Orphans & Kingdoms is the multiple award-winning feature film debut from New Zealand filmmakers Paolo Rotondo (Writer/Director) and Fraser Brown (Producer).
Described by Rotondo as a “drama about how adults need kids as much as kids need adults”, Orphans & Kingdoms tells the story of three teenagers on the run, who break into a fancy holiday home only to unexpectedly come face to face with the home’s owner, played by Colin Moy.
The film was part of The New Zealand Film Commission’s low budget Escalator scheme, and the entire film was shot on Waiheke Island. The film premiered at the 2014 Auckland Film Festival, before winning a Moa award for best editing.
Previously Rotondo and Brown worked together on the award-winning short film Dead Letters, and both have acted in some of New Zealand’s most well-known television series including Shortland Street and The Insiders Guide to Happiness.
Rialto: First tell us what to expect from your film?
PR: Orphans & Kingdoms is a moving and powerful film, filled with beauty, both in the humanity of our characters and in the stunning Waiheke Island scenery. It has audiences on the edge of their seats with some nail biting tension, superb performances and heartfelt story telling. This is powerhouse Kiwi filmmaking at its best. Orphans & Kingdoms has been hugely thought provoking for New Zealand audiences and resonated Internationally. You won’t be disappointed.
Rialto: What was the biggest challenge you faced making the film, and how did you overcome it?
PR: By far the biggest challenge was the effect a project had on my young family. Selling our house, while I wasn’t earning without a clear deadline in sight. Not spending as much time with my little ones and partner, especially when we were making a film about family. I don’t think anything can prepare you for the ‘mission’ that is your first film. You have to really love your work. The best approach was simply to go for it and make it worthwhile. I’m really proud that we had the naivety, humility and heart to try and really say something. I’ll be proud to show my kids when they get old enough to watch.
Rialto: How did you fund your film, and was any crowd funding involved? If so, would you recommend it?
PR: We did things our way; we invented an egalitarian and essentially socialist approach. Everyone was paid the same daily rate (a pittance) and we structured the returns from the film to come back to the crew first. I think we only got away with this approach because we were tiny, but the principle is inspiring. The old-fashioned studio/corporate approach is not the only way and has different relevance nowadays. We crowd-funded, begged, borrowed and stole (not really the stealing…). It was The New Zealand Film Commission that got us going by funding us through a Micro-budget scheme where they gave us a little bit of money and then let us go for it. The crowd funding worked at the time and gave us a little audience to begin a conversation with. I’m not sure if there is any novelty in that anymore, as the market place for crowd funding is ‘crowded’ (excuse the pun). We made a little ‘info-graphic’ to help explain how it all worked, which can be viewed here: http://orphansandkingdoms.com/micro-budget-methodology.
Rialto: How many roles did you juggle on this project?
PR: You couldn’t get more multi-tasking than Fraser Brown (the Producer) and myself. Fraser produced the film and had a role as the cop (which meant he was sometimes the producer in a NZ cop uniform on set). Fraser also read with the actors and assisted in all the casting. I conducted all the casting myself, co-produced, found locations, wrote script and directed.
Rialto: Can you tell us your best dinner party story about the making of your film?
PR: When we were filming we kept blowing up an electric power box supply to a whole street on Waiheke. Did we stop filming? Hell no! We were Micro-budget, we had to keep moving. So what did we do? We powered up on our tiny generator for making coffee and boiling water, and two minuscule lights. With these lights only illuminating a small area they were not bright enough for any wide shots. That’s when we shot the intimate/sex scene of the film. It was about the only thing we could do and its on screen now. Now that is a black out set.
Rialto: If you were giving a talk to a group of filmmaking students, what would you tell them about their chosen career path?
PR: I would ask them what have they got to say? There is a famous renaissance self-portrait of a painter staring back at us. A parchment next to him reads ‘Don’t speak, unless what you have to say is better than silence.’ I would ask them to figure out whether they want to be filmmakers for a job or as a vocation.
Rialto: If you could pick one New Zealand actor or actress to work with, who would it be and why?
PR: There is a lot of talent out there in New Zealand that are not ‘celebrities’ but little-known artists instead. However, my favourite performance on film in the last few years is Cliff Curtis’ Genesis Potini in Dark Horse
Rialto: If you had to describe in three words the current state of the NZ film industry, what would they be?
PR: Yeah, nah, good.
Rialto: What’s the last film that moved you?
PR: A hilarious Austrian comedy in the NZIFF called Toni Eardmann really surprised me.
ORPHANS & KINGDOMS premieres Wednesday 5 October on Rialto Channel 39