NZ film sells out in US festivals
03 Dec 2008
An American film-maker living in New Zealand has had an overwhelming response at film festivals throughout the United States to a movie he made about his new home.
American director Harold Brodie started writing his film, The Map Reader, about small town New Zealand 12 years ago.
Festival hit
The film was a sell out when it debuted at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. Both screenings of the world première at the Austin Film Festival in Texas also sold out, and the same happened at the Hollywood Film Festival.
The Map Reader is due to première in New Zealand next year on 5 February.
Small town story
Brodie says he wrote the first draft for the film about 12 years ago.
It tells the story of a 16-year-old boy played by local drama student, Jordan Selwyn, who tries to escape his life in his small-town New Zealand town by immersing himself in a world of maps. Jordan is the nephew of New Zealand acting icon Don Selwyn.
The story follows the arrival of two young women, played by New Zealand actors Bonnie Soper and Mikaila Hutchison, who break his isolation. His mother is played by New Zealand-born actress Rebecca Gibney, who was also executive producer on the film.
A feel for New Zealand
Brodie told American media that he used the movie to address "New Zealandness" through an American perspective.
He also wanted the audience to get a feel for where New Zealand is in the world, and to follow a deceptively simple story level, with characters that have lots of depth.
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