Last day, last film...

Well, it is such a beautiful day that I really don't want to miss out on the sun but am sitting here in the foyer of the Paramount feeling its rays while waiting for my final festival chance, a photographic scenic journey through the high country of Aetearoa, called Erewhon: Over the Range. Filmed  by a local lad  called Gavin Hipkins it will doubtless be filled with film enthusiasts and is a fitting terminal event to my festival, especially as my original choice, the Hindu doco about the religious pilgrimage called the Kumbh Mela, is sold out. This latter one was the film of 100 million, can you believe, Hindus, gathering over fifty-five days every three years. It beggars belief but then so does the sub-continent. No wonder I am on a steep learning curve with my Kashmiri housemate!

This morning after a domestic start with market shopping on the quay, I had my best ever coffee. Now I am only ordering a long balck with some hot milk as I always used to do to get what I wanted. No more  'flat whites' for me. It was in the Chaffers  building, in quite a humble cafe and very friendly, serving great icecreams too. It's where Kinto used to be on Sundays, but he has changed shifts.

 May still catch up with Tom later if he is free, which it seems, he is not. It is also time for a long heart to heart with Sonny about power excesses as he still doesn't understand economic usage. It is necessary to approach him intellectually as he seems to analyse everything to the nth degree.

Sunny Sunday foyer...

...full of young film lovers..

All perhaps waiting for the filmic journey of Aetearoa...

Well, it wasn't that really, although all footage was of Aetearoa. It was quite amazing and a great Kiwi quiet achievement.  The film-maker was in attendance and humbly later answered several questions in a hard to hear voice. Essentially the film was the visualising today of Samuel Butler's epic romance written in 1842, called 'Erewhon'. Hipkins, a skilled photo/cinematographer set to work to discover ancient and modern scenes of these islands, mainly the South island with its fantastic mountain scenery I think, and bring to life, with the aid of a beautifully narrated and edited version of his book, his musings and very prescient philosophies of life and living on this fragile earth. It was certainly a film worth seeing again, and was warmly received. Another example of advanced artistic creativity in New Zealand, quite exceptional. Very thought provoking and beautiful, six stars.