TRUE COSTUME DRAMA!
Ouraward-winningfilmmaker O ker celebratesacouturequeen n
Kiwi director Pietra Brettkelly has faceded a lot of scary challenges in her career,er, yet even though she’s had guns pointed at her head while filming in AAfghanistan, she says “the most crippling exexperience” she’s been through was makingg hher movie YellowisForbidden.
The new documentary, which will screen as part of the New Zealand International Filmm FeFestival this month, follows Chinese couturee ddesigner Guo Pei, who famously created RRihanna’s iconic yellow cape for the Met Galaa in 2015. Making the movie came at a cost fofor Pietra, who explains, “The independent fifilmmaking that I do, there is no money in it. I’vI’ve never been paid for any of my films and I’m still in horrendous debt with this one.”
Shot over two years in six countries, the movie was finished with the help of public fufundraising. Pietra’s struggle paid off, though,h, wwith the film receiving rave reviews around ththe world and scoring the prestigious openingng sslot at the Tribeca Film Festival. “I have this aamazingly rich life that’s worth so much more to me than the other material money things,” she smiles. “It’s an extraordinary lifee tthat I get to go to these places and hang outt wwith people like Guo Pei.”
It was just after Rihanna wore the dress aat the Met Gala that Pietra discovered the designer’s work. Three days later, she was on a plane with a videographer to China, ddespite staff at Guo’s office saying over the phone their boss would never want to meet.et.
“I have this spiel that I do for every film ssubject,” says Pietra. “I have a stack of DVDsDs of my work and a box of New Zealand chocolates – that’s always the clincher. We talked for over an hour using her husband as a translator and in the end, she said yes.. We began filming right away.”