Massey scriptwriter’s second film in NZ competition

Massey scriptwriter’s second film in NZ competition

Madam Black, a short film written by Dr Matthew Harris, a tutor at Massey University’s Auckland campus, will appear in the New Zealand's Best Competition at the New Zealand International Film Festival next month.

Described by well-known film director and selector Christine Jeffs as ”a sweet and quirky tale, which abounds with charm and humour”, the film tells the story of a wayward glamour photographer who runs over a child’s pet and is forced to fabricate a story about its disappearance.

The 2015 film directed by Ivan Barge and set on Auckland’s North Shore features actors Jethro Skinner and Pearl Everard. It recently had its world premiere at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood at the Dances With Films Festival, where it won the Industry Award and an honourable mention in the Competition Shorts.

“It’s great to have the New Zealand premiere so soon after the international release,” Dr Harris says. “The New Zealand’s Best event is a great occasion which always has a sell-out crowd – it really shows the public appetite for short-form storytelling.”

He likens the popularity of the New Zealand International Film Festival competition¬ – and of other short film festivals around the country – to the recent trend in hors d'oeuvres-style dining.

“Seeing half a dozen short films is like the tapas of movie-going. Taking slices of life from different plates can be incredibly filling, and it encourages more conversation because you’re not locked into one long narrative. They’re great to go to with friends.”

This is Dr Harris’ second appearance in the festival’s New Zealand’s Best line-up. His award-winning short film 43,000 Feet also featured in the competition in 2012. It travelled the international festival circuit from Tribeca in New York to the Clermont-Ferrand festival in France, accruing various awards and nominations. His last collaboration with director Ivan Barge, Snooze Time, had over 140,000 views in its first week online.

Alongside tutoring at the School of English and Media Studies, he is currently working on a feature-length fictionalised documentary about the curious history of the Christmas carol O Holy Night, which was allegedly written by a professed atheist.

Dr Harris graduated with a PhD in New Zealand fiction at Massey’s Auckland campus in 2012. Find out more about his work here, and a blog on his films here.

Madam Black will screen on Saturday, July 25, 6.15pm at Sky City Theatre. Tickets for the event go on sale at 9:00am, Friday, June 26 from Ticketmaster or: http://www.nziff.co.nz/2015/auckland/new-zealands-best-2015/. Click here to see the trailer.

ENDS

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