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The makers of the film Out of the Blue have apologised to the mother of the first victim of the Aramoana shootings.
Gladys Nilson received a letter from writers Robert Sarkies and Graeme Tetley last week apologising for inaccuracies relating to her in the film.
Mrs Nilson's 38-year-old son Garry Holden and 11-year-old granddaughter Jasmine were shot and killed by David Gray in the 1990 tragedy.
Mrs Nilson, 74, was shown smoking cigarettes in the movie and being admonished by Garry for it.
"I've never smoked, and everyone who knows me knows how anti-smoking I am," she said yesterday.
"I was also upset that they showed me getting a massage from Garry. It was hard enough for me to see that movie, but seeing what they'd done made it so much harder. This has taken away my memories of my last hour with my son."
Mrs Nilson let film-maker Robert Sarkies know her feelings after a preview of the film.
"As we came out of the film we stopped to speak to Robert Sarkies and, much to my embarrassment, I exploded shaking with anger," she said. "I just couldn't help myself. I was so angry.
"I didn't even know I was in the movie until I saw it."
She received a letter of apology last week.
"We are writing to express our regret for any hurt we have caused by our portrayal of the character 'Garry Holden's mother' in the film Out of the Blue," the letter says.
"Our intention in the scene between Garry and his mother was to portray a close extended family in contrast with the solitude of David Gray."
Mrs Nilson's name was removed from the credits at the end of the film.
"I still wish it had never been made," she said of the film.
"My great-granddaughter is 10 now and she will be able to see it in a few years. How's she going to cope with it?"
Mrs Nilson is a stone flower carver whose creations have been displayed all over New Zealand. She makes the flowers in her Roseneath home looking down towards the Aramoana spit.
Next Monday will be the 16th anniversary of the Aramoana tragedy.
- OTAGO DAILY TIMES
