Inaugural film festival focuses on local voices
Misty Flicks festival aims to create sense of community
Te Awamutu Regent Theatre and Te Awamutu Library will host the inaugural Misty Flicks Film Festival from November 24 to 26. Founded in 2018, under the umbrella of Waikato Film Hub Trust, Misty Flicks’ mission is to create pride in the region by encouraging the voices of local storytellers.
They do this by providing educational opportunities and workshops as a platform to nurture careers and showcase talent at their festivals.
The two entities are now combined as Misty Flicks Charitable Trust, says founder and Regent Theatre Te Awamutu manager Paige Larianova.
Misty Flicks makes cinema accessible to its people and creates a sense of community and voice through the arts by connecting filmmakers and audiences in discussions and seminars based on the principles of manaakitanga.
“I’m pretty sure this is the first local film festival that Te Awamutu’s ever had, so it’ll be really amazing to have our cinemas full of supporters,” Larianova says.
“[Ticketing] is all online through a platform called Humanitix. The reason we chose that platform is because they donate part of the ticket bookings back to charitable trusts. We’re also a charitable trust here at the Regent, so that fits into the values of our organisations.”
The festival will feature content, short content, workshops, panels and social events in Te Awamutu.
Raglan-based festival manager Madelien Scholten says that Misty Flicks runs a year-round programme of talent development.
“The film festival is basically to celebrate all the talent in the Waikato and Central North Island. It’s just amazing to see what people from our region make. It’s also amazing to see how much is possible without a big budget.”
It will showcase the likes of New Zealand artist and producer Tiki Taane’s documentary feature film and haupō-based horror short filmmaker Adam Harvey’s Minimally Invasive.
Pukeatua-born New Zealand film director Welby Ings will be on the inter-disciplinary panel, and members of the New Zealand Film Commission will also be hosting the workshop How to get your film seen, by NZ Film Commission/Te Tumu Whakaata Tonga, and the panel The Voice of Aotearoa — What Does This Look Like in 2024?’
“This is the first formal visit from [the] NZ Film Commission to our region, so local filmmakers are very excited at the possibilities,” Scholten said.
A freelance editor, Harvey has been a hobbyist filmmaker for about a decade, and says Minimally Invasive has been in over 20 film festivals to date. His short films share a dark sense of humour derived from his previous life as a trauma surgeon.
“Come along and be inspired. If you don’t like what you see, do better yourself. It is great to be able to see your stuff on the big screen,” Harvey says. “I hope people come along and celebrate all the films that are involved, because it is a lot of work to get anything made, and a lot of the time they don’t really get seen, apart from online.”
Hamilton-based emerging filmmaker, screenwriter, author, producer and actor Pamela Kaval has four entries in the festival — Mothering Sunday (horror); Under Cover (comedy); No Woman, No Child, No Cry (drama) and Proud Hooligan (comedy).
“I’m very excited about it and really honoured that they’ve chosen all the ones that we submitted.”
Kaval is excited for the future in the world of film after previously working at the University of Waikato.
“My background was in environmental economics and sustainability. In one of my last research projects, I went to the Galapagos Islands and did research on how the tortoises originally got there,” Kaval says.
“Then I thought, ‘ Maybe I could reach more people if I wrote it as a children’s story and then made it into an animated movie instead of an academic article’.
“It’s just so exciting for people to see the films. It’s such a good feeling for me when somebody is watching one of my films and they start laughing or Othey’rē scared. I love watching the reactions of people. I love getting people involved and entertaining them.”
The festival also coincides with Te Awamutu Business Chamber’s Black Friday Blowout Event. i