The team behind New Zealand’s preeminent documentary initiative Loading Docs have announced the selection of ten brand new short documentaries about to embark on their Loading Docs journey with a month of crowdfunding on Boosted.

 The theme for this year’s documentaries is Diversity. Filmmakers were asked to submit proposals for 3-minute shorts, which reflect that theme. Specifically they were interested in films that address diversity of identity, culture, community and place.

Following a rigorous selection process, the final ten films were chosen. The stories address diverse perspectives on sexual identity, life and death, ethnic diversity, exploration of our environment and cultural representation.
 
As in previous years, the Loading Docs initiative, with the support of principal funder NZ On Air, along with the New Zealand Film Commission and new partner Te Māngai Pāho – will help fund, create and distribute these ten films. With views so far exceeding 1.5 million across the previous years’ collections, the teams have the potential for their documentaries to be seen by hundreds of thousands of viewers both at home and all around the world across platforms online, on broadcast television, the big screen and in-flight.

The next step for these teams is to begin crowdfunding. Each documentary is required to crowdfund $2000 towards their production budget in order to receive an additional $4000 from the Loading Docs initiative and a post-production package provided by Toybox and Post Production Sound. Crowdfunding is a crucial promotional tool for the documentary teams and paves the way for the future success of their short docs. All ten teams will launch their campaigns on crowdfunding website Boosted on the 1st of March 2017 and will have one month to achieve their goal.

Loading Docs founders Julia Parnell and Anna Jackson say that each year the standard is getting higher and they couldn’t be happier to be bringing a variety of story telling voices to the fore. “We really hope that people will get behind these documentaries and filmmakers and prove that diversity is something that we as a country are interested in and supportive of.” - Julia Parnell.

Announcing the 2017 LOADING DOCS: DIVERSITY teams and projects.
See the 2017 teams at: http://loadingdocs.net/2017shorts/
 
East Meets East  
Dir/Co Prod: Julie Zhu
Prod: Tema Pua
Location: Auckland
A Chinese grandmother searches for a sense of home on her bus trips to the Asian supermarket. 
Boosted link: https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/east-meets-east
 
Luckie Strike
Dir: Melissa Nickerson
Prod: Craig Gainsborough
Location: Waitomo, Central North Island
Pushing beyond primal fear, two caving friends struggle together in a dark, confined, muddy tunnel, determined to find a new entrance to a spectacular cave.
Boosted link: https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/luckie-strike

Welcome to Graft
Dir: Ursula Williams
Location: Auckland
Travel inside a surreal world where artist Jon Radford becomes alter-ego Real Estate agent Ron Jadford - he's got a deal for you! 
Boosted link: https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/welcome-to-graft
 
He Awa Mutunga Kore – A Takatāpui Journey 
Dir: Kathleen Winter
Producer: Jaimee Poipoi
Te Reo Māori advisor: Beatrice Joblin
Location: Wellington
Two worlds collide at Wellington’s biggest ever LGBTIQ pride celebration where a takatāpui (queer Māori) activist seeks self-acceptance.
Boosted link: https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/he-awa

Asian Men Talk About Sex
Dir: Chye-Ling Huang
Prod: Kelly Gilbride
Co-Prod:  Ruby Reihana-Wilson
Location: Auckland
Asian men dig deep and bare all to explore the awkward, wild, intimate and unifying experience of sex.
Boosted link: https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/asian-men-talk-sex
 
Coffin Club
Dir: Briar March
Prod: Kim Harrop
Location: Rotorua
The Coffin Club is a musical documentary about the celebration of life and death, and the ability to laugh at the prospect of mortality.
Boosted link: https://http://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/the-coffin-club

My Dog Ajax
Dir: Michael Weatherall
Prod: Cecilia Shand
Location: Kahurangi National Park, South Island
A passionate conservationist journeys into the heart of remote New Zealand with his K9 companion, the world’s only kea conservation dog, as they fight together to save the Kea.
Boosted link: https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/my-dog-ajax
 
He Kotuku Rerenga Rua
Dir: Tim Worrall
Prod: Aaron Smart
Te Reo advisor: Kotuku Tibble
Location: Rotorua
A larger-than-life Maori entertainer returns from the dead with a mission from his ancestors to make peace with his loved ones.
Boosted link: https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/kotuku-rerenga-rua
 
#Losing
Dir: Stjohn Milgrew 
Co-Dir: Damian Golfinopoulos
Prod: James Kerr
Location: Auckland
While preparing for a live performance, a poet reflects on his losing battle with a degenerative bone disease.
Boosted link: https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/losing
 
Union
Dir: Jerry Rock-Archer
Prod: Joshua Rollo
Location: Japan
A Māori rugby player in Japan tackles cultural isolation and discovers strength amongst strangers.
Boosted link: https://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/union

About Loading Docs
Loading Docs is a unique New Zealand documentary initiative established in 2014 that aims to captivate and inspire audiences as well as develop and promote New Zealand filmmaking talent.

Through a competitive selection process, Loading Docs selects ten short documentary proposals, which are then supported from development through to distribution. Working with local and international mentors, Loading Docs filmmakers expand their skills in a range of areas including story development, outreach, publicity and marketing and distribution. Since its inception Loading Docs has achieved over 1.5 million views across the collection and is supported by TVNZ OnDemand, Air New Zealand in-flight and hosted on such high profile websites as The Atlantic, The Daily Mail, Huffington Post, The Guardian, Great Big Story and Short of the Week to name but a few.

Loading Docs is a Notable Pictures initiative, founded by Julia Parnell and Anna Jackson and is funded by NZ On Air’s Digital Media Fund and made with support from the New Zealand Film Commission and Te Māngai Pāho.

For more information visit and watch the previous years collections on: www.loadingdocs.net

Loading Docs shorts are also available to watch on TVNZ OnDemand: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/ondemand/loading-docs
 
Boosted Website: www.boosted.org.nz