NEW ZEALAND

New kiwi short film, LAMBS, has been selected to screen at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival – widely regarded as the world’s premiere short film event.  LAMBS was selected from over 5,000 worldwide submissions.

Funded through the New Zealand Film Commission short film funding initiative,  Fresh Shorts, LAMBS tells the story of Jimmy, a big-hearted fourteen year old boy facing a difficult decision – stay in his abusive home to protect his younger siblings, or leave to start a new life of his own.

Written and directed by Wellington filmmaker, Sam Kelly, the script for LAMBS emerged from research for a feature film he is writing, and time spent meeting ‘at risk’ youth from Wellington, New Zealand. 

“There were similarities in many of their lives, often facing neglect, abuse, drugs, and gang affiliations. I felt disturbed that children in my developed country were in survival mode, yet moved by the courage and heart that many of the kids showed“ says Kelly.

The film was shot just outside Wellington, in the Porirua City suburb of Cannons Creek.   Casting Director, Yvette Reid, spent six months casting the film almost entirely from non-actors. Reid and Kelly scoured schools, supermarkets, boxing clubs and netball courts to audition over 300 people for the film.  The lead role of 14-year-old Jimmy was a challenging role to cast, needing both a tough exterior and emotional openness. Waka Rowlands instantly stood out with his naturalism, belief in the situation, and emotional access. Waka’s performance as Jimmy has impressed New Zealand casting directors, and promises bigger things. 

Kelly was awarded New Zealand Young Filmmaker of the Year in 2010 by the Screen Producer’s and Director’s Association (SPADA). Together with LAMBS producer, Tom Hern, and an outstanding creative and technical team, Kelly harnessed the Fresh Shorts funding with the SPADA prize pack to deliver an exceptional level of storytelling and craft.

The 34^th Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival 2012 runs between January 27^th and February 4^th 2012 -www.clermont-filmfest.com.

And the winners are…

Best Actor – Short Film (Aotearoa Audience Award)

HARLEN HOANI THOMPSON IN “KORO’S MEDAL” DIRECTED BY JAMES BARR

Best Male Actor – Feature Film (2011 Aotearoa Drama)

RANGIMOANA TAYLOR IN “HOOK LINE AND SINKER” DIRECTED BY ANDREA BOSSHARD & SHANE LOADER

Best Female Actor – Feature Film (2011 Aotearoa Drama)

MABEL WHAREKAWA-BURT IN “MATARIKI” DIRECTED BY MICHAEL BENNETT

Best Short Film (2011 Aotearoa Audience Award)

“TAKU RAKU E” DIRECTOR KARARAINA RANGIHAU PRODUCER MERATA MITA

Best International Indigenous Entry (2011 Festival)

“LANI’S STORY” DIRECTOR GENEVIEVE GRIEVES (AUSTRALIA)

Best Aotearoa Feature Drama or Documentary (2011 Festival)

“MATARIKI” DIRECTOR MICHAEL BENNETT

Mana Wairoa Festival Prize (Best Overall Entry Festival 2011)

“OCTOBER 15″ DIRECTOR KIM WEBBY PRODUCER PIETRA BRETKELLY

WIFT Mana Wahine Award 2011

KATIE WOLFE

Katie Wolfe (Ngati Tama, Ngati Mutunga, Pakeha) is a film maker, actor and director, having completed two short films (“THIS IS HER” and “REDEMPTION”) and most recently directed her first feature “NIGHTS IN THE GARDEN OF SPAIN” which is screening next month at Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco.

International Indigenous Entry

“LANI’S STORY” is the true story of a young woman surviving abuse and addiction. Lani Brennan, the subject of the film, is of both Aboriginal and Maori descent.

Mana Wairoa Festival Prize

“OCTOBER 15.” The film profiles the day, October 15, 2007, that New Zealand Police launched anti-terrorism raids on the people of Tuhoe, in Ruatoki Valley and beyond. The Mana Wairoa Festival Prize recognises the most outstanding entry to the year’s festival and also has a kaupapa of supporting film makers whose work contributes to the advancement of the human rights of indigenous peoples.

The Wairoa Maori Film Festival is a non-political not-for-profit community event presented annually by Te Roopu Whakaata Maori Inc. Parts of the programme are travelling on to screenings in Auckland, Invercargill and Raglan.

Go to www.manawairoa.com for more information.

