Local film takes festival awards

A Porirua film has won two of three prizes in the inaugural New Zealand International Film Festival short film awards.

Whitby-bred film-maker Sam Kelly’s Lambs, set in the gang culture of Cannons Creek, won the Madman Entertainment Jury Prize and the audience vote prize. Each prize is worth $5000.

The New Zealand’s Best prizes were awarded in Auckland on August 4.

The jury said: “Lambs had the biggest heartbeat, rawness, honesty and wonderful humanity.”