Two New Zealand Shorts Chosen For Cannes

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Wednesday, 29 April

Two New Zealand Shorts Chosen For Cannes Film Festival

Two New Zealand short films The Six Dollar Fifty Man and Lars and Peter have been selected In Competition at the most important film festival in the world, the 62nd Festival De Cannes in France. They join seven other international short films selected for the Competition programme. Cannes Director of Film, Christian Jeune said that in the history of the event, New Zealand has had more short films chosen for Cannes than any other country in the world apart from France.

Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland wrote and directed The Six Dollar Fifty Man. It tells the story of Andy, a gutsy 8 year-old boy who retreats into a make believe world to deal with playground bullying. The film was made with finance from the NZ Film Commission, produced by Wendy Cuthbert and executive produced by Shuchi Kothari and Sarina Pearson of Nomadz Unlimited. Mark Albiston, Louis Sutherland and Wendy Cuthbert will attend the festival to present their film. This is the second Cannes selection for Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland. Their short film Run competed at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

New Zealand director Daniel Borgman wrote and directed Lars and Peter, the tale of a naïve boy who accidentally witnesses his widowed father in a desperate act. A New Zealand-Denmark co-production, the film was produced by Katja Adomeit and made with finance from the NZ Film Commission, Creative NZ and the Danish Film Commission. Both Daniel Borgman and Katja Adomeit will be at Cannes with their film.

Cannes takes place from 13 – 23 May and combines a festival and market, offering a mix of international participants more diverse than any other film event. As a festival, Cannes attracts film directors and creative talent, as well as the directors of all the major film festivals and several thousand film journalists from print, radio and television media, who provide international coverage. As a market, Cannes attracts virtually every buyer and seller of any importance in the film industry, as well as producers, financiers, entertainment lawyers, service companies and film commissions. This year around 7,500 participants from more than 60 countries are expected to attend.

Two New Zealand feature films will screen in the 2009 Cannes market. The sci-fi adventure Under the Mountain from Black Sheep director, Jonathan King includes creature effects from Richard Taylor’s Weta Workshop team and is based on the best selling NZ children’s novel by Maurice Gee. Jonathan King and his producing partners, Richard Fletcher and Matthew Grainger, will be in Cannes to introduce their film and to discuss release plans with the international film distributors who have acquired the movie. Under the Mountain is scheduled for NZ release at the end of 2009 via Buena Visa International

Also screening is director Armagan Ballantyne’s debut feature The Strength of Water, which won critical acclaim when it premiered in the Rotterdam and Berlin Film Festivals earlier this year. The film will begin its NZ release in July via Hopscotch.
A programme of five recent NZ films have been selected by Cannes Cinephiles, who will be presenting them at an event organised in partnership with the Cannes Film Festival. The films are The Strength of Water, Rain of the Children; Dean Spanley; Apron Strings and Second Hand Wedding, which will all screen with French subtitles. Five New Zealand short films have also been selected by Cannes Cinephiles - The Graffiti of Mr Tupaia; This is Her; The Road Out of Town; Careful with that Axe and The Lethal Innocents

At Cannes, New Zealand will host a seminar for international producers to showcase New Zealand locations, facilities and film incentive schemes including the Government’s recently introduced Screen Production Incentive Fund. The event, which is particularly targeted to producers from those countries where New Zealand has co-production treaties, is being organised by the NZ Film Commission alongside Film NZ and Investment NZ. A networking event with Irish and Australian producers, designed to generate business opportunities for the NZ production community, is also being planned. Around 30 New Zealanders will attend Cannes this year, including producers, directors and distributors along with finance, development and sales executives.

PAST NEW ZEALAND SHORT FILMS SELECTED BY CANNES:
2009 The Six Dollar Fifty Man (directors Mark Albiston, Louis Sutherland) – In Competition, Cannes
2009 Lars and Peter (director Daniel Borgman) – In Competition, Cannes
2007 Run (director Mark Albiston) – Honourable Mention-In Competition, Cannes
2007 Fog (director Peter Salmon) – Critics’ Week, Cannes
2006 Nature’s Way (director Jane Shearer) – In Competition, Cannes
2005 Nothing Special (director Helena Brooks) – In Competition, Cannes
2004 Closer (director David Rittey) – In Competition, Cannes
2003 Turangawaewae (director Peter Burger) – Critics’ Week, Cannes
2002 Cow (director Michael Bennett) – Special Programme, Critics’ Week, Cannes
2000 Infection (director James Cunningham) – In Competition, Cannes
1996 The Beach (director Dorthe Scheffmann) – In Competition, Cannes
1996 This Film is a Dog (director Jonathan Ogilvie) – In Competition, Cannes
1996 Planet Man (director Andrew Bancroft) – Best Short Film, Critics’ Week, Cannes
1995 Despondent Divorc̩e (director Jonathan Ogilvie) РIn Competition, Cannes
1994 Sure To Rise (director Niki Caro) – In Competition, Cannes
1994 Lemming Aid (director Grant Lahood) – In Competition, Cannes
1994 The Dig (director Neil Pardington) – Official Selection, Cannes
1994 Stroke (director Christine Jeffs) – Official Selection, Cannes
1994 The Model (director Jonathan Brough) – Official Selection, Cannes
1994 A Game With No Rules (director Scott Reynolds) – Official Selection, Cannes
1994 I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry (director Michael Hurst) – Official Selection, Cannes
1994 Eau De La Vie (director Simon Bar̩) РOfficial Selection, Cannes
1993 Lenny Minute (director Glenn Standring) – In Competition, Cannes
1993 The Singing Trophy (director Grant Lahood) – Special Mention-In Competition, Cannes
1991 Mon Desir (director Nicky Marshall) – Un Certain Regard, Cannes
1989 Kitchen Sink (director Alison McLean) – In Competition, Cannes

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