February 2025

April's epic, historic, adventure feature screenplay "Charlotte Badger" is a Quarter Finalist in the International Screenwriter's Association Table Read competition, Cannes.

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November 2024

April will be representing Playwrights Association of New Zealand at the Craft Bites International 2024 hosted by the Playwrights Guild of Canada.

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July 2024

April is now writing and producing satirical audio content in collaboration with acclaimed and award-winning journalist / documentary maker / TV series creator Bryan Bruce. The sketches appear on Bryan's Substack and social media and are performed by April and actors Tracey Savage, Jeremy Nelson and Fingal Pollock.

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June 2024

April's screenplay "Still Life" has made it to the quarter finals of the Creative Screenwriting "Shoot Your Short" screenplay competition. Fingers crossed for semi-finals!

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Find out more about "Still Life" here

June 2024

April is the face of the new Powerswitch ad campaign and features in two ads. You can view the ads on YouTube:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acZBkCF3tVI&t=15s

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEhsbEFWgQA&t=15s

June 2024

April has joined team Cinetrance as a writer for the 2024 48Hours film competition. Cinetrance has taken part in NZ's largest guerrilla filmmaking competition for 14 years under the helm of director Daniel Lynch.  "The Crowning" is a monster movie.

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7 Nominations at Wellington Finals!

February 2024

Fa'afetai tele lava Māoriland for selecting Mako - Short Film into the Māoriland Film Festival 2024. We are incredibly humbled to have been selected. April was co-writer on this beautiful short film directed by Mark Papalii about a Samoan father struggling to accept his autistic son. 

6 October 2023

The Samoan language short film "Mako" that April worked on as co-writer and acting coach has been selected for Show Me Shorts. Show Me Shorts is Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading international short film festival. It's a competitive Academy Awards-accredited festival that screens in more than 35 cinemas nationwide. 

August 2023

The Samoan language short film "Mako" that April worked on as co-writer and acting coach has won the Letterboxd Audience Award in the Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts selection of the New Zealand International Film Festival (July-August 2023) 

12 June 2023

The Samoan language short film "Mako" that April worked on as co-writer and acting coach has been selected for the Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts selection of the New Zealand International Film Festival (July-August 2023) 

1 June 2023

The sketch comedy stage about parenting Femme Natale is heading to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival August 2023.  We will be performing at Just The Tonic.  Tickets on sale - see below. 

29 April 2023

April's hit musical comedy stage show "Let's Talk About Me!" is heading to the Royal Whanganui Opera House. Bookings at Ticketek.  Starring April, Andrew London, and a fabulous cast and crew! 

February 2023

A year after we started, photography is complete for our "1978" feature film.  Now we head into post production.  In cinemas later in 2023. 

February 2023

"Femme Natale" heads to Auckland's Q Theatre for Summer at Q. 

The world premiere of April's new musical comedy stage show takes place at Te Raukura Ki Kapiti Coastlands Theatre in September 2022.  Featuring the original music of Andrew London and with both April and Andrew in lead roles. 

"The Haka", the short film written by Isaac Lee and April Phillips, directed by Isaac Lee and produced by Clarative Media, has won Best Film Aotearoa at the Top of the South film festival, New Zealand.  May 2022. 

April is co-writer and co-director on the new Isaac Lee feature film "1978", currently in production, 2022.   

We're excited to announce that our horror short "The Odds" has been selected to screen at the Salem Horror Fest as part of their virtual ALTER screening. October 2021. 

We're excited to announce that our horror short "The Odds" has been selected to screen at A Night Of Horror International Film Festival in Sydney, Australia.  April has attended in the past with her film "R.E.M." and it's a fabulous festival. 

Having reached nearly 1 million views across YouTube and Facebook, WWI set short film "The Haka" (co-written by April and director Isaac Lee) has been selected for the highly regarded Cinema des Antipodes Cannes Cinephiles which runs from 6-17 July, and the 23rd Festival des Antipodes, Saint-Tropez 13-17 October 2021. 

April is humbled and incredibly grateful to be the winner of the Outstanding Achievement Award in the annual BEST SHORTS COMPETITION HUMANITARIAN AWARDS 2020.  The award is for her film "The Last Man on Earth" which focuses on the value of people with disabilities in a sci-fi setting.  The goal of the Humanitarian Award is to honor filmmakers who are bringing awareness to issues of Ecological, Political, Social Justice, Health and Wellness, Animals, Wildlife, Conservation and Spiritual importance.  Each year Best Shorts bestows a Humanitarian Award to a deserving filmmaker who is committed to making a difference in the world and tells the story with outstanding filmmaking craft. 

April is humbled and incredibly grateful to be a nominee for the Best Shorts Film Competition Annual Humanitarian Awards for her film "The Last Man on Earth" which focuses on the value of people with disabilities in a sci-fi setting.  The goal of the Humanitarian Award is to honor filmmakers who are bringing awareness to issues of Ecological, Political, Social Justice, Health and Wellness, Animals, Wildlife, Conservation and Spiritual importance.  Each year Best Shorts bestows a Humanitarian Award to a deserving filmmaker who is committed to making a difference in the world and tells the story with outstanding filmmaking craft. 

April is thrilled that FilmQuest has nominated her for the Minerva Award 2020.  This award is made to a female filmmaker/duo/group whose work embodies the advancement of the voice and empowerment of the female filmmaker in genre cinema today. Must have been a film directed, written, and/or produced by the same female filmmaker. 

"The Odds" horror short film has been completed.  Written by April and co-produced with Matthew Mawkes ("Blind Panic", "Burst"), this thrilling film was directed by Matt Sharp.  We're now submitting to film festivals so watch this space! 

April's film "The Last Man on Earth" has been nominated as a finalist in the Annual Independent Shorts Awards 2020.  Out of a pool of 5000 amazing films, this is a huge honour. 

Principal photography has been completed on the WW1 short film "The Haka" co-written by April and directed and produced by Isaac Lee.   

January 2021

April has completed the script for the new stage musical show "Let's Talk About Me" featuring the original songs of hugely popular singer/songwriter Andrew London.  Watch this space for news about the premiere production!