DEGANZ Launches Editor Accreditation

5 February 2026

The Directors and Editors Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand (DEGANZ) is proud to announce the establishment of the Aotearoa New Zealand Screen Editors (ANZSE) accreditation for the art of editing.

ANZSE Accreditation recognises a master editor with a significant body of work that consistently meets a world-class standard.

The desire to establish ANZSE was driven by editor board members across the years wanting to recognise the world-class calibre of senior New Zealand editors, to acknowledge the mana and artistry that editors bring to their work, to provide a standard to encourage New Zealand editors to strive for, and to help identify to the international screen industry those New Zealand editors to consider for projects in New Zealand and overseas.

“ANZSE Accreditation is a mark of excellence and sets a standard for New Zealand editors to aspire to in their work and careers,” said DEGANZ President Ben Powdrell. “At the same time, it gives domestic and international producers and directors confidence that the accredited editor has a high level of technical and artistic skill.”

Led by a group of senior New Zealand editors, including DEGANZ President Ben Powdrell, Martin Brinkler ACE, Annie Collins, Tom Eagles ACE, Margot Francis, Peter Robert and Jonno Woodford-Robinson—and with assistance from the New Zealand Cinematographers Society—a kaupapa and process was established across many months of work to make ANZSE a reality.

The inaugural recipients of ANZSE, whose work, careers and contributions were recognised at the October 2025 DEGANZ Annual General Meeting, are:

Annie Collins ANZSE
Peter Roberts ANZSE
Jonno Woodford-Robinson ANZSE

These recipients make up the ANZSE Accreditation Committee for 2026.

Each year, an ANZSE Accreditation Committee will thoroughly review applications from those seeking accreditation.

A maximum of two ANZSE Accreditations will be awarded each year, should the committee consider the applicants to have attained the standard expected.

In exceptional and rare circumstances, the committee may award Honorary Accreditation to an editor whose body of work and reputation are well known and speak for themselves.

Applications for ANZSE Accreditation for 2026 open on 12 February and close on 31 May 2026. Accreditations to be awarded will be made at the DEGANZ Annual General Meeting in September 2026.

A full explanation of ANZSE, required documents, and other support information to make an application is available here on the DEGANZ website.

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