Why showbiz keeps f locking to Thames

interesting locations and enthusiastic locals willing to get involved as extras and supply accommodation for crew.

‘‘Film-making really is a travelling circus, literally. We turn up in our trucks and we put up our tents and we basically bring everything with us,’’ Sarkies said.

‘‘It’s funny because, in the end, it’s not city councils or film offices that determine where stuff gets made, it comes down to the attitude of the people. And great coffee, that’s very important, and Thames has got that.’’

Bella Pacific Media’s Kirsty Griffin is originally from Thames, moving back to her hometown with film-maker

Viv Kernick in 2012, after working in the film industry in Auckland for 30 years and living in New York for a year.

Their successful House of Champions documentary follows three Thames flatmates who train for the New Zealand Special Olympics National Summer Games.

They’re back in Thames (and the Chatham Islands) for their next project, a short documentary about a Hauraki weaver, who travels to the Chathams for weka feathers.

Co-director and producer Griffin said the town’s historic buildings and proximity to Auckland made Thames an attractive option.

Award-winning cinematographer Ginny Loane just wrapped The Justice of Bunny King in Thames, an independent movie about a sharp-tongued windscreen washer who is constantly letting her mouth get her into trouble.

Loane, who lives in the Kauaeranga Valley near Thames, said the town was ideal for small-budget productions.

‘‘There are many different budgets in film making, there are Netflix budgets or Avatar budgets that are huge . . .

‘‘And then there’s the film that I’ve just been on, an independent New Zealand little feature, with a great story and great actors who are drawn to the script but there’s hardly any money,’’ she said.

‘‘So what we have to do is get extras together and make a donation to the operatic society or the drama society, and you have to have people willing and up for it for a bit of fun.’’

And that’s when Thames comes into its own.