World premieres for Kiwi gay rest home story

World premieres for Kiwi gay rest home story

A Kiwi tale of two elderly gay war veterans who find love in a rest home is to have its world premiere in April at festivals in Europe and the United States.

‘The Colonel’s Outing’, is the latest short film from the award-winning team at Number 8 Films, director Christopher Banks and producer Andy Jalfon.

The film has been selected to play in the Miami Gay& Lesbian Film Festival in the United States and the Torino LGBT Film Festival in Italy.

“We’re thrilled that ‘The Colonel’s Outing’ will have its world premiere on two continents,” says producer Andy Jalfon. “We have a great cast who have been fantastic to work with, who have given emotional performances that will instantly draw in the audience. With help from our generous sponsors, particularly the Mental Health Foundation, we've managed to tell a story that is both unique and touching.”

The Torino GLBT Film Festival is the oldest and one of the most prestigious gay film festivals in Europe. The Miami Gay& Lesbian Film Festival, presented by HBO, is one of the largest gay film festivals in the United States.

"We have admired director Christopher Banks’ work, beginning with his short film ‘Teddy’,” says Franc Castro, executive director of the Miami Gay& Lesbian Film Festival. “We are extremely excited to be screening the North American premiere of ‘The Colonel's Outing.’”

The heartwearming and bittersweet tale took several years to reach the screen. Despite a strong script, based on an internationally-published short story by local author Steve Attwood, the film was rejected by local funding bodies and seemed doomed to sit on a shelf forever until an unlikely source came on board as a principal sponsor in early 2010 – the Mental Health Foundation’s Out Of The Blue programme.

“This film could not have been made without the financial support of the Mental Health Foundation,” says director Christopher Banks. “We are immensely grateful to Boris Sokratov and the team at the Foundation who saw the value in this story being told, in seeing that a journey to wellbeing can start as simply as stepping outside your front door, asking a question, or – perhaps most importantly – being willing to listen to the answer.”

‘The Colonel’s Outing’ will have its New Zealand premiere later this year. A trailer and further information about the making of the film can be found online at www.thecolonelsouting.com, and you can follow the film on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/thecolonelsouting.

Number 8 Films is a registered charitable trust which encourages and facilitates the highest standards of artistic achievement in the production of New Zealand films, to increase opportunities for New Zealanders to see locally-made stories and enrich our cultural heritage. For more information on the work of Number 8 Films, visit www.number8films.com.

ENDS