3. Why did you buy into an art-house cinema at age 26?
After Larry's company folded I'd gone freelance as a publicist for art house and New Zealand films. A distributor I worked with got the opportunity to buy the Academy Cinema but couldn't raise all the money himself. I took out a huge loan, tens of thousands of dollars, and bought 10 per cent of the cinema. Originally I was going to buy 20 per cent but mum was my guarantor and she talked me out of it. I was still paying off my student loan. I thought it was a good investment because it came with a paid job from which I could repay the loan.
4. What were the challenges?
We had some dramas that first year. We had a flood on the opening day of the Documentary Film Festival. By the time the doors opened at 11am, we'd got enough water out that we could stack up some buckets for people to walk on. Between sessions we had a big fan drying out the carpet. As operations manager, whenever anything broke I had to work out what it was, where to get it fixed and I'd be the one to go up the front of the cinema to apologise for delays and offer refunds. But we did heaps of cool things too, like getting graffiti artists to paint a school bus outside the cinema to promote a film and we grew the database of art house and local film followers.
5. Did you make a go of it?
Eventually I left after falling out with my business partner. The cinema wasn't making money and we had different ideas as to what should change. He wasn't able to pay me out so when he sold the cinema for less than his debts my entire investment was lost. I'd already repaid my loan by then and moved on to marketing roles at the Stardome and Auckland Zoo, but it was emotionally tough because The Academy was my baby. I still feel really connected to it and I know previous owners feel the same way. I love to see it do well. It has a really special place in the New Zealand cinema scene. It shows films that no one else does and that diversity is so important for the industry. Otherwise we're just going to get Hollywood films.
6. Why did you start the Show Me Shorts film festival?
I saw there was a gap in the market for short films. With my marketing background I always approach things with a slightly commercial lens. Australia and other countries have heaps of short film festivals but New Zealand was really lacking despite the fact we're among the best in the world at making them. After France, we're the country with the most short films to have screened at Cannes.
7. Why do New Zealanders have such a knack for making short films?
Partly because the format fits our No8 wire approach but also I think New Zealanders are great story tellers. Because of our indigenous population and our proximity to the Pacific Islands, we've got this really strong oratory tradition that has infiltrated to wider society and become part of who we all are, culturally. I think there's evidence of that in all our art forms.
8. What kind of people go to see short films?
Our typical audience member is tertiary educated but that's something we're trying to change. We're now taking our festival to 22 centres nationwide. Stewart Island was one of our most successful regional locations last year. People in small towns are often just grateful that someone comes there with an interesting programme. They loved seeing how New Zealand films were right up there with the international ones.
9. You had 1000 entries. How on earth did you select the final 40?
I've got a team of 10 programmers who understand our audience. It's a market-driven festival so the films we select tend to have a narrative. We don't play anything too avant garde. There are lots of upbeat, fun, audience-pleasing films but there are also ones that make you think.
10. Why are some of the international films premiering here?
Show Me Shorts is internationally prestigious because we're New Zealand's only Academy Awards-accredited film festival. Adding our laurels to their film is bragging rights for film-makers and helps them gain entry to other festivals. We had to meet really stringent guidelines to qualify for accreditation. It was pretty exciting getting a letter from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. I've totally got that framed on the wall. Every year our festival's New Zealand winner qualifies for entry to the Academy Awards. So far we've had one film make it to their long list.
11. Are short films just a stepping stone to feature films or an art form in their own right?
That's a hot debate. We have short film specialists as well as people who just make one or two before going on to make features. A lot of people who work in TV commercials make shorts to keep creatively stimulated. They might also be making web series, music videos and corporate videos. Some are also fashion designers, comic book artists or musicians, so I try not to put labels on people.
12. What was your most prized childhood film?
My older sister Liz was a big horror movie fan but she was too afraid to watch them on her own so she'd wake me up to watch Freddy Krueger with her. When I got too scared she'd put on The Sound of Music to calm me down enough to go back to bed.
