Supporters on Trade Me help finish Kiwi film

The final push is on to finish the self-funded local film Netherwood, shot in North Canterbury and due for release summer 2011.

Produced by and starring Owen Black and Will Hall, the film is a story of a man who enters the small country district of Netherwood and unwittingly inherits a prime piece of land coveted by a local wealthy landowner. What ensues is a conflict over land driven by a primal battle between men for power and dominance.

A labour of love for a small army of actors, film-makers, volunteers and supporters, Netherwood has been entirely funded to date by a small group of North Canterbury locals and a handful of incredibly supportive sponsors along with a few donations from friends and family along the way. Now, in the midst of post-production and tantalisingly close to completion, they have come up with a money making scheme to get them over the finish line.

They’ve joined forces with Trade Me for a series of auctions and the amount of support for the movie has “blown away” the producers and crew.

Says Black, “We’ve made this movie for a fraction of what it would normally cost to make a movie of this quality and merely one year down the track from its conception, filming is complete and the crew is putting the final touches in post-production.” To assist with the cost of this, a month of five incredible ‘Cool auctions’ will be on Trade Me for auction from the 7th of December with the aim to raise a further $30,000.

The first is an Ultimate Canterbury High Country Escape for Two, sponsored by Terrace Downs Resort and partner operators. The auction, worth over $4000 includes 3 nights accommodation, luxury transfer, a winery tour, 18 holes of golf, Jet boat experience, half-day fishing trip and much more. The other auctions include a Jim Beam Backyard Party, a Golf Pro Day at the Terrace Downs Resort course, a Heli-Hot Tub mountain-top experience with Alpine Helicopters and an Ultimate Girls Pamper Package.

The five auctions will be run one after the other; the first for 10 days and the subsequent four auctions for one week each.

Owen Black is delighted with the positive response, “It’s been a hard ride to get this far but on reflection its been both energising and incredibly humbling to see supporters fronting up to give their talent and services to help us out.”

The local sponsors who have come on board, including Terrace Downs Resort, Discovery Jet, Sandihurst Winery, Full On, Four Seasons Safaris and Aotearoa Elite Tourism are itching to bring some positive news into the region after the incessant earthquakes and encourage other companies keen to support the cause to contact the producers at Netherwood.

Further sponsors who have come to the party are Jim Beam, Moochi, Harrington Breweries, Schwarzkopf, Get Frank, Natasha Radonich, MisteR, Swan Dri and Wrangler who all eager to provide support for the group of enthusiastic producers and actors who have been working so hard in the past year.

“The support from businesses around the country as well as local companies where we did all of the filming is just fantastic. This is a real Canterbury film that all Cantabrians can be proud of, and it’s still our dream to have a first ever world premiere at Amberley in North Canterbury!” says Black.