Opportunities and Choices in the Age of AI

Trust, technology and storytelling in Aotearoa’s screen industry

As AI becomes part of everyday screen production, what choices remain in our hands, and where can Aotearoa lead the conversation?

Artificial intelligence is reshaping the screen industry at remarkable speed, with new tools influencing the workflows of every department. At the same time, storytellers, audiences and funders are grappling with questions about transparency, trust, authorship and creative autonomy.|

It is necessary that we discuss the implications for our industry. Just a few years ago, debate often centred on whether AI had been used at all. Today, the questions are more nuanced: how is AI being used, when does it matter, what should be disclosed, who benefits, and how do we maintain trust between audiences and creators as technology evolves?

WIFT NZ hosts a conversation with director and researcher Caroline Bell-Booth, whose Master’s research explores the categorisation and disclosure of AI-generated screen content, Amie Mills, Head of Funding at NZ On Air, and Liam Craig, Programme Manager, Technology & Research, Wētā FX.

Moderated by producer and audience strategist Gemma Gracewood, together they’ll explore a central question: how can Aotearoa’s screen industry retain agency, build audience trust, and make thoughtful choices about the stories we tell and the technology we use?

Date: Wednesday 16th September
Time: Drinks from 6pm, panel from 6:30pm - 8pm.

Location: Wētā Workshop Space, 129 Park Road, Miramar, Wellington

Free for WIFT members, $20 for non-members. Drinks & nibbles provided.

Caroline Bell-Booth - Director
Seasoned New Zealand drama director and storyteller, Caroline Bell-Booth has directed award-winning and internationally distributed productions including A Remarkable Place to Die, One Lane Bridge, My Life Is Murder Aotearoa, The Brokenwood Mysteries, Power Rangers Dino Fury, Mystic, The Gulf and Mr Hugo’s Little Library. Alongside a successful screen career, Caroline has developed a strong commitment to socially impactful storytelling and advocacy. She is currently completing a Screen Arts Master’s at Massey University, researching the potential impacts of AI on the New Zealand screen industry, exploring what emerging technologies could mean for the future of local storytelling, creative practice, and the people who make it.

Amie Mills - Head of Funding at NZ on Air
Amie is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and has overall responsibility for the Scripted, Non-Fiction and Platforms streams of funding, and the Game Development Sector Rebate. Amie has worked in the media industry in Aotearoa and abroad, in a range of creative and digital production roles.

Liam Craig – Programme Manager, Technology & Research, Wētā FX

Liam is working at the intersection of technology, creative production and emerging AI. His work at Wētā FX spans software engineering, data and infrastructure, alongside the exploration and implementation of new AI capabilities within a large-scale visual effects environment. Credits include "Avatar: Way of Water", "Avatar: Fire & Ash", "Marvel Avengers: End Game" and many other productions for major film studios. Before joining Wētā FX, he built a career across technology, digital production and the creative industries, and is increasingly focused on how AI can be applied meaningfully, and at scale, within creative organisations. He is particularly interested in the relationship between people and technology: how AI can augment human capability and creativity while raising new questions about how we work, make decisions and retain agency, and the practical choices facing organisations and individuals as these tools become embedded in everyday creative work.

Gemma Gracewood - Creative Producer
Gemma's experience spans screen, radio, music, long-form journalism, live comedy and political communications. As Letterboxd's founding editor-in-chief, she spent a decade shaping the platform's audience strategy — a run that changed the global movie conversation and introduced "Four Favourite Films" to the algorithm. Her credits include EP on 2026 indie feature The Weed Eaters, TV3 rockumentary Flight of the Conchords: A Texan Odyssey, TVNZ arts series Frontseat and New Artland, NZFC-funded short Dead Letters, and two globally licensed children's series with YouTube inventor Joseph Herscher.

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