Phobia knocked on head for film

Melissa Pentecost

An up-and-coming New Zealand filmmaker had to overcome a personal phobia to make a film that has earned her a best newcomer nomination at an international film festival.

Melissa Pentecost, from Wellington, and filming partner Will Clark, from Britain, this year made the film Under Their Skin - a look at New Zealand possums as pets, pests and a resource.

"I've always thought possums to be huge and scary," says Miss Pentecost, 22.

"I was once walking out of a friend's flat on a cold night and it was quite dark, and I heard this almighty scratching on the wooden fence just to the right of me.

"The security light clicked on, and this golden mammoth possum was but a metre away, staring at me at eye level. I just bolted."

The duo have been nominated for the Marion Zunz Newcomer Award at the Jackson Hole International Wildlife Festival, to be held next month in Wyoming.

Miss Pentecost will be among 700 film professionals expected to attend, including representatives of industry leaders National Geographic, Animal Planet, and the BBC.

Under Their Skin, with a budget of $1000, packs a lot of issues into 20 minutes and includes some controversy - the grisly death of a possum.

The pair made the film as part of the Natural History NZ post-graduate diploma at Otago University.

Miss Pentecost has now overcome her fear of possums.