For Shadow a homeless Aucklander who has spent most of his life on the streets. Drama has been a been a positive  and life changing experience.

“Shadow”, who says he has forgotten his real name because of years of glue-sniffing, started living on the streets in his early teens because of problems at home with his mother’s boyfriend.

Yesterday, at a national conference on homelessness, he sang and played the harmonica and with five other homeless men.

He also plays a homeless man in a TV3 series called Super City.

“They had to get a streetie to play a streetie,” he said. “I hope they do another series, I wouldn’t mind doing some more work. It was cool.”

Auckland City Mission homeless worker Wilf Holt, who helped to form the drama group 18 months ago, said it tapped the skills of people such as Shadow and guitarist Jem Pauro, 41, both regular Queen St buskers.

The group worked with professionals from The Edge to put on a show called Homeless Economics in the recent Auckland Fringe Festival.

Another member, Garry, 55, said he had known most of the members for 10 years and the drama group was “the biggest positive change I’ve seen”.

“To see them come out in front of people – wow!

“For me, it’s been the greatest distraction in my life. It takes me away from my personal issues that I can’t fathom to understand. It’s an extraordinary thing, I believe this should be part and parcel of every country’s homeless policy.”

Iris Pahau, of the Coalition to End Homelessness, which organised yesterday’s conference, said homelessness was “sadly, a growing industry”.

Auckland Night Shelter manager Corie Haddock, who co-chairs the coalition, said he was advising Tauranga police, council and churches about a planned night shelter for a growing number of rough sleepers. He will meet another group in Palmerston North in June.

He said the coalition wanted a parliamentary inquiry into all aspects of homelessness, including boarding houses, overcrowding and substandard houses as well as rough sleeping.

National MP Katrina Shanks, who chairs Parliament’s social services committee, said the committee felt the whole issue was too broad and lacked adequate research, but it was considering an inquiry into boarding houses.

“We have just done a lot of legislative changes with the Residential Tenancies Act,” she said.

“So it’s a good bit of work to see whether it’s changing what we are concerned about, which is slum landlords.”

For a full listing of this story please follow this link

Jax Hamilton and Anthony McEntee and judge Simon Gault (centre) preparing dishes for Euro relaunch party .

Things heated up last night on the latest episode of NZ master chef. The challenge was to cook for 100 vip’s at the launch of Simon Gault Euro Restaurant. The top ten impressed and judges decided to reward them with no one being sent home last night. Which forms the question is there going to be a double elimination next week?

The day started well for the contestants, boarding a party bus, believing they had a day of relaxation ahead of them.

Instead, they were told by judge Simon Gault, they were about to face one of their hardest challenges yet – cooking five-star dishes for the relaunch of Gault’s restaurant, Euro.

The group was divided into five teams of two, the first time the group had been paired up in a challenge, with each team preparing a dish for the guests.

The team with the highest score would be rewarded with a dinner at Euro, prepared by Gault himself, while one member of the losing team would be sent home.

So began a stressful day of prepping, cooking and well cooking again, as contestants faced up to the reality of preparing meals in a professional kitchen.

In the words of contestant Anthony McEntee, “We weren’t just thrown in the deep-end, we were shot out of a canon into the middle of the Atlantic and expected to swim to shore.”

McEntee, who was paired with Jax Hamilton, had the challenge of preparing duck breasts with foie gras ice cream and provided one of the more lighter moments in the kitchen when he binned several duck breasts after burning them.

That left him short of several duck breasts, but he played dumb when Hamilton counted and said they were short.

He said his main memory of the day was “fright”.

McEntee said the contestants were ”duped” into getting on a party bus but the mood quickly turned to one of terror once the challenge was laid bare.

“It was a very daunting prospect.”

And he said he has an innocent explanation about the duck breasts which ended up in the bin.

“We were only ever given 35 duck breasts to begin with and then I had to go source some more.

“We were given a chef to help us catch up for a bit, so it was blind panic because I didn’t realise that I didn’t have enough duck breasts.

“Later on, who knows what happened to them. Three or so went in the bin.

“There was no covering there, when you’re under so much pressure you just forget to do the simplest things.

“I use numbers all day, everyday in my job and I couldn’t count.”

Even making the ice cream was filled with pitfalls.

“After the first effort I was told by the chef it was not good enough and was then told off for wasting Euro’s food produce.

“To be honest I was quite intimidated and when he said ”you’ll have to make do” I assumed he meant I had to use the remaining 14 eggs.

