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North Island Roady Underway – Taranaki, Waikato…!
Published by on May 29, 2012 in 2012 Road Trip, Film Screenings, Workshops
Imagine running 50 events around New Zealand in ten weeks. If you had of asked me back in February I’d have had no idea this was possible – we had no vehicle, team, nor resources to make it happen. Stories of struggle are powerful – all of us have them. Time and again this road trip has hit home that so many New Zealanders are working to make their communities better places to live, work and play. With a successful South Island roady complete, we’re pretty ecstatic about what the North Island will offer!
Spaceship packed. Goodbye to the team, friends, whanau and two-weeks of quality office time in Wellington. First stop – Taranaki for a film screening & workshop. 2011 Young New Zealander of the year Jamie Fenton joined us for the workshop to share her experience with innovation – making things happen, and the opportunities young Kiwis have to dream and make this world a better place.
Kindly hosted by WITT, the next generation of young filmmakers came together to explore 21st century challenges, ways that young Kiwis can and are making a difference in Taranaki, develop their filmmaking skills and kick-start a short film project for the competition. What better way to spend a rainy Sunday?!
After a massive day in New Plymouth we packed the van, caught up with Tricia Thompson for a cuppa then headed for Solscape, Raglan. Hands down one of the best back-packer-style eco retreats in the country, Solscape is hotspot for tourists and locals alike. Running a film screening event here was a dream come true – huge thanks to Phil & Bernadette for hosting us!
Sleepy-eyed at 7am, we left Raglan for Hamilton. We enjoyed a beautiful sunny day of filmmaking goodness hosted by ArtMakers Trust, sharing skills & experience with a crew of young people engaged in their alternative education programme. We were totally blown away by the creativity, life experience and maturity of these guys – and great to have a handful of mentors involved in the day too! Ah, life is good!
Next stop, Whangarei – workshop & screening Thursday 31st May. Yeeaaah!
Christchurch & Lyttelton // Stories of Hope
Published by on May 8, 2012 in 2012 Road Trip, Workshops
All eyes on Christchurch – the quake, the rebuild, the people. Beneath the media spotlight on this shaky city, we’ve found life on the ground is different – challenged like never before yes, grateful for support they’ve received, optimistic about moving forwards and in many cases just ‘getting on with it’.
Above, Joshua Kurene from Aranui High took part in a workshop we ran in Christchurch last year just after the big February quake. As Josh puts it, last years workshop is where it all started – the spark – that urged him to get involved in the Youth 2050 Visioning Project, co-facilitate climate leadership workshops & events around the Pacific with 350 Aotearoa, and win a youth leadership award. As well as take part in this year’s workshop as a young filmmaker, Josh also presented his journey over the past year. It’s been amazing to watch this young leader grow!
The past few days have been an amazing experience connecting with Cantabrians young and old. The filmmaking workshop at Avonside Girls High had 20 students from five different schools, short presentations from three local ‘changemakers’, and support from two young industry professionals Richie Sewell & Renee Parsons.
Lyttelton Film Screening!
Time in Lyttelton is humbling. You only have to walk around to see how much this beautiful place has been affected by the quakes. Brave faces behind every shop front greet you with a smile. There’s a strong sense of community here – different from most other places we’ve visited on this road trip so far.
Here’s one of the films we screened – a short piece by young filmmaker & friend James Muir.
Considering we only confirmed it a few days before, we were blown way by so many friendly locals coming along to the film screening event. Thanks to Lyttelton Main Primary for hosting the evening. Another huge thanks to Wendy from the Info Centre, and Sue-ellen from Project Lyttelton for your support spreading the word, and to Brindi Joy from the YHA for sharing your musical talents at intermission. To everyone who came along, thanks for an amazing evening guys!
Pheuw… the South Island leg of this road trip has been incredible, just one stop left in Blenheim before prep-time back in Wellington then launching into the North Island. Feeling very grateful to have had these opportunities, to our tiny core team – Lu Davidson, Alana Barber, and our volunteers Kavi, Owen, Danielle & Komako for your support in making this possible. MASSIVE!
Nga Mihi
Greymouth // Tiny, but Powerful
Published by on April 18, 2012 in 2012 Road Trip
Greymouth. We left the comforts of Mum’s cooking and travelled the magestic coast road to arrive in Greymouth – just in time for a sneaky sunset surf before the community film screening event at the Kahuna Boardriders Surf Club. Life doesn’t get much better than this!
The first big hiccup of the roady – we rocked up to clubrooms to find no projector… Oops! Haha – laughable now, but at the time there were some well-dropped jaws. Our bad, miscommunication. Meant for an intimate screening though – with a diverse crew of locals gathering around the laptop & speakers – what better way to have an intimate screening? And, giveaway the prize home-grown marrow?!
Tai Poutini Polytech hosted us for the workshop. The smallest workshop we’ve ever run, with only two participants. We’ve found it hard to promote the workshops during school holidays – a good learning curve for next time. That said, it did mean a much deeper engagement with the two aspiring young filmmakers, Moss & Ripeka.
These young students aren’t just beginners. At 14, Moss is well accustomed to software including Premier Pro (Editing), After Effects (Special Effects & Compositing), Cinema 4D and many other specialised programmes. Ripeka has made several films and promo videos in her time at her High School in Hokitika, she’s excited about making a film for the competition. With only two students we could explore storytelling, editing & cinematography in much more depth – including getting their hands on the sponsored Zacuto steady rig!
Life in the road is exciting and challenging. With action-packed days and an ambitious string of events, getting quality organising time and a good night sleep is crucial. The YHA have been vital in making this to happen – being able to rock up to the Hostel in Greymouth and have everything you need is massive. To have them sponsor our accommodation for the entire roady is unreal. Respect.
To the beautiful West Coast & the people we connected with, thank you!
