Owner and Founder of the Apex Academy of Performing Arts, Harry Oram, made a big announcement this past weekend for
Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty during the first Apex Academy Red Carpet Premiere held on April 10th at United Cinemas
Bayfair.
The evening was set off with a red carpet complete with paparazzi and a photography exhibit by Fine Art Photographer
Ryan Estremos. Guests were seated in the luxury auditorium that included a United Cinema’s chef prepared banquet table.
The showcase featured a live performance by actors Denny Kota and Sharin Shaik followed by 5 short films featuring
Apex’s very own students, which was narrated by industry veteran Matthew Oram. The film screenings concluded with an
extended cut of their recent 48 Hours Film Challenge submission ‘Aora’, which received several nominations in the Bay of
Plenty Semi-Finals.
Several announcements were made including the ongoing partnership with United Cinemas Bayfair, represented by Manager
Samantha Larsen who teamed up with Harry Oram and Apex Marketing Director Krystal Black who states “We couldn’t have
asked for a better partnership. Samantha has been so open to our ideas and wants the same things for Tauranga. Having
Samantha and United Cinemas join our team creates a powerhouse alliance that will bring international film to the Bay
and promote local filmmakers.”
Harry also shared plans to put a world spotlight on New Zealand by relaunching the Third Culture Film Festival in
Tauranga which was originally based in Hong Kong for two consecutive years. Harry has no doubt Tauranga is the perfect
place to invest in filmmaking and to showcase the region’s natural beauty and creative talent.
“The film festival in Tauranga will be open to submissions from around the world and provide countless opportunities for
filmmakers. International filmmakers will now have incentive to share their stories through us and more importantly
bring our local talent a global audience.”
The Apex team gave a few words to a few of their supporters,
“We want to give a huge thanks to Samantha Larsen and the United Cinemas Bayfair chef and staff for the tremendous help
and five star service, A2Z Print Solutions for partnering with us and providing the best quality marketing materials in
the Bay on a moments notice. Anton Steele, Jade Kent, Glen Dougal, and his partner Debbie Green from Film Bay of Plenty,
Jonathan Ewing from the Tombolo Times and former Mayor, Greg Brownless- thank you for showing up for our students and
the Academy.”
They are currently reaching out to key strategic partners. Together they plan to put Tauranga on the International film
circuit by building cultural and economic bridges through film.