“I didn’t realise there were trays and trays of eggs out the back I could have easily gone and used.

“I used 14 eggs and tried to alter the recipe in my head but when Gault came over and asked me if I’d followed the recipe it fell apart.”

If contestants needed anymore pressure they got it in the form of Euro’s restaurant manager Robere Pothier, who seemed to terrify everyone in his path.

“My grandmother’s been dead for 10years and she’d be faster than you tonight,” he barked at one point.

McEntee said he doesn’t think the staff were trying to be hard “it’s just the way they are as professionals”.

“Robere only accepted the best and would tell us he had seen better things on the back streets of Paris. He was intimidating.”

By the end of the service McEntee said everyone had learnt so much about what it takes to be a chef.

“And the passion that we all thought we had, that was the true test of it.”

Stu Todd and Nadia Lim won the competition but McEntee and Hamilton found themselves in the bottom team, with Michael Lee and a very worried and teary Tracey Lee Hooton getting the second lowest score.

So it must have been pure relief when Gault announced nobody was going home.

“Euro’s my baby and you didn’t break it.”

To watch this episode of NZ Master Chef please follow this link

What did you think of this episode, let us know.

Audio Description – the visual equivalent of captioning for hearing impaired audiences – begins on March 1 with episodes of Coronation Street.

Audio description is an optional additional narrative, spoken by a neutral voice, which describes the on-screen action in between dialogue. It’s a service widely available in the UK and US.

It has been made technically possible in New Zealand by developments in TVNZ’s digital infrastructure, and financially possible with a pilot grant of $500,000 from New Zealand on Air.

At this stage the service is limited to Coronation Street, which was requested as the popular choice of the Association of Blind Citizens of New Zealand.

At the end of a year the success of the service will be evaluated and, depending on available funding, it is expected it will be rolled out to cover more programmes.

Audio Description will be provided on the Freeview digital platform.

TVNZ’s Head of Production Services and Technology, Helen Clifton, says the new service is the result of many years of discussion with the blind community.

“We’re very proud that the technical developments in our digital broadcasting infrastructure have at last put us in a position to help. We’ve been providing captioning for those with hearing impairments for a long time, and we can now make television an experience to be really enjoyed for those with visual difficulties.”

Sam Peacock director of award winning film "Manurewa"

Manurewa, directed by Sam Peacocke, was awarded a Crystal Bear in the Generation 14plus Youth Section of the competition.

The jury awarded the film the prize with these comments on the strength of the project: In a very short time this film synthesises and skilfully compresses independent story lines and characters, merging them together into a single irrevocable, ever-changing moment. Our winning film is not only about perpetrators and victims, but also about human beings.

Manurewa explores the tragic murder of Manurewa liquor store owner Navtej Singh and is acclaimed music video director Sam Peacocke’s debut short film. Produced by Kristian Eek, the film is a multi-stranded narrative impression of the real life robbery and fatal shooting that took place in South Auckland, New Zealand. The film premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in July 2010.

The Generation programme receives over 6000 submissions each year and the selection comprises 32 short films and 27 feature length films from 32 countries.

Manurewa was self-funded by the filmmakers and relied on the generous support of sponsors Fuji Film New Zealand, Panavision New Zealand and Park Road Post.

The film was shot on 35mm with a skeleton crew, utilizing available light as much as possible. It was shot on location in South Auckland and features mostly non actors. The film was made with the blessing of the Sikh community and the family of the victim.

Manurewa received post production funding from the NZ Film Commission who also supported Sam Peacocke to attend the festival. International sales for the film are handled by NZ Film, which is the sales arm of the NZFC.

The 61st Berlin International Film Festival ran from the 10th – 20th February 2011. For more information about the Berlin International Film Festival please follow this link

Danielle hayes nz next top model 2010

New Zealand’s next top model cycle three auditions are due to start on April 15, 2011. So if you think you have what it takes be there or be square. Start practicing your strut as the nationwide search for the 13 young women who will take part in the third Cycle of New Zealand’s Next Top Model begins soon!

Applicants must be at least 170cm tall and aged between 16-25 years as of April 15, 2011.

Auditions for New Zealand’s Next Top Model Cycle three will be held in:

March 19: Auckland: Botany Town Centre – Town Square: 11am-5pm.

March 20: Wellington: Museum Hotel Conference Rooms: 11am-5pm.

