Blue Smoke

'Blue Smoke' is the team's follow-up to their multi-award winning short film 'Madam Black', which was one of New Zealand's most successful, delighting audiences up and down the country and globally, screening to over 100,000 people in a theatrical environment at over 150 festivals. It went on to win over 40 awards, most notably Best Short Film at the 2017 New Zealand Film Awards and the 2016 Prix Du Public in the New Zealand Competition at Clermont-Ferrand, the world's biggest Audience Award for short film.

THE PROJECT

'Blue Smoke' is a funny and heartfelt short film about a rest home caretaker, an elderly resident and a case of mistaken identity that asks the question: Would you lie to be kind? Like the themes of our previous work, it's about putting self interest aside and doing the right thing. That message is conveyed in a fun and accessible way.

THE SONG

The title of our film and an element of its story references the classic tune 'Blue Smoke', written by Ruru Karaitiana in 1940 on the troopship Aquitania, as it took the Maori Battalion to the front during WW2. It was the first record produced solely in New Zealand, and was a hit for vocalist Pixie Williams.

Family members of Ruru Karaitiana and Pixie Williams have been consulted about the project.

THE TEAM

Our story is written by Dr Matthew Harris and will be directed by Ivan Barge. The team have already made two successful short films together, and this project will be their stepping stone into a feature film they are developing. We believe the outcome of this project will be to create sustainable careers in the film industry for the creatives involved.

We have been very lucky to have worked with incredibly talented and generous actors and crew to bring our stories to life. Over the course of this campaign we will be sharing with you details of our collaborators on the project.

DIVERSITY

We believe strongly that our industry should be representative of whom we are as a society. As such we will be adopting the BFI's Diversity Guidelines for this production.

YOUR PARTICIPATION

We want you to be part of our story, by donating towards the production costs of the film and spreading the word, please share this page on social media so we can achieve our goal.

THANK YOU!

Donors of $150 or more will be offered a credit of thanks in the film's end credits. Donors of $1000 or more will be offered a key supporters credit in the film's end credits and will be invited to a special screening of the film prior to its New Zealand release.

NZ income earners qualify for a 33% tax credit on their donations from the IRD with a receipt automatically provided by The Arts Foundation.