For those long-suffering followers of the blog, it has of late become a tad impersonal. So today I thought it time to infuse a little subjectivity into the reflections.

A year ago we had just wrangled the film into rough cut form (or as dedicated editor Paul Maxwell preferred – creative assembly), and shown it to a hugely appreciative audience. This served a couple of functions – as a test screening for which we canvassed feedback, and as an invitation to any investors who might be willing to contribute to the funds necessary for post production. Happily, most of this money was pledged within a week, and we were able to proceed. Not sure how many feature films get to rough cut stage without having provision for completion, but it was kind of the nature of the beast.

From there it was full steam ahead with final edit, ADR, music composition, foley and effects, sound mix, colour grade etc. Finally in June the project was signed off, just in time for the premiere of the film as part of the New Zealand International Film Festival, where a wildly appreciative audience of 700 endorsed it with a standing ovation. Moon toured the country with the festival to continuing wonderful reception by audiences.

Come October, it was time for our cinematic release here in New Zealand, in partnership with Rialto Distribution. The director and I dashed between a couple of cinemas to do an intro and a Q&A, before flying out the next day to London (with star Rawiri Paratene) where we participated in a gala premiere in the West End. It was thrilling to be among another full house of people and learn that the film contained the same magic for British audiences as at home. The experience was repeated at another premiere in Birmingham.

We returned to New Zealand where the film enjoyed a twelve week run in cinemas. Ninety percent of critics were positive about it, with one five star review and a clutch of four star ones – including the influential NZ Herald which described it as “a minor miracle of a movie”. On the other hand we had to suffer the sobering reality that not everyone loved us. The NZ Listener spent more than half their review discussing an open window in one scene, which they found implausible and an example of “fumbling basic details”.

Despite the open window, we secured a distribution deal in the UK, and in March this year the film opened at the Empire in Leicester Square, before heading out into the regions. It was a huge coup to gain distribution in Britain – something that eludes most NZ films. Once again, ninety percent of critical reaction was positive, with a four star review in the prestigious Empire magazine which described Moon as “a moving, original movie that deserves to be seen”. Again there were the naysayers, with Time Out‘s petulant reviewer judging it “facile and dramatically woolly”. Fortunately audiences loved it, as has been our universal experience.

Today we are in the interesting situation of having the film come back to the big screen in Auckland due to popular demand, and at the same time opening in Glasgow. It feels astonishing and humbling that such a small film with a decent kiwi yarn should be at large in the world. We’re three weeks out from the launch of the DVD in New Zealand, which will make The Insatiable Moon accessible to a whole new audience.

What have we learned? That you can make a decent film on slim resources without sacrificing quality – people who don’t know the backstory would never guess this is a low-budget movie. That audience word of mouth (which has been brilliant) needs to be supplemented by a decent press and advertising budget – something we’ve never had. That original films struggle with critics trained in film schools, because they can’t decide what genre they fit in. That our film is too mainstream for most film festivals and yet regarded as arthouse by many distributors. That audiences love the film – they consistently laugh and cry through it – and talk about it afterwards. That this is a movie with a long tail – it will continue to run and run wherever it gets the chance.

Most of all, as producers we have learned just how demanding and yet how exhilarating it is to translate a story into a film and then spread that story around the world. We are, as always, deeply grateful to all those who’ve given of themselves to make it possible. Yours is the true magic of the transit of the Moon.

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