Democracy

A short film from award-winning playwright Finnius Teppett, supported by the NZ Film Commission.

Democracy is an incredibly serious comedy about the perils of wh?nau life. What if you could choose your family? 

THE STORY

Over breakfast one morning a dad, Len, is voted out of his family.

He mounts a campaign for re-election, but soon discovers that he's not the only one in the running. A colleague from the office, Mary, has her eye on his ex-wife and ex-kids, and the two of them go head-to-head in a battle for the family's affection.

As Mary emerges the clear family favourite, Len digs deep and asks himself: how low will he go?

THE PLAN

Last year we were chuffed to receive a $10,000 grant towards the production of Democracy, through the NZ Film Commission's 'Fresh Shorts' programme. On its long journey the script has become tighter, deeper, and funnier, thanks to a stint at Script to Screen's annual short film lab, input from director Robert Sarkies as well as some extremely valuable mentorship from amazing writer/director Roseanne Liang.

We need to raise a further $5,500 to go towards the real costs of making the film, including feeding our cast and crew, and ensuring that our all locations and props and characters look as brilliant as possible. 

On the back of the script we've managed to put together an amazing production team, who'll be providing their time and resources for way less than what they could get on a big famous movie. We've got nearly everything we need to give this film a really good shot at some of the world's best festivals. The money we raise will make sure we can make the best version of this strangely funny, and weirdly truthful story.

THE PEOPLE

Finnius Teppett is a writer from Wellington. His plays have won awards and been staged around the world. He's a graduate of Victoria University's IIML with an MA in scriptwriting and is a co-writer of White Man Behind A Desk. Democracy is Finnius' debut film project.

Producer Bevin Linkhorn and his company, Good Times Company, is assembling a brilliant team of creative collaborators, to help realise the unique vision of Finnius' script.  The team includes Director of Photography Matt Henley, a terrific cast (stand-by for announcements), and we're grateful for wonderful support from friendly film companies including Rocket Rentals, Sauce Fims, Avalon Studios and Underground Sound. 

WHERE TO FROM HERE

The shoot is scheduled for the end of April. We're excited to get the film made. We're ready to go.

You can join us on the journey of this film by following Finnius on Twitter and Good Times Company on Facebook, both links below. 

BONUS!
NZ income earners qualify for a 33% tax credit on their donations from the IRD. The Arts Foundation will email a receipt after the campaign closes. 

Thank you for your support!