Raglan’s Film Festival is on again

Media Release:
Raglan’s Film Festival is on again
by Susan Guenther, Raglan Old School Arts Centre
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Raglan’s Annual Film Festival commences on Thursday, September 13th, running until Sunday September 23rd. This celebration of film is a highlight of the Raglan Old School Arts Centre year.

The festival kicks off with Te Kumara on Thursday evening followed by two movies on the Friday evening, ‘Bernie’, at 4:30 and the boardroom thriller ‘Margin Call’ at 8.00pm. The impressive programme includes feature films such as ‘A Separation’, described by the NZ Herald as “Sublime and utterly heart-wrenching....” Many Raglan locals won’t want to miss ‘A Deeper shade of Blue’, by legendary surfing filmmaker Jack McCoy. This delves into the roots of surfing, with exhilarating footage revealing the ethos of the surfing life.

Youngsters are well catered for with an excellent selection of short animated movies on the afternoon of Saturday 15th. The kid’s session also includes a special 5-DVD box set of Flux Animation’s cartoons to be won!

Commencing at 7pm on Saturday 22nd September, the Raglan Arts Film Festival Awards (RAFFA) ceremony shines the spotlight on Whaingaroa’s own filmmakers and actors with a screening of the short films and highlights of the nominated features before the honours are awarded.

RAFFA nominees include Reiki Ruawai for his “awesome” performance in ‘The Dump’. Hamish Bennett, director of this comedy/drama, set in rural New Zealand, says of Reiki “…everywhere the film has screened, everyone has commented on how impressed they were by Reiki's performance - from Palm Springs to Wairoa!”

Maryanne Tuao and Groundswell Media figure prominently in the list of nominees, represented by the short romantic comedy ‘Whiff Drawers’, filmed in and around Raglan, a documentary on Raglan’s first Grom skateboarding competition at Te Kopua Skatebowl, and this year’s colourful Raglan Art to Wear competition captured on film.

The event is sponsored by Creative Communities Waikato District and Flux Media.

The Film Festival has its own website: www.raglanartscentre.co.nz/rff/

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