Great Lake Film Society director Joel Corbett and script writer Denise Edmonds discuss the Taupō filmmaking scene. Photo / Dan Hutchinson
Great Lake Film Society director Joel Corbett and script writer Denise Edmonds discuss the Taupō filmmaking scene. Photo / Dan Hutchinson
Local film-making enthusiasts from Taupō have won awards and praise at New Zealand’s largest and longest-running film festival.
The Vista Foundation 48Hours competition had more than 500 film-making teams take part this year, and Taupō’s Great Lake Film Society proudly took home a collection of awards for their movie Loose End.
The society’s collection of Bay of Plenty Regional Awards included Best Film, Best Cinematography, Best Script, and Best Performer.
Whack Crizard, another Taupō team of first-timers in the competition also won big, winning the award for Best Animation for their film The Cheesening.
Loose End tells the story of a world where each person’s life is bound to their own single red string. It was made with a team of 16 locals contributing to the script, design, acting, and production, to create a touching and comedic film with only two lines of spoken dialogue, and plenty of visual humour.
Great Lake Film Society created the short film R.A.W.W. for the 48Hours film competition in 2021. Katherine Ansley (left), Denise Edmonds, Sarah Waller, Mandy Thomas, Lindsey Seaton, Kerence Stephen, Roy Bowers (right). Joel Corbett (sitting)
Taupō-Nui-a-Tia teacher Cameron Walton, who won Best Performer for his role in Loose End, was an unfortunate officer worker who found himself untethered from his lifeline, hopping between multiple diverging and crisscrossing strings.
Walton reflected on the creative experience, saying it’s a “celebration of all those who have passion and love for film”.
“Being able to come together with all of the teams, seeing their films on the big screen, and celebrating what we’ve all come up with together is a privilege.”
Emiel Van Wilsem Vos from Whack Crizard was proud of their team’s six nominations and Best Animation win.
“We are looking forward to entering again next year and bringing more “A Game,” Vos said.
“Now that we know how the competition runs we will get better every year.”
The Cheesening followed two friends seeking the help of a wizard skilled in cheese magic to save their fromage-possessed mate. With a striking visual style and Kiwi humour, the film provided an eye-catching and whimsical point of difference among the films submitted.
For the competition, teams are given a genre and various elements to incorporate into their five-minute movies which must be filmed, edited, and submitted within two days.
There are seven regional finals with the very best films being chosen for the grand final event at the Embassy Theatre in Wellington, and despite the Great Lake Film Society winning the Best Film award, there’s no guarantee that Loose End will make the grand final.
However, Loose End’s film director Joel Corbett, said “winning is nice to have, but isn’t the aim”.
“This year the calibre of films is almost beyond comprehension. We never make our films to win awards,” Corbett said.
“We make them out of the love for creating and the incredible fun we have during the process.”
