One role is enough for young film star

She’s 11 years old and has already had a starring role in a short film — but Te Puke’s Mckani-rose Clarke says it’s not something she is looking to do again.

Frankie Jean & the Morning Star was filmed in Maketu¯ and Little Waih¯ı with Mckani-rose playing the lead character.

Hannah Marshall wrote and directed the short film that centres on the disappointment of an All Blacks’ loss and the repercussions of rugbyobsessed Frankie Jean sneaking out of her home to brood about the defeat.

The film is to be shown at Maketu¯ Hauora next Wednesday.

Mckani-rose was 9 when the film was made.

She has only seen it once — at Auckland’s Show Me Shorts short film festival.

‘‘I didn’t like it. I didn’t like seeing myself,” she says.

‘‘I actually didn’t mind doing it [the film], but watching it — I would never do that again.”

After auditions, that Mckani-rose was reluctant to attend, she was cast by Hannah, who has nothing but praise for the young start.

‘‘She’s the lead in this film and she’s in every scene and it’s very taxing for anyone, let alone a 9-year-old that’s never been on set before. But she was an absolute natural. She totally got it and everyone just fell in love with her because she’s so funny and charming and real and it comes across in her performance too.”

Mckani-rose has a different, more down-to-earth take on it.

‘‘I was trying to, like, not to have people be disappointed in me — I didn’t want them to think ‘why did we choose you?’, so I tried my hardest to be the best that I can be.”

Largely unfazed by the experience, Mckani-rose says there were several things she enjoyed about making the film.

‘‘I met a bunch of amazing people and I got to stay close to where I live — I didn’t have to travel far — and the food — we had shared lunches and things quite a bit.

‘‘I thought it was going to be easy, but it’s not easy at all. You’ve got to wake up early and you’ve got to do things heaps of times — but it was worth it.”

Mckani-rose’s mum Pikowai says she was the one who pretty much told her daughter she was going to audition. ”She spends a lot time on Tiktok, that was the bulk of the reason I forced her to go. She makes videos but doesn’t post them — so I said ‘you are always on Tiktok, you’re going’.

‘‘We talked about it — she didn’t want to go but we said she should, it would be a good experience — but we didn’t expect it to go any further.”

At the time Mckani-rose was at Te Kura Kaupapa Ma¯ ori o Te Matai.

She and a schoolmate who also auditioned, practised in front of her classmates to help overcome any shyness.

‘‘I had to remember everything and do it in front of my classroom and had to take time out of my lunch and my food to remember everything.”

When she heard she got the part Mckani-rose says she was “kind of shocked and excited too — because I would get to not go to school any more”.

While she didn’t see her daughter audition and Mckani-rose has still not told her much about it, Pikowai has been with her every step of the way.

‘‘I’ve been with her right from the get-go. I went to the auditions with her and she literally walked in and walked out like nothing happened. Conversation about it on the way home was minimal. I said did you enjoy it and she said it was okay.”

After a callback audition, the same thing happened.

‘‘Then we got the phone call that she’d got it and I said ‘what are you doing inside that room? I want to know!’.”

Pikowai only went to the set once but stayed in the safe room. ”That was the deal because she didn’t want me there.”

Mckani-rose says she likes the movie’s storyline and liked the outcome. Now at Te Puke Intermediate School, she says her roles in the performing arts in future are more likely to be backstage.