Motueka cop’s top shots
Senior Constable Stef Harris was fuelling up his patrol car in the early hours of the morning when inspiration for a new movie hit him.
Harris and his crew spent 30 hours in March filming crime thriller Blue Moon at the Motueka BP on an iPhone 7+. The feature-length film was recently selected as part of the New Zealand International Film Festival in Christchurch. It will also show in Nelson.
Harris said the 86-minute film was shot over six nights and starred Wellington actors Jed Brophy and Mark Hadlow.
‘‘We had access to the petrol station from midnight until 5am every night,’’ Harris said. ‘‘It went pretty well – it was very time-critical.’’
Blue Moon tells the story of a petrol station owner who finds himself held up by a robber. ‘‘The film explores how far a conscientious man will go to protect his family from a dangerous world,’’ Harris said.
The rest of the cast was made up of locals, including nine of Harris’ police colleagues.
The movie was shot on the iPhone with a special lens. Harris said the end result was put through a computer program which edited the colours, making it look like the movie was shot on film.
He said the film was made on a budget that resembled ‘‘the price of an used car’’.
Harris previously produced the award-winning feature film The Waimate Conspiracy, which was shot in six days in 2006 and also featured Hadlow.
He juggles running Motueka Dark Horse Films, the production company for Blue Moon, with his police night shifts.
He has been with police for nearly 30 years and is now permanently based in Motueka.
The movie received $10,000 from the Tasman District Council, as well as a scholarship from the Police Credit Union.
Harris said that after the film festivals, the movie was going to be screened at 14 cinemas nationwide.