March 21: Napier: War Memorial Conference Centre: 3pm-7pm.

March 22: Tauranga: Sebel Trinity Wharf Hotel: 3pm-7pm.

March 23: New Plymouth: Copthorne Hotel Grand Central: 3pm-7pm.

March 24: Nelson: Rutherford Hotel Conference Rooms: 3pm-7pm.

March 25: Dunedin: Mercure Leisure Lodge McGavin Room: 3pm-7pm.

March 26: Christchurch: Heritage Hotel Conference Rooms: 11am-5pm.

March 27: Auckland: venue TBC: 11am-5pm – Information to follow

March 28: Whangarei: Forum North: 3pm-7pm.

Kelly Martin, TV3’s Director of Programming comments, “Top Model is a hugely successful format around the world and the local version has gone from strength to strength over the last two seasons. We look forward to producing a third that packs even more punch, and promises audiences more of the same quality television they are used to.”

The successful series is produced locally in 17 markets, including Australia and Britain, and has launched the modelling, television and acting careers of many of its contestants.

Go to tv3.co.nz/topmodel for more information and to download an application form.

Once again Lee Tamahori has made a Sundance worthy independent film. Lee Tamahori has shot two independent films in his nearly two-decade career as a director, and both have taken him to Sundance: He made his first trip in 1995 with his feature directorial debut, “Once Were Warriors,” a violent tale of domestic abuse in a Maori family in his native New Zealand.

Since then, he’s directed mainstream fare such as “Die Another Day,” “Along Came a Spider” and “The Edge.” This year, Tamahori was back at Sundance with “The Devil’s Double,” which tells the story of the body double of Uday Hussein — the brutal son of Saddam Hussein. The film is based on the life of Latif Yahia; English actor Dominic Cooper (“Mamma Mia!”) plays both the disgusted Yahia and the nefarious Uday.

Do you have any fond memories of your first trip to the festival?

Tamahori: The funniest moment I remember is I had no idea (what was going on) because it was my first film festival ever. I was sitting there not knowing what was going on and kind of getting carried away, and I thought, “I need a drink, I need to get out of this.” I went to this bar and I was the only person in this bar at Sundance because everybody else was on the streets and hustling and everything else. Then a guy comes into the bar and sits right next me and says the same thing, “Quick, I need a drink.” I look at this guy and I go, “You’re Tim Roth, aren’t you?” He goes, “Yeah,” and I go, “Hi, I’m pleased to meet you.” So I meet Tim Roth because both of us were both exhausted by the process and badly in need of a drink and we were the only two in the bar and struck up a conversation. It was very funny at the time.

Let’s talk about Dominic Cooper’s performance in this film.

Tamahori: It’s a breakout performance if I do say myself. From the beginning I always said this film stands or falls on the credibility of the actor that plays both these parts. The whole story is irrelevant if this guy does not have both the talent to pull it off with the two characters, or make the audience believe that we are watching two different characters rather than one actor playing two roles. There have been versions of this before, but not a lot.

How were you and Cooper able to make it work?

Tamahori: We went into the business of creating two different characters, which meant slight adaptations to the screenplay and everything. One is basically psychotic and has an Oedipal complex and is a rapist, killer, murderer and thug, but there is something weirdly attractive about him like Tony Montana. He is a charismatic villain. I stripped (the Yahia) character back to what is essentially a character from an American Western and stripped his morality down to an absolutely clean slate of pure moral principles: (He’s) an upright guy, he’s going to go into the family business with his father because that’s what he’s supposed to do. He has a strong moral code; he will not do things that go against his moral center.

Luckily, once we figured these characters out, and Dominic knew what he was doing with both of him, he was able to switch in and out of them quite remarkably. We didn’t know if we could psychologically put that pressure on him on a daily basis. He loved it. Being a young technical actor and being very good instinctive actor with good dramatic training behind him, he was able to pull off some marvelous stuff.

What was it like getting back in the indie saddle after so many years of doing big studio films?

Tamahori: In doing this movie I wanted to remind myself that I hadn’t lost the ability to jump back into independent film and (that I hadn’t) become a dull studio hack of some sort. You got to remind yourself, can I still do it? It’s up to others to judge, but it was interesting getting into the editing room. We had some problems and I’d say I know what to do here. It all came from doing American studio films.

Did this experience with The Devil’s Double wet your appetite for another indie feature?

