The Vista Foundation was established to support people in New Zealand to become interested in the vocational skill sets that are needed to build a viable and successful local film industry in New Zealand.
The Vista Foundation was founded in 2015 when several of the founding shareholders of Vista Group Ltd decided to establish a charitable organisation to support the NZ film and screen industry. With the support of the publicly listed company - Vista Group, the Vista Foundation has an aim to help nurture the continued growth and success of all things film in New Zealand and put something back into Vista’s founding and home market.
Julie Cadzow represents the founders of Vista.
She is a retired primary and secondary school teacher, and an advisor on Dance Education in the tertiary sector. She has written many resources for dance in schools, with a focus on ways to use ‘movement to learn’ in all areas of the curriculum.
Her interest in integrated education has extended into the VF, and our current partnerships offer a portfolio of programmes for people of all ages to learn through, in and around film.
Brian Cadzow was one of the founders of Vista and has helped coordinate the initial funding of the Vista Foundation through four of the Vista founders and Vista Group. Brian provides his commercial and administrative knowledge as well as more than a 25 years association with the cinema and film industry to the Vista Foundation. Brian is passionate about the goals of the VF, building a more successful film industry in New Zealand and seeking more pathways/funding to achieve all of this.
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Patricia Watson is the Executive Director of WIFT NZ. She has had an extensive career in the arts, media and marketing. As Group Editorial Manager for Pacific Publications and prior to that Editorial Business Manager for Conde Nast Asia Pacific, she has developed international markets for Australian magazines in Asia and Europe. As a marketing consultant clients have included Calvin Klein Asia, various publishers, rights collecting societies and an Australian political leader. She has served on a number of Boards and funding bodies, including as Chairman of The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, and President of The Australian Museum. Patricia returned to New Zealand in 2006 and is committed to a healthy, equitable screen industry.
Phil Bremner is the co-owner of Vendetta Films and the owner of the Academy cinema in Auckland.
Tan has 30 years’ experience working within the exhibition industry. He has worked across several territories including New Zealand, Fiji, Argentina, Australia, and India. Tan is currently the Regional Head of Business Development Asia Pacific for Vista Group and relishes the opportunity to work closely with exhibitors across the Asia Pacific region.
Jacob Stansfield holds an honours degree in Film and Creative Media and previously worked as a Marketing Lead for Vista Group. He now runs an Auckland based marketing business that is passionate about driving great outcomes for small and medium sized businesses. Jacob is motivated by the opportunity to support the New Zealand film Industry through the Vista Foundation. Particularly with issues like the commercialisation of local films and creating more opportunities for young talent in a growing and vibrant sector.
Roger is notable for spearheading the New Zealand film renaissance with Sleeping Dogs (1977). He has been busy directing in Hollywood for much of the period since. Donaldson’s first Kiwi story since acclaimed drama Smash Palace (1981) was Burt Munro biopic The World’s Fastest Indian (2005) — the most successful New Zealand film on home soil until the arrival of Taika Waititi’s Boy (2010)
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Cliff Curtis alternates a busy diet of acting in the United States (where he’s forged a reputation as the actor to call on, for roles of varied ethnicity) with smaller scale New Zealand projects — including co-producing Taika Waititi’s smash hit Boy. His CV of Kiwi classics includes playing Pai’s father in Whale Rider, Uncle Bully in Once Were Warriors, and bipolar chess champion Genesis Potini in The Dark Horse.