About DEGANZ
The Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand works to ensure the creative, cultural and financial well-being of New Zealand directors and editors.
DEGANZ represent directors, editors and assistant editors of drama and documentary features; television drama, documentary and factual programmes; short films; commercials and promotions; animation; video art and online content.
We are an incorporated society and registered union with office headquarters in Auckland. Additionally, we have regional representatives in Wellington, and host initiatives and events in most major centres around the country.
We are governed by a democratically elected board chosen through annual elections from our membership.
You can read the DEGANZ Constitution here.
Your Rights
CREATIVE
Right to protect your vision.
CULTURAL
Right to the enjoyment of culture and its components in conditions of equality, human dignity and non-discrimination.
FINANCIAL
Right to be remunerated.
Our History
1995
Initial Formation
The Directors and Editors Guild of NZ formed in 1995 when 18 directors gathered at a conference in Wellington to discuss directors’ conditions of work and the need for an organisation to represent their independent interests. Until that time, directors had been part of the Screen Production and Development Association (SPADA), representing both producers and directors.
Created the New Zealand Screen Awards
DEGANZ created the New Zealand Screen Awards to honour the New Zealand film industry following the end of the New Zealand Film and Television Awards in 2003.
2005
2008
New Zealand Screen Awards Merged with Qantas Television Awards
After running from 2005 to 2007, the NZ Screen Awards merged with the Qantas Television Awards and were renamed the Qantas Film and Television Awards. These were subsequently renamed the Aotearoa Film and Television Awards (AFTAs) in 2011.
Considered Unionisation
The Guild discussed whether to become a craft union after the Labour Government passed the Employment Relations Act, which made collective bargaining possible. However, because the majority of Guild members continued to see themselves as freelance operators, there was never unified support for unionisation.
2018
2009
Became an Incorporated Society
Welcomed Editors into the Guild
2009
2009
Sponsored Show Me Shorts Film Festival for the First Time
Since 2009, the Guild has proudly sponsored both the Best Editor and Best Director awards at Show Me Shorts Short Film Festival, an Academy Awards-accredited festival.
Stepping Away from AFTAs
DEGANZ announced that, due to funding and resource restraints, it would not be involved with the AFTAs, nor would it run a separate film awards.
2012
2013
Officially named the Directors and Editors Guild of New Zealand
The Guild, formerly the Screen Directors Guild of New Zealand, became officially known as the Directors and Editors Guild of New Zealand.
Creation of the Film Industry Working Group
DEGANZ, along with fellow industry unions and guilds, the Screen Production and Development Association, Business NZ, and government representatives, formed the Film Industry Working Group (FIWG). The group was created by the newly elected Labour government in reaction to public outcry about the Hobbit Law. FIWG was tasked with finding a way forward. The brief was clear: workers would stay as contractors, but a legal path to collective bargaining had to be built.
2017
2018
Voted to Unionise
With the election of the Labour-led Government in 2017, and the likely removal of the ‘Hobbit Law’ and introduction of Fair Pay Agreements, unionisation again came to the fore. At the 2018 DEGANZ Annual General Meeting, members voted almost unanimously to unionise.
A New Constitution to Allow Union Operations
A new constitution to allow DEGANZ to operate as a union was adopted at the 2019 AGM in October. DEGANZ is a registered union and an affiliate of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions.
2019
2021
Changed Name to Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand (DEGANZ)
DEGNZ was renamed to the Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand (DEGANZ) to include the Māori name for New Zealand.
The Screen Industry Workers Bill was Introduced in Parliament
The Film Industry Working Group widely consulted with the screens sector from 2018-2020 and recommended a legislative fix. The idea was to allow occupation-wide contracts, with legal protections for contractors to bargain together, without being classified as employees.
2021
2022
The Screen Industry Workers Bill is Passed in Parliament
The Screen Industry Workers Act Came into Force
For the first time in more than a decade, screen workers in Aotearoa had the legal right to bargain collectively again.
2022
2025
Became a Sponsor to the NZ Screen Awards
DEGANZ worked with the event organisers of the NZ Screen Awards (formerly the NZ Television Awards), helping to reinstate best director and editor awards for feature film, and appropriate recognition for directing and editing of documentary and factual, and a short film category. DEGANZ is the inaugural sponsor of the Best Director and Best Editor Feature Film awards.
Launched the Aotearoa NZ Screen Editors Accreditation
The desire to establish ANZSE was driven by editor board members across the years wanting to recognise the world-class calibre of senior NZ editors. The aim is to acknowledge the mana and artistry that editors bring to their work, to provide a standard for editors to strive for, and to help the international screen industry identify editors to consider for projects both locally and overseas.
2025
Core Supporter
Supporters
Sponsors
