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Three New Zealand short films are to screen at several European film festivals during the next month.
Betty Banned Sweets will be shown at the 38th Rotterdam International Film Festival next week and the 31st Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival in February.
Aphrodite's Farm and Kehua will screen in competition at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival, also in February.
The New Zealand Film Commission said it was a great start to the year for New Zealand short films on the festival circuit.
Betty Banned Sweets is a 15-minute tragic comedy written, directed and produced by Michelle Savill about a boy who dreams of escaping to South America.
Aphrodite's Farm is a modern fairytale set in Taranaki. The 15-minute short film was directed and co-written by Adam Strange, based on a story by Peter Force and produced by Anzak Tindall.
Kehua is a 13-minute drama about a young Maori boy from Australia, with his first experiences of New Zealand being a tangihanga (funeral).
Written and directed by Wiremu Grace, Kehua was produced by Libby Hakaraia, who also produced the short film Hawaikii, which was selected for the 57th Berlin International Film Festival in 2007.
Grace is the son of celebrated New Zealand writer Patricia Grace.
- NZPA
