Yesterday, 16th November, marked one year since the first day of shoot on The Insatiable Moon. Remarkable to think what has happened in the course of that 365 days.

We set out with a newly assembled crew, a ton of enthusiasm, and the determination to make a movie. I vividly remember that first morning with the pre-dawn stillness, the unit boys offering bacon rolls, and a lone dog barking. Reflecting on it some time later, I recalled:

“It’s 5.30am on a Monday in mid-November. A small crew of people gathers in a park in Ponsonby. The slate is marked up. There’s around $300k in the tank. Five clean weeks stretch out in front of us. Lead actor Rawiri Paratene offers a karakia for our safe journey. He looks beyond the city to where the skyline brightens. The first rays of sun strike his face. Somewhere a dog is barking. The slate falls. We’re under way.”

One year later, where has that act of madness led us? We finished the film on budget and on time. We put together a first assembly, showed it in March, and raised the extra money for post production. We did a final cut for June, including the soundtrack which included original music and beautiful songs. We were accepted into the NZ Film Festival, where we became the first film to sell out. The premiere, complete with glitz and glamour, received a standing ovation from the 700 strong audience. A distribution deal was secured with Rialto Distribution. The film was sold to Air NZ. We opened our run in cinemas on October 10, and the film’s soundtrack was released the same day. A UK distribution deal was secured. We held two hugely successful gala premieres in London and Birmingham. As I write, we are in our sixth week of national release in NZ, and getting ecstatic responses from audiences.

Not bad for a year. The little film that could. But we’ve only just begun. Where will we go from here? Watch this space…

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