Three finalists have been selected for the prestigious SPADA New Filmmaker of the Year Award: Chaz Harris, Luke Wheeler and Summer Agnew. The award honours emerging NZ filmmakers who have displayed excellence, special talent and creativity in their filmmaking to date. The winner will be announced at the SPADA film and television conference on 16 November in Wellington, with $28,000 worth of prizes up for grabs.This year's judging panel consisted of industry professionals Lynne Reed (Park Road Post), Taika Waititi (filmmaker), and John Reid (director, Film School).

British writer/director Chaz Harris first decided he wanted to be a filmmaker after seeing Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park. Since then, he has worked in a variety of roles including work for Oscar-nominated producer Alison Owen (Elizabeth, Sylvia, Proof) and Miramax Films in London in the development team under Colin Vaines (former EVP, Miramax Europe). When he saw the final instalment of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, he decided to move to NZ, and has recently become a resident.

He has made three short films so far under production banner Seriously Entertainment. His third and latest short, The Shoe Box, stars Annie Whittle, Nick Blake, Ben Mitchell, Jessie Alsop, Beatrice Joblin and Kate Harcourt. The film was premiered at Park Road Post in August before launching online at the website www.theshoebox-movie.com.

Since completing his BA in Screen and Performing Arts, Luke Wheeler has made a documentary film - 4 Geese in a Flock - which won best medium feature at the DOCNZ Festival in 2006. He has since been awarded a second grant from the Screen Innovation Production Fund to make another documentary, which is currently in production. Over the last four years he has also directed a number of short films (Levitate Me, The Fairy Godfather, The Salvationist) and won the Short Film Audience Favourite for the 48HOUR Film Festival in 2007 with his short film The Woodcutter of the Wolf.

After graduating from the Elam School of Fine Art in 2002, Summer Agnew was awarded funding from the Screen Innovation Production Fund for the documentary film Minginui, which filmed in collaboration with fellow Elam graduate Adam Luxton over 18 months in Te Urewera. Minginui screened at the Brisbane International Film Festival 2005, NZ International Film Festivals 2005, DOCNZ film festival 2005, and was most recently exhibited at the Auckland Art Gallery auditorium in 2007.

In 2006 he directed the first series of Let's Get Inventin, which won the Qantas New Zealand Television Award for Best Children's & Youth show 2006 and he has just completed six episodes of series two. In 2003, Agnew founded the music video production entity thepyramidscheme.com in collaboration with 3d animator Dylan Pharazyn. Music videos include Die!Die!Die!, Sola Rosa, David Yetton, Dimmer and The Checks.

He is currently in post-production of his first drama, the NZFC funded short film Patu Ihu.

14/11/07