Tamahori: I’m going to make another feature in New Zealand very much along the lines of my first.

Kia ora to TangataWhenua.com for this interview

Sensing Murder Psychic's Kelvin Cruickshank, Sue Nicholson and Deb Webber

Fans of the popular show Sensing Murder want it back on their screens and apparently there has been interest from the other side as well.

Fans of hit show Sensing Murder want it back on television – and apparently so do the dead people who star in it is a growing movement to bring the show back to TV2 after an online petition gained huge support in just a few days.

Sensing Murder pulled in about 200,000 viewers an episode over five series and twice won best reality series at the Qantas Media Awards.

It featured Kelvin Cruickshank, Sue Nicholson and Deb Webber visiting the scenes of violent deaths and describing visions they claimed to be experiencing.

Nicholson and Webber have already signalled their support for a return on a Facebook page encouraging people to sign the petition and lobby TVNZ.

Nicholson said there was also interest from the “other side” and one victim had spoken to her about being involved.

“She said to me ‘I’ve been on telly. I always wanted to be on telly’.”

Creator David Baldock said he was encouraged to hear Facebook group “Bring Back Sensing Murder” had picked up more than 1000 members in 24 hours.

“Sensing Murder isn’t dead. It’s just resting,” he said.

Baldock said he owned the rights to the show in New Zealand and had been in discussions with TVNZ.

The broadcaster had not said “no” to a sixth series but told him he would need to find a sponsor. Previously TVNZ had funded the show.

A TVNZ spokeswoman said: “There are no plans currently on the table for a further series. We don’t have an option on the show.”

Petition organiser Craig Tristram has defended the psychics after a sceptic offered them $100,000 if they could prove they talked to the dead.

He said murder convictions would be gained on the evidence of psychics if police forces across the globe stopped feeling silly about accepting their evidence.

For the full listing of this story please follow this link

Martin Henderson plays young Ed in "Home By Christmas"

At the HISTORY MAKERS AWARDS in New York on the 27th January 2011, Gaylene Preston’s feature film HOME BY CHRISTMAS, will be alongside a selection of many other promising historical films and television story telling produced last year.  

Selected as a finalist in Best Historical Drama, HOME BY CHRISTMAS is one of five finalist nominations competing with productions from PBS USA, the ABC and Channel 4 U.K. HOME BY CHRISTMAS is the first New Zealand film to gain a finalist nomination at HISTORY MAKERS which is the leading global annual gathering of history producers and directors in film and television.

Director/Writer/Producer Gaylene Preston will attend the awards ceremony. “I am absolutely thrilled that HOME BY CHRISTMAS has been nominated. Just being there will be a real honour.”

This is the second international finalist nomination for HOME BY CHRISTMAS which won a High Commendation at the recent Asia Pacific Screen Awards for actor Tony Barry who also won Best Actor at the Qantas NZ Film Awards.

“After a successful theatrical release here, an audience accolade at the Sydney Film Festival and warm response at the London Film Festival, HOME BY CHRISTMAS is becoming ‘the little film that could!’ “ says Preston, who made the film about her parents’ experiences during World War II.

HOME BY CHRISTMAS is a film memoir of love, war and secrets starring Tony Barry, Martin Henderson and featuring her daughter Chelsie Preston Crayford who plays Gaylene’s mother Tui as a young woman.

DIRECTOR/WRITER/PRODUCER Gaylene Preston

Co/PRODUCER Sue Rogers

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Nigel Hutchinson

A Gaylene Preston Productions Production in association with Midnight Films and The Motion Picture Company, funded by the NZ Film Commission, New Zealand On Air and the Wellington Company.

HOME BY CHRISTMAS, was released by Metropolis Films with DVD distributed by Village Roadshow and will be broadcast on TV One later this year.

” Combining documentary and narrative film-making techniques with skill and imagination, Gaylene Preston has created a boldly personal film that is both sincere and significant .” 54th BFI London Film Festival

Asia Pacific Screen Awards 2010 – Highly Commended: Tony Barry, by the Jury chaired by Lord David Puttnum.

Qantas Film Awards 2010 – WINNER Best Actor Tony Barry, WINNER Best Soundtrack,

Sydney Film Festival 2010 WINNER 3rd place Audience Vote

NZ Box Office – 14th highest grossing New Zealand film.

DVD Release NZ wide, Village Roadshow

To watch the trailer please follow this link: HOME by Christmas Trailer