DEGANZ Selects with editor Chris Plummer – Auckland
How the editing room can help a film discover its full potential.
19 March 2026
7:00 pm
GridAKL Lysaght Building
How the editing room can help a film discover its full potential.
Join DEGANZ for an in-depth conversation with highly experienced editor Chris Plummer, who is behind some of Aotearoa’s most celebrated films (In My Father’s Den, Boy, Whina) and major international productions in the US (The Adventures of Tintin, Strange Magic) and Australia (Kangaroo, Thou Shalt Not Steal, NCIS: Sydney).
Moderated by writer/director Max Currie, this special event will explore Chris’s journey into the international screen industry, his creative approach to shaping story in the edit suite, and his insights into how editing can transform a film and unlock its full potential.
Whether you’re an editor keen to learn from a seasoned industry professional or a director wanting a deeper understanding of the artistry and impact of editing, this edition of DEGANZ Selects is not to be missed.
Chris Plummer is a screen editor, working across both high-end television and feature films in New Zealand, Australia and the US.
Chris has edited some of New Zealand’s most highly regarded films, including IN MY FATHER’S DEN (dir. Brad McGann, Icon Entertainment, 2004), BLACK SHEEP (dir. Jonathan King, IFC, 2006), MY TALKS WITH DEAN STANLEY (dir. Toa Fraser, GFC, 2008), BOY (dir. Taika Waititi, Whenua Films, 2010), and JOIKA (dir. James Napier Robertson, GFC, 2023).
He’s worked across arthouse and US studio movies, on projects with Andrew Adamson (MR. PIP, 2012), George Lucas and Brenda Chapman (STRANGE MAGIC, Lucasfilm, 2015), and Steven Spielberg on his first ‘mocap’ film, THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN (2011). Through Lucasfilm/ILM, he has managed large editorial teams and worked on cutting-edge R&D with new technologies in filmmaking, working closely with seven-time Academy Award-winning sound designer and film director Gary Rydstrom.
His recent credits include Working Title’s television adaptation of Eleanor Catton’s novel, THE LUMINARIES (dir. Claire McCarthy), WHINA (dir. James Napier Robertson & Paula Whetu Jones, GFC Films, 2021) and Cousins (dir. Ainsley Gardiner & Briar Grace Smith, Whenua Films & Miss Conception Films, 2021).
Now residing in Sydney, his Australia credits include TOP END WEDDING (dir. Wayne Blair, Goalpost Films, 2019), TRUE COLOURS (Bunya Productions, SBS, 2022), IN LIMBO (Bunya Productions, ABC, 2023), NCIS: SYDNEY (CBS, 2023), THE LAST KING OF THE CROSS (Paramount+, 2023), THOU SHALT NOT STEAL (dir Dylan River, SBS, 2024), and KANGAROO (dir Kate Woods, Studio Canal, 2025).
He started out in the alt music world, and when he first saw screenings of French New Wave films, he realised that they were doing what he was trying to do in music. His passion for editing came about when, while part of the filmmaker co-op Alternative Cinema in Auckland, he built a film processor. They went out, shot some film with two actors, he processed the film, transferred the sound and on a ’borrowed’ kem flatbed, he made a cut and two people spoke to each other. “It wasn’t the philosopher’s stone, but it was close.”
Max Currie is a New Zealand writer-director who originates premium IP and loves joining strong teams early – whether building his own projects as creator-EP or stepping into rooms and directing gigs when there’s real alignment.
From Emmy-winning R?RANGI to the queer crime-comedy-drama BUST UP (due 2026), his work burns with longing, contradiction, and unspoken truths. Max follows the heat of ideas culture tries to obscure or hide, and builds collaborative rooms where honesty, tenderness, and challenge can coexist.
And because life is strange and people are multifaceted, he’s also known as Pit Crew on RUPAULS’s DRAG RACE DOWN UNDER – a delicious detour for a filmmaker who understands that the line between awe and absurdity is always a little tucked.
Workshop Details:
Cost:
DEGANZ member – FREE
Non-member – $15
