitable for experienced writers in search of a boot-camp refresher, for new screenwriters, and for artists coming to screenwriting from other disciplines.
Michael will screen short film clips and feature film excerpts to demonstrate screenwriting concepts.
All books will be on sale through our festival bookstore partner, Paper Plus Nelson, both in store at 237 Trafalgar Street Nelson, online, and at our Pukapuka Talks venues – get your copies signed by the authors after their session! If you’re buying online, please select the Nelson store to collect in person.
Michael Bennett (Te Arawa) is a screenwriter, director and author. Michael’s short films and feature films have screened and won awards internationally, including Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, Locarno, New York and London. He has won many awards for his work in television, including Best TV Drama Series (The Gone, 2023), Best Director and Best TV Film (In Dark Places, 2019) and Best Screenplay (Coverstory, 1997). As an author, Michael’s published books span an unlikely range of the Dewey Decimal System from true crime to graphic novel to time travel to murder mystery. His debut novel, Better The Blood, was shortlisted for NZ’s top literary prize, the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2023 Ockhams, and won Best First Novel at the Ngaio Marsh Awards, making Michael the only author to ever win a Ngaio for both Fiction and Non-Fiction.
Pūtangitangi Greenmeadows Centre
Tue 21 Oct | 5.30PM for a 6PM start | 210 MIN
$35
16+