Author thrills audience at Jojo Rabbit premiere
A full-house of Motueka moviegoers at the recent opening of Jojo Rabbit had an unforgettable night when they were joined by a surprise guest – distinguished writer Christine Leunens.
Leunens is the Nelson-based author of Caging Skies, the novel that inspired Taika Waititi’s adaptation of the story of an Austrian boy who is part of the Hitler Youth, his hero worship of the dictator, and his encounters with the harsh Nazi realities unleashed during World War II.
Leunens spent nearly 50 minutes explaining how her book inspired the film, and answering questions from the audience.
It was a near-run thing that Leunens and husband Axel managed to get to the Motueka premiere at all.
The screening was a charity occasion, with a full house of 97 people at the State Cinema and part of the proceeds going to a recently-formed group, Motueka Mai Tawhiti. The group aims to train and develop cultural groups with a hope that local kapa haka teams might win some top awards when the highly competitive national Matatini competitions are held in the top of the south in five years’ time.
Teacher, mother and Mai Tawhiti secretary Michaela Lobban thought the film sounded interesting, and a week before the screening, she learned from a friend that Leunens lived in Nelson and that there was a possibility she might be able to attend.
Lobban used social media to fire off an invitation to the author and her husband. However, Leunens was attending a premiere of Jojo Rabbit in Los Angeles.
She arrived home and read Lobban’s message. Within a few hours, she and her husband arrived at a packed State Cinema shortly before the movie started.
There had been no time to advertise Leunens’ appearance, but the audience gratefully listened to her talk about Caging Skies and the movie they were about to see.
Caging Skies, Leunens’ second novel, was nominated for two prestigious awards in France, sold well internationally and was later adapted as a play with the same name. It has been published in 20 countries.
Meanwhile, Leunens has been working hard to complete her fourth novel, set against a backdrop of events in France and New Zealand surrounding French nuclear tests in the South Pacific and the Rainbow Warrior bombing.