From screen arts study to national film success in 48HOURS competition
In Brief:
- Performing and Screen Arts alumni collective MO3PEPS was Grand National Runner-Up at the 2026 Vista Foundation 48Hours competition for its short film The Dap, earning a $5,000 cash prize and a one-year Digital Pigeon Freelancer subscription.
- The film progressed through Auckland’s regional competition to reach the national final which was held at The Embassy Theatre in Wellington on Saturday, 17 October.
- Team member and Screen Arts graduate Kuresa Tapulaaia encourages current students to explore different creative influences, ask questions, build industry connections and keep making films with their peers.
The achievement highlights how practical, project-based learning and creative collaboration through School of Creative Industries’ Screen Arts programme can help prepare emerging filmmakers to take their skills into New Zealand’s screen industry.
MO3PEPS is made up primarily of Bachelor of Performing and Screen Arts alumni from the Screen and Acting programmes, with a cast and crew that included Quinn Sugrue, Lucas More Rice, Carys Luisa, Sam Goodey and other current and former students.
Team member Kuresa Tapulaaia says the national recognition was both unexpected and rewarding.
“I genuinely couldn’t believe it. I was in shock. I didn’t think this film would go anywhere, let alone be recognised as the second best film in the comp,” Kuresa says.
The team’s familiarity with one another and confidence in each other’s abilities helped the production run smoothly.
“We’ve already worked a lot together and everyone is so good in their roles that the shoot went quite smoothly.”
Performing and Screen Arts alumni collective MO3PEPS accept the national runner up award at the 48HOURS Grand Final in Wellington.
The Dap takes a humorous, horror-inspired approach to an everyday social interaction: the dap, a familiar greeting between friends. Drawing on psychological thriller conventions and contemporary internet culture, the film explores what happens when an expected social ritual goes wrong.
Behind the comedy and horror is a story about resentment, friendship and the consequences of holding on to anger.
Kuresa says the team wanted to explore the cultural significance of the dap and what might happen when someone breaks that social norm. At its heart, the film follows a character whose unnecessary resentment towards a friend ultimately causes more harm than forgiveness and moving on would have done.
The annual 48Hours competition challenges teams to write, shoot, edit and submit a short film within just 48 hours, testing their creativity, technical abilities, teamwork and capacity to work under pressure.
Now in its 23rd year, the competition is New Zealand’s largest guerrilla filmmaking event, bringing together emerging and established screen practitioners.
The 2026 grand final showcased the top seventeen films alongside three Sir Peter Jackson Wildcards, with an international and New Zealand judging panel that included Sir Peter Jackson and Cliff Curtis.
The experience of studying in our Screen Arts programme helped prepare him for the demands of fast-paced filmmaking, where tight deadlines and unexpected challenges are part of the process.
“I’m used to strict guidelines and deadlines, so managing the stress of that is easier now. Also, working on so many projects at uni helped me understand shoots don’t always go to plan and built my ability to improvise,” he says.
Kuresa encourages current students to build their creative knowledge beyond the classroom, drawing inspiration from a wide range of artistic and screen-based work.
“Watch movies, watch TV shows, read books, watch YouTube video breakdowns and essays, watch theatre, go to art exhibitions, ask the tutors heaps of questions. The more stuff you know, the more you’ll have to draw from when creating your own stuff, the better your work will probably be.”
Just as importantly, building collaborations with other creatives creates opportunities to bring ideas to life.
“Make heaps of friends so that they can help make stuff with you for free.”
The team hopes the success of The Dap will help build an audience for its work and create opportunities to make more films.
