With seemingly Gatsby-esque levels of societal ascension, I recently found myself right at the glittering pinnacle of the local media industry – the newly renamed Aotearoa (formerly Qantas) Film and Television Awards. This is what happened.
Following one of the most beautiful Fridays of the year, a specifically New Zealand type of drizzly overcast fills the sky on the Saturday of the awards, which are being held at the Viaduct Events Centre, a hastily erected piece of coastal architecture that bears all the charm of a high school assembly hall.
Media (i.e. yours truly) were instructed to be there early for the red carpet arrivals, so I am here from the very beginning. Now let me clarify that you couldn’t find someone more patriotic than me, I really do love this country. But the notion of a red carpet here just seems wrong. Maybe it’s the last remaining vestige of cultural cringe, but I don’t think there’s a single New Zealander that warrants the inherent prestige and fawning distance of the fabled rouge walkway. Despite this, I resolve to not let my cynicism get the better of me and attempt to embrace the spirit of the evening.
Half an hour into the ‘red carpet arrivals’, and not a single guest has arrived, lending my above hypothesis unfortunate credence. Luckily, there are fellow members of the fourth estate present to shoot the breeze with. Herald Entertainment editor Hugh Sundae is talking up the Make My Movie competition, and forces me to pick my favourites of the finalists.
Some semi-famous people begin to arrive. I cannot bring myself to approach them. 99% of our recognisable ‘celebrities’ come from TV in this country, and I justify my reticence by telling myself I’m here to cover the film beat.
Then I spot internationally recognised documentary filmmaker Annie Goldson; a nominee (and eventual winner!) this evening for Best Documentary Director for her acclaimed film Brother Number One. She’s also my former film tutor from long since past university days and a very nice lady. She tells me how she’s about to take Brother Number One to one of the biggest documentary festivals in the world in Amsterdam, where she is hoping to secure further distribution.
More glossy local talent arrives and get their photos taken with fake moustaches at the pink Woman’s Day photo wall. Right next to it is a giant pink high heel. I avert my eyes in the name of self-preservation.
I get a tap on the shoulder. It is another one of New Zealand’s top film talents – writer and director Toa Fraser (No. 2; Dean Spanley), who is presenting an award. We reminisce about arguing over the merits of the 1990 Bruce Willis megaflop Hudson Hawk on the Sacred Heart school bus back in the ’90s, and he updates me on the several projects he is currently developing.
If you’ve never seen it, Fraser’s 2009 film Dean Spanley is very much worth checking out, full of subtle charm and delicate performances. It never reached the audience it deserved in my opinion, and is a great showcase for one of this country’s premier film talents. Can’t wait to see what he does next.
I resolve to speak to someone I don’t already know, and set my sights on an actor who might actually qualify as a New Zealand celebrity – Go Girls and Underbelly star Anna Hutchison, who is making inroads in Hollywood. Despite the circle of buff Shortland St actors I have to squeeze through to get to her, she proves very sweet and approachable, and lights up when I inquire about her buzzed-about upcoming American movie The Cabin In The Woods, co-written and produced by geek god Joss Whedon (Buffy The Vampire Slayer; The Avengers) and directed by Drew Goddard (who wrote Cloverfield).
The film, which was shot a while ago but has been undergoing a lengthy post-conversion process to 3D, is apparently a high concept post-modern take on the “teenagers in peril in the woods” genre, and co-stars Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and the great Richard Jenkins (Six Feet Under; Hall Pass). There has been much secrecy around the project, but Hutchison explains that she recently got to see it in its entirety, and that it was amazing. She’s biased I suppose, but in the moment, I am completely prepared to take her word for it. The Cabin In The Woods is released in New Zealand next year.
The awards are about to begin, but I sneak in a quick catch-up with Auckland director and writer Orlando Stewart, whom fans of the fantastic Wayne Anderson TV shows will recognise as Wayne’s manager, and who is here tonight as part of the team that made Whare Maori, the Maori architecture show which would go on to win the award for Best Information Programme. Congrats Orlando and company!
Now it’s on with the show. And host Oliver Driver kicks things off impressively with “That’s Okay”, a lengthy musical number about the past year in New Zealand film and television. The vocally challenged Driver is assisted in his singing by musical actor Gareth Williams, and the pair wax sardonically about what makes New Zealand movies great (“A Maori standing in the rain”; “Australians in the lead roles”); how Shorty St won’t get any awards (a prediction that proves false when Rena Owen wins for her guest role) and how all Driver’s recent projects (Sunrise; Alt TV et al) have been cancelled in one way or another. It’s pretty darn amusing, and the crowd laps it up.
Immediately following, Driver explains that “that’s all the funny [we’re] getting” and that the bar won’t open until the last award is given. He is accurate on both counts.
But that’s not to say the ceremony was without its share of memorable moments – from the stirring onstage haka following Maori TV’s Native Affairs programme winning Best Current Affairs over Sunday and 60 Minutes, to local character actor Greg Johnson wryly lamenting the lack of roles for actors his age when he wins Best Supporting Feature Film Actor for The Insatiable Moon, the evening was peppered with periods of intimacy that surely could not have existed in a larger industry. It’s difficult to imagine the running onstage joke about the paternity of very pregnant actress Jodie Rimmer’s impending sprog occurring at any other country’s film awards.
Everybody who wins is keen to share the credit, and an air of positivity permeates.
The big film awards don’t come until the very end, by which time my bottom is begging for mercy. The truly unique Florian Habicht wins Best Director and Best Film for his movie Love Story, which charmed audiences at the New Zealand International Film Festival this year.
Habicht was in LA promoting the film and couldn’t be there to pick up the award, but two young friends read a brief message while his father (who featuring prominently in Love Story) beams with pride from the floor. “Florian would like to make love to everyone in the audience,” explained his young proxies. In a year perhaps slightly lacking in break-out cinematic successes, it’s reassuring that a film with such a singular vision can come out on top. Congratulations Florian!
Oliver Driver announces the bar is open. The auditorium empties in seconds. My media pass specifies that I do NOT have access to the after party. I ignore it and enjoy a beer and some sushi.
