Film scoops award

BY TERESA HATTAN

Filmmaker Richard Green is looking forward to greener pastures in the wake of winning an award for his film Te Whare.

The North Hampton International Community Film Festival in Britain screened 100 films and awarded two major prizes and five commendations, one of which went to Te Whare.

"It was really stunning because I didn’t actually make it with that intention. I made it as an educational resource, but I’m really pleased with the story," says Mr Green.

Te Whare, or The House, was written as an historical parable to engage people with the Treaty of Waitangi. It is about three young men who share a house in Grey Lynn.

The events in the story mirror historical events over New Zealand’s history involving Pakeha and Maori.

Originally written as a play to be performed around the country, Te Whare was given a $38,000 budget by Adult Community Education to be made into a film.

At 32 minutes, it first aired on Maori Television on Waitangi Day last year.

After its completion it was suggested to Mr Green that he send it to festivals.

He believes it is not the technical side of things that sold the film, but the story.

Winning the commendation was a surprise for Mr Green because the awards were only announced seven months after the screening.

"It’s quite nice because I can call myself an award-winning film-maker," he says.

Mr Green says a lot of people were involved in the project and volunteered their time.

The film is now being used widely as an educational resource.

Mr Green has started work on a feature film based on Shakespeare’s Othello, set in pre-colonial New Zealand and presented in te reo Maori.

– Teresa Hattan is a Wintec journalism student

- © Fairfax NZ News