Kiwi Wins BBC Movie Award

[ZengE]

I caught the end of this story on BBC News this evening and did a quick search. It's a week old but still a kiwi doing well. Nice one!

BBC has it linked somewhere but I wasn't paying too much attention so I found the Stuff Link instead.

Short-film maker wins big BBC award
09 January 2004
By MICHELLE BROOKER

A local film maker has won a prestigious international competition with a short film set in an historic Christchurch house.


Pericles Dailianis was woken by a phone call from New York this week, telling him he had won the inaugural BBC World Talking Movies Young Film Maker of the Year award.

"It is totally surreal. I can't even think straight. I'm going to have my film shown all over the world," he said.

The Shadow Man, 2 minutes and 30 seconds long, was shot in the attic at Riccarton House.

It tells the story of a 15-year-old boy tormented by an imaginary friend, the Shadow Man.

The 27-year-old Mairehau man said the film was based on his own experiences as a teenager.

"I had an imaginary friend when I was a boy. As a child I was introverted and creative. The Shadow Man symbolises the dark side of the boy, the depression and sadness the boy is feeling.

"The attic was the perfect place to film because it is really dark and creepy. The film is supposed to be dark and scary as well as funny, weird and quirky."

Dailianis said the boy eventually decides to get rid of the Shadow Man and move on with his life.

The film stars local actors Paul van Uden as the boy and Daniel Perinam as the Shadow Man.

"It is the most low-key production I have ever done but has brought me the most rewards. It was a marathon effort. I shot it in one day."

The win has secured Dailianis an all-expenses paid trip to New York where BBC World Talking Pictures is filmed.

"I am hoping to make connections over there. My goal is to get funding to make a short film and then I would really love to make a feature film. But I need lots of funding and support," he said.

Since graduating from film school at Canterbury University two years ago, Dailianis has a made a number of short films including a documentary for the Christchurch City Council and a 17-minute film Sanctify, which won an award at the Damah International Film festival in Seattle.