Jeremy Macey (Scriptwriting, 2024)
I came comparatively late in my career to the course…but that made me savour it all the more.
Jeremy writes: 'I had an amazing year doing the MA. I was lucky enough to be with a passionate and enthusiastic cohort, so alongside our structured mahi and interactions within the course, the group chat we formed on Day 1 was quickly buzzing with viewing tips, commiserations on the ups and downs and writing, and not least a firehose of mutual invitations to cinema screenings and other events, which continues unabated to this day. A new, hush-hush chat was set up in parallel to organise secret squirrel presents for each other each time our various birthdays rolled around!
'I came comparatively late in my career to the course - being the oldest in the group by a good decade or three - but that made me savour it all the more: how often (I kept reminding myself) do you have the luxury of setting aside a year to dedicate yourself to a craft among a group of like-minded people? It didn't hurt having Ken as a kind and funny, but also rigorous supervisor and workshop facilitator. It's fair to say I still miss the momentum and stimulation of the continual round of deadlines, reading, feedback. The relentless rhythm meant you didn't have the luxury of perfecting, procrastinating (OK well just a bit), being bashful about sending your work in for reading and discussion - you just had to get on with it. My background in development and producing meant that coming into the course I knew about scripts and working with writers "from the outside", but it turned out this was like having watched someone else ride a bike compared to the always nerve-wracking yet occasionally exhilarating action of getting on yourself, pedaling while wobbling crazily, and repeatedly falling over. Who knew?'
Bio: Jeremy Macey studied Russian and German at Victoria University of Wellington before working in theatre, short films and TVCs. In the late 90s he worked at the newly opened Moscow branch of BBDO ad agency, then independently as a freelance reviewer and translator, and as fixer for overseas commercials, documentary and features. He returned to New Zealand to study documentary filmmaking and work on TV series, corporate and short films.
Jeremy worked in development at the NZ Film Commission before returning to the industry as producer of drama and documentaries including Loading Docs short documentary Gina (2015) and the award-winning feature The Great Maiden's Blush (2016). He has also produced short films including I'm Going to Mum's (Berlinale 2013) and Tree (2017). He is passionate about expanding and sharing his knowledge, and has teaching in filmmaking programmes at Massey and Victoria Universities in Wellington.
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