Paekakariki’s Inaugural Film Festival!

MEDIA RELEASE 25 June 2007

Paekakariki’s (another name for Paradise) Inaugural Film Festival!

Stock up on jaffas and have your warm woolies at the ready so you can hunker down for the 'Paekakariki - Another Name for Paradise' Film Festival, to be held in the July school holidays in St Peter's Village Hall.

That's the advice of Amanda Hanan who has been organising the event over the last few months, with the assistance of Rozel Pharazyn from the Paekakariki Community Trust. St Peter's Village Hall was bought by the Community Trust in April to support community-based ventures, and the inaugural Paekakariki (another Name for Paradise) Film Festival will be one of its first significant events. The Paekakariki Community Trust, has been given money to purchase a projector. By having the film festival it brings attention to the fact that movies once again will screen regularly at St Peters Village Hall.

Not only will the films screen locally, but the programme consists entirely of films made in New Zealand, and in some cases were actually filmed in Paekakariki. "We're hoping that we've managed to source films that will appeal to people of all different age groups and interests. And because it is the July school holidays we wanted to make sure to have films that will bring in children and teenagers,”

Highlights of the programme include: a 75 minutes of 'live' cinema compiled of home movies and news reel footage that span the decades between 1924 and the modern day. For many Paekakariki residents this last item will be poignant and compulsive viewing: it includes footage of Kodak employees enjoying picnics in QE Park in the 1950's; an American soldier reading from a friend's diary while stationed at QE Park in WWII; and footage of the Paekakariki leg of the premiere Hundred Mile Cycle race in 1946. Gilbert Haisman will play music on the night. There will also be a Saturday night late test screening of a new suspense horror and a documentary about Wellington band Fat Freddie’s Drop.

The programme also includes animations of popular children's books by Joy Cowley, and Lynley Dodd, especially for the little ones and the critically acclaimed children's movie Her Majesty; at the other end of the viewing spectrum is a fascinating 'fly on the wall' documentary made in the 1970's on New Zealanders' partiality to joining clubs. This documentary includes an introduction by one time Paekakariki resident Dennis Glover.

Hanan says, “It has been a steep learning curve trying to source films for this festival. We have relied heavily on Jane Paul from the New Zealand Film Archive. Paul who will be acting as projectionist for the weekend of Friday July 6th to Sunday July 8th and will also give a talk on the films on the Saturday night.”

As well as door sales, the Station Kiosk at the Paekakariki railway station will also be selling tickets.

ENDS

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