From the land of the long white cloud.
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The studio system has smart producers, all the talent relationships, and killer commercial instincts. But as the entertainment industry recalibrates to embrace lower budgets, busy producers are often looking for more than just traditional production services. That's the gap we're here to close — bringing capital, technological innovation and production discipline to features in the $6M–$10M budget range. We are here to service busy pipelines and form meaningful long-term partnerships.
With over four decades of experience servicing inbound production, we like to work with executives and producers early — before the budget hardens — to structure the film around the right finance plan, production model and incentive stack.
We meet up to discuss the project and ask some questions.
We present a workable finance plan, draft schedules and budgets for the entire project.
We push play, handling all of the logistics and compliance from prep right through to delivery.
Producer with two decades across feature production and television, with credits spanning independent drama, genre, and international co-productions. Based between Auckland and Los Angeles.
Nick Manu is a New Zealand-based screen producer, company director, composer and media entrepreneur working across feature film, production finance, AI-enabled workflows and mobile-first drama.
His credits include a bunch of dodgy short films you should never search for, and feature films like DEATHGASM II (Fantastic Fest, Sitges) and THE CANYON (2026). From time to time Nick also produces music for kids TV shows, because it's fun.
Nick's passion is championing the next generation and his work focuses on building commercially viable screen projects, new financing pathways, and stronger infrastructure for the New Zealand and wider Pacific screen sector.
Mikaela Rüegg is a filmmaker working between Los Angeles and Aotearoa New Zealand. Raised in New Orleans before immigrating to Christchurch, New Zealand she is shaped by both Hurricane Katrina and the Christchurch earthquakes in her storytelling.
A self-described multi-hyphenate, Mikaela works across directing, producing, writing, and acting, spanning across narrative film, commercials, music videos, and creative stills.
Beginning her career as an actor in the Aotearoa–British feature THE STOLEN, Mikaela later moved behind the camera, building experience as a producer and 1st AD before focusing on directing. Today, she collaborates with a growing community of young creatives across Los Angeles and New Zealand, developing original projects and creating authentic work for brands, artists, and filmmakers alike.
Her short film INVISIBLE DRAGONS, funded by the New Zealand Film Commission, won Best Indigenous Short at Bend Film Festival and screened at BAFTA and Academy Award–qualifying festivals internationally, including Hawai‘i International Film Festival and Santa Barbara International Film Festival. She is currently developing a slate of feature films and television projects while continuing to direct commercial and narrative work.
