Rangatahi Short Film Competition

Put your skills to use over the holidays, enter our short film competition, win some prizes!

A movie cinema with red curtains on either side of the screen. Words on the screen read Your film here

From the 20th of September to the 5th of October (yes, the school holidays), we want you to get out there, point cameras at things, and enter our Rangatahi Short Film Competition!

If you are aged 13-18 or currently attending Secondary School, this competition is for you! There are heaps of cool prizes to be won, as well as a special after-hours Film Screening and Award Ceremony for all shortlisted filmmakers which will be held on Friday 17 October - pencil that date into your diaries!

We are also lucky enough to have a very special Head Judge joining us to decide on the winners. Who are they? That's an announcement to look forward to!

There are a few specific things we want to see in your films, but we're not telling you what those are quite yet! These required elements could be lines of dialogue, genres, or props, but they could also be other things. We'll make the announcement about these required elements in the last week of term.

Entries will open – right here on this page – on the 20th of September. Make sure to check back!

If you'd like to receive updates about the competition (like when we announce the required elements), click the button below.

Email me competition updates

Many thanks to our generous competition sponsors Light House Cinema, Ben & Jerry's, Wētā Workshop, and Tūhura | The HIVE.

Logos for Light House Cinema, Ben and Jerry's, and Wētā Workshop on a white background

Terms and Conditions

  1. This competition is open to young people who are either aged 13-18 years old, or who attend secondary school.
  2. Films must be the work of the submitting individual or team, and must be created during the school holiday period (20 Sept–5 October), though planning may begin earlier.
  3. Films must be appropriate for a PG audience.
  4. Films must be between 3 and 10 minutes long.
  5. You must reside within the Greater Wellington Region and be able to collect any prizes you win at either the Film Screening and Award Ceremony for shortlisted films, or at a Wellington City Libraries branch of your choice.
  6. Your personal information will not be used for anything other than this competition.
  7. Shortlisted filmmakers will be contacted by email with an invitation to the Film Screening and Award Ceremony by 5.30pm, Friday 10 October. The event will be held in the evening on Friday 17 October. The event location will be shared with the shortlisted filmmakers.
  8. Entries close Sunday 5 October, 11.59pm.