Strengthening work captured on film
What started out as a way to simply document an ambitious church strengthening project has resulted in a feature-length documentary set to premiere in Wellington tonight.
St Mary of the Angels in Boulcott St was closed in 2013 after the capital was rocked by the magnitude-6.5 Seddon earthquake.
Soon after, plans to rebuild the 95-year-old Catholic church to the highest seismic strength started to take shape with construction firm LT McGuinness tasked with the complex project.
Now a new documentary – A Test of Faith – is set to tell the whole story of just how much of the church was taken apart and replaced with modern materials and innovative engineering.
Documentary film-makers Paul Davidson and Barbara Gibb, the pair behind the new feature, were initially brought in to film the engineering work that was being undertaken, however, they both quickly realised there was more to the story.
‘‘Although it was an exercise in challenging architecture and engineering, I knew that the story amongst all that could make a really rich, people-focused documentary, Davidson says.
‘‘The fascinating thing for me was the intertwining relationships of all those working on the site, from the architects and engineers to the labourers down on the ground.’’
Exploring the category-1 heritage building’s history became an integral part of the documentary-making process with Wellington-based Gibb taking the lead during the almost two-year shoot.
Additionally, a happy coincidence resulted in Australiabased arts journalist Anne Maria Nicholson being available to narrate the documentary, helping expand the small filming team.
‘‘Anne Maria is actually a Wellington girl who studied journalism here and her parents were married at St Mary’s so she knew a lot about it,’’ Davidson says.
‘‘A series of serendipitous coincidences resulted in her being in the right place at the right time. It was meant to be.’’
Parish priest Father Barry Scannell, who features in the film, says it ‘‘beautifully captures’’ the scale and challenges of the $9.5 million rebuild.
‘‘The whole project was a great test of faith – never really knowing if it would all work out ... but the end result is just stunning.’’
The church reopened at Easter this year to much fanfare and Scannell says the public interest in the strengthening work has remained high.
He hopes the documentary will help shed a light on the immense amount of work that went on behind the scenes to get the church to the standard it’s at today.
‘‘The finished film has turned out to be a remarkably rich documentary which anyone will enjoy – especially Wellingtonians who know of the church and its special place in the capital’s history.’’
❚ A Test of Faith premieres at Embassy Theatre this evening with a gala night from 5.30pm. Tickets are $100 at the door with all funds going to complete unfinished work on the church crypt, choir room and grounds.