Flicks and Chillbox Creative talk to writer and director Rene Naufahu about his feature debut The Last Saint, a crime-drama set in Auckland, New Zealand, following a teenage boy trying to care for his drug-dependent mother. His plight introduces him to three men who make great promises, but even greater risks.
The film “impresses on a number of levels” (full review here) and hits cinemas nationwide this Thursday (click here for session times). In our video interview below, Naufahu tells us about the harsh realities of making feature films in New Zealand and the drive to tell this story regardless of budget.
Time codes:
0:00 – Funding (or lack thereof)
2:00 – The actual budget
3:45 – The motivation to tell the story
6:00 – Filmmaking in New Zealand as a career
8:30 – Liam attempts a visual gag (and fails)
8:55 – Being “the ugly kid”
9:50 – Overcoming the limitations of a low budget
11:50 – Pinball
13:20 – Cinema release vