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The Orator up for an Academy Award

The New Zealand Film and Television School knows it can’t take all the credit for the success of its graduate Tusi Tamasese and his first feature film The Orator. After all, there is a great deal to be said for natural talent, and following Film School Tamasese attended the Masters screenwriting programme at Victoria University’s International Institute of Modern Letters. Nevertheless, the 2002 Film School graduate acknowledges the inspirational lecturer at the Wellington-based school who he says first recognised his scriptwriting abilities.

The awards picked up by The Orator at the prestigious Venice International Film Festival have created a real industry buzz, and the film has recently been submitted for consideration as Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards in February. Simon Morris gave the film an enthusiastic review on his Radio New Zealand ‘At the Movies’ show when he described the film as a knockout. ‘When a New Zealand film gets it right, it lifts our hearts more than any other film can hope to do,’ he said.

Head tutor at The Film School, John Reid, says that while its graduates are working in all areas of the industry, and many have gone on to make short films, documentaries and features, the success of The Orator and its writer/director makes Film School staff and tutors feel like very proud parents.

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Another New Zealand Film School student wins Kodak Competition

When Daniela Conforte applied to The Film School in June 2009, her class already had its full complement of 24 students, but her application, skills and personality were so outstanding that the school decided the class-size would just have to stretch to accommodate her. And it proved to be an excellent decision – Ms Conforte won the 2010 Kodak Filmschool Competition for her work as director of photography (DP) on The Flat.

The film was one of three graduation films made by Crew 19, the July 2010 graduating class at The New Zealand Film School. Written by classmate Jan Kleinheins and directed by Emma Dougherty, it’s the story of a mixed flat where, when the lease is cancelled, the flatmates have to decide not only where but how they are going to live.

Ms Conforte, who says she’s obsessed with light, used Kodak stock throughout the shoot and chose their Vision 3, 250D stock to achieve the warm and sunny look she wanted for the film, which was shot on The Film School’s Arriflex SRII and crewed entirely by her classmates. Competition judge Andrew Straud, a Wellington cinematographer, thought her lighting was consistent throughout, with particularly realistic night time lighting.

Originally from Uruguay, Daniela worked hard to win one of the coveted DP roles, scoring the highest mark ever recorded in one of the Film School’s few exams, a questionnaire designed by cinematographer and visiting tutor Adam Clark (Boy) to test the students’ knowledge of exposure. Head tutor John Reid says she evidenced camera skills early on. ‘And it’s pleasing to see her getting recognition for her hard work,’ he says.

The Film School has had many successes in recent years. As well as having several graduate films in the 2010 International Film Festival, Ash Jones (Crew 16) won the New Zealand Kodak Filmschool Competition in 2009 for his work on One Last Shot, while Matt Henley won both the nationals and the Asia Pacific regional final for Manslaughter, winning a trip to the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival in 2008 as part of his prize.

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Film School Graduates and the Big Bang

Crew 17's Andy Campion, Hayden Weal from Crew 14 and a crew consisting almost entirely of NZ Film School graduates shot the last few shots in their Hot Rob short film schedule at the end of November. (Story courtesy of Scoop).

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scoop.co.nz