Food For Thought - a short film

SHORT FILM TO BE HELMED BY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER
"Food For Thought" is a short film written and directed by Patricia (Pat) Robins, based on the short story "The Assassin Bug" by Sue McCauley. A black comedy centred around a dysfunctional family with a big secret.

Pat is supported by an extended family of filmmakers with two of her children, Robin and Paul Murphy, as producers for the project. While busily working on films most of her adult life, Pat has also found the time to produce five children, and has 13 grand children and three great-grandchildren.

An unsung heroine of the New Zealand film industry, Pat's been a constant force in the industry since the 1960's. She started out supporting her former husband, Geoff Murphy, on his films, combining roles as production manager, costumier and caterer, often while simultaneously taking care of her growing family. The original super mum!!

In the mid 1980's she began creating her own projects with short film "Instincts" and TV drama's "O'Reilly's Luck" and "Matrons of Honour". More recently she wrote and directed the short film "Dying Light" which has appeared in film festivals around the world.

Now in her 70s, Pat still regularly lends her skills to the industry as a script supervisor. Last year she worked alongside Gaylene Preston on the upcoming TV series "Hope and Wire" (to be screened on TV3 in July 2014), and in 2012 she supported directors Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland on their debut feature film "Shopping".

"Food For Thought" was highly commended by NZ Film Commission's Premiere Shorts fund, and short listed for their Fresh Shorts scheme, but in the final cut it was unsuccessful in securing any funding.

With the help of our fantastic lead actors, Nathalie Boltt and Helen Moulder, we are now coming to you - film fans, arts supporters, and anyone who enjoys a good old fashioned twisted tale, well told!

Read on for more information.......

Thanks for your interest
"Food For Thought'" team

THE PRODUCTION
Filming will take place in mid - late 2014, in Wellington.

What makes this story achievable on a small budget is it's a small cast and very few locations. In the coming months we'll be looking for locations, recruiting the rest of the cast and working towards some mutually agreeable filming dates.

The money we raise through Boosted will be used for the basic production costs and will cover things like:
Catering - very important to keep the troops happy.....
Consumables -petrol, lighting gels, gaffer tape, batteries etc.
Equipment - some of the equipment hire will be donated, but some money will go towards equipment suppliers.
Insurance - coverage for public liability and data insurance will be essential.
Art Department - costumes, make up, set dressing and props.
Post production - access to post production services will incur some costs, although we plan to keep these as low as possible.

THE SUPPORT TEAM

Helen Moulder - Actor (Wyn)
Helen Moulder hails from Nelson, and learned her craft in the early years in the UK. In 1977 she returned to New Zealand where she has worked ever since, as a singer, actor and comedienne in theatre, television, and film.

In 2000 she won Actress of the Year in the Chapman Tripp Wellington Theatre Awards for her role as Vivian Bearing in the Circa Production of "Wit" and did the same in 2003 for Sylvia in "Meeting Karpovsky" a play she co-wrote with Sir Jon Trimmer and Sue Rider. Helen and Sue Rider also co-wrote Helen's solo show "Playing Miss Havisham" which has toured extensively around NZ and Australia.

Her most recent roles in film and television were in "Rest for the Wicked" and "What Really Happened: Votes for Women."

In March 2014, Helen appeared in her second one woman show "Gloria's Handbag", at CircaTheatre in Wellington where she played 6 characters, sang several songs and performed magic tricks. She received glowing reviews and an opening night standing ovation.

Nathalie Bolt - Actor (Merran)
Wellington-based actor, Nathalie Boltt is originally from South Africa. She was a household name in that country as a lead on the country's number one daily drama, "The Need", and has played roles in film, television and theatre from the UK to Germany, New Zealand and the US, including New Zealand blockbuster "District 9". She is also to appear in US comedy feature film "Route 30 Three" directed by John Putch, to be released this year.

In New Zealand Nathalie has appeared in a variety of productions, most notably TV Movies "Siege" and "Bloodlines". Recently she played Dave's mother on TV2's comedy drama series "Step Dave".

Robin Murphy - Producer
The eldest of Pat's five children, Robin also has a long history in the local film industry, with 30+ years experience working across art department, assistant directing and location managing. Robin's work ranges from costume work on the kiwi classic "Goodbye Pork Pie" to supervising location manager on "The Lord of the Rings Trilogy".

She has also produced six short films, including Pat's "Dying Light" and award winning short film "Run", which received a special jury prize in Cannes 2007.

Paul Murphy - Co Producer/Documentarian
Like his sister Robin, Paul has spent many years working in the film industry. As a dolly grip, his superb sense of timing was always in demand. As producer and director of his hit comedy "Second Hand Wedding", Paul's experience in turning out a low budget comedy that appeals to a broad audience makes him somewhat of an expert in this field.

As well as co producing, Paul will also be creating a behind the scenes documentary to capture the unique back story of family and friends coming together to support Pat, in her new venture.

Annie Collins - Supervising Editor
Annie has been lending her skills to the film industry since the 1970's, having worked as an editor for both documentary and drama, she has received awards for her work on feature films "Scarfies", "Out of the Blue" and "Two little Boys" and her latest feature documentary "Gardening With Soul" was a minor sensation at the New Zealand box office. In 2014 she was the recipient of the WIFT (Women in Film and Television) award for Outstanding Contribution to the New Zealand Screen Industry.

Annie also edited Pat's short film "Dying Light", and will act as supervising editor for this project.

The rest of the crew
By now you've probably realised there is a network of filmmaking family, friends and colleagues who are keen to help us bring the production together. We've been talking to these people and many have already pledged to lend their time and expertise to the production. They include:

Matt Murphy
Linus Murphy
Miles Murphy
Charley Murphy Samau
Veronique Lawrence
Melissa Lawrence
Thad Lawrence
Gilly Lawrence
Rebecca Gallagher
Seth Kelly
Vicki O'Hagan
Bindy Crayford
Bonny Crayford
Rebecca Lawrence
Ken Saville
Natalie Johnston

WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE GET IT MADE??
We'll be working hard to get "Food For Thought" into as many good film festivals as possible. If we're successful in getting to an 'A' List festival we can apply for additional post production funding from the NZ Film Commission to give it a really professional finish.

We'll be keeping in touch with our donors at every major step, especially once the film is ready to be seen. We'll invite you all to the pre release cast and crew screening and we'll keep you up to date on any festivals screenings, and future screenings on TV or other media.

Our ambition is to make a great little film that showcases the talents of an extraordinary group of people. Then we want to share it, first with all the people who helped make it happen, and then with the widest audience possible!