Police thriller set in capital
Wellington’s police already have a comedic reputation for chasing errant spirits. Now a more serious crime drama is on the horizon. Piers Fuller reports.
New Zealand’s windy city gained international attention as the home of a supernatural police mockumentary, but an upcoming film takes a more serious tone with crime in the capital.
Independent film-maker Floris Van Gaalen has set his feature-length crime thriller/police drama
Darkest Light in Wellington with filming now in full swing.
Last week the cast and crew were busy shooting scenes in the Wellington City Archives, which was set up as a police station.
Now they are filming on location at various spots across the city, both inside and out.
‘‘Wellington is intended to play itself in the film,’’ Van Gaalen said. ‘‘The stuff coming up is going to be very explicitly at Wellington locations, including some of the bars and restaurants, the waterfront, harbour and those sorts of things. So that when people watch the film they’ll be able to recognise the city as it is in real life.’’
Based in Hamilton, the writer-director chose to make the film in Wellington because of its locations and film-making culture.
He was very aware of the huge footprint made by Sir Peter Jackson on the city’s film industry and how the famed Kiwi director and producer cut his teeth in the capital as a young film-maker.
Van Gaalen has been making short films for about a decade and Darkest Light is his first
feature-length project. He’s always loved the cinema experience and wanted to create something that drew audiences in and captivated them with the story.
‘‘It is a crime thriller, but I think more than anything, it’s a personal drama between people’s relationships and how they deal with tragedy.’’
The film stars veteran Kiwi actor Mark Hadlow and Amelia Reid-Meredith of Shortland Street fame.
The director said it had been ‘‘a delight’’ to work with the actors, all consummate industry pros. ‘‘We’re all trying to achieve the same goal and, therefore, their determination to come up with a high-quality piece of material has been gratifying.’’
Van Gaalen will be working on the production throughout the year and is hoping to have its first screening in cinemas by the end of this year, or possibly early 2023.
Another locally produced police procedural, Wellington Paranormal, was also based in the city, but Van Gaalen was keen to produce something with a completely different tone.
‘‘It just so happened to be that I like crime thrillers and happen to be in Wellington and it was just a matter of those components coming together,’’ he said.
‘‘The film that we’re making is going to be quite sombre, so hopefully that will be a point of difference. Is Wellington going to be the go-to place to make cop films? I have absolutely no idea whatsoever.’’
‘‘It’s a personal drama between people’s relationships and how they deal with tragedy.’’
Floris Van Gaalen Writer and director, pictured on the set