WHY DON'T NEW ZEALANDERS SUPPORT NEW ZEALAND FILMS?



There are many New Zealand feature films that have very low voter rating participants at IMDB.
'Mr. Pip' (2013) has a respectible count of 1712 votes (as of 09 May), whereas the Sir Edmund Hillary docudrama 'Beyond the Edge' (2013) has only attracted 675 voters. Now 'Mr. Pip', technically a New Zealand co-production, had money behind it and it had a highly recognized Actor and a highly recognized Director. Whereas 'Beyond the Edge' has a relatively unknown Director making a bold feature, using mostly inexperienced actors. Am I smelling Tall Poppies here, or is this a reaction to the belief that only Hollywood makes great films? Great films are made in New Zealand and they are not only directed by Peter Jackson.

However, most New Zealand features are largely hindered by inadequate funding. Many less than ideal compromises are a normal part of New Zealand filmmaking. That these features get made at all is a wonder. Ask yourself - If New Zealanders don't tell New Zealand stories, who will? Wouldn't you rather have less than ideally produced stories made, instead of not having any made at all? And even if the Americans and Australians were to do it, would you trust them to represent your cultural uniqueness correctly? Would Maori and other Pacific Islanders want others to tell their stories? There are many New Zealand features that have received almost no votes at IMDB. There are six I have picked out that I am using as a challenge to New Zealanders. They are:

Kingpin (1985)

The Leading Edge (1987)

Mark II (1986)

No Petrol, No Diesel (2009)

Should I Be Good (1985)

Zilch! (1989)

The challenge is to view a film or films, then go to the IMDB site (I have links from all titles to their IMDB page) and vote. If you write up a review for IMDB, send me a copy and I will add it to my site. All six of these films can be viewed online free, so there is no excuse for not being able to view them. I might also add that most major New Zealand community and University libraries also have or have access to these titles. Bare in mind that all of these films were made with a budget of well under $1 million each, with a great deal of donated labour and materials, so try to be respectful when writing up your reviews of these efforts.

Enjoy - Charles




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