Wellington To Host World Premiere Of Anthology Film ‘Encounters’

After a delayed release due to the February Auckland lockdown, Wellington-shot anthology film ‘Encounters’ will premiere for one night only at The Embassy Theatre on Wednesday 28 April followed by an On Demand release via Vimeo and the New Zealand Film Commission’s OnDemand platform NZ Film OnDemand immediately following the screening.

Encounters is a collaboratively made anthology feature film that interweaves eight tales of love, life and death. Eight emerging New Zealand directors and a diverse cast and crew came together to tell this collection of delightful, disturbing, romantic and rebellious stories.

With a 50-50 gender split in filmmaking voices, the multi-genre film was independently made and shot throughout the Wellington region. Produced through Oneshot Collective, Encounters is collaborative, independent filmmaking for a new generation of emerging New Zealand screen talent. Work started on the project in mid-2014, with the intention of encouraging collaboration and providing opportunities for emerging screen talent to gain experience beyond the realm of short films.

The cast includes a number of familiar faces including Siobhan Marshall (Pork Pie/Outrageous Fortune), Cohen Holloway (Bellbird/Hunt for the Wilderpeople/What We Do in the Shadows), Sophie Hambleton (Westside), Neenah Dekkers-Reihana (Waru), Rachel Roberts (The Rehearsal), Brynley Stent (Funny Girls) and more. The lineup of collaborating directors includes: Jane Fletcher, Constance Gervasi, Chaz Harris, Bea Joblin, Sina Leasuasu, Conan McKegg, Luke McMeeken Ruscoe and Scott Milligan.

“With the increased competition in short filmmaking and its lack of financial viability, we felt that working together to create a feature would prove a better path for platforming emerging talent in Aotearoa,” says Chaz Harris, who served as Producer on the film in addition to his role as a collaborating writer/director.

“Encounters had a huge impact on my career,” says fellow Producer, Lead Editor and collaborating filmmaker Scott Milligan. “It led to my being recommended for a crew role on Ghost in the Shell, and provided me with key experience I’ve been able to leverage in securing further roles as an Editor and Assistant Editor since.”

Producer Anita Ross adds, “This film has been such a marathon and I’m very proud that we’ve been able to reach the finish line to release it into the world. Every independent filmmaker who has made a feature knows the workload involved in reaching this point, so we’re looking forward to celebrating!”

Encounters will have its world premiere on 28 April 2021 at Wellington’s Embassy Theatre before being globally available to rent or buy On Demand. Tickets are available through iTicket and more information can be found at: encounters.co.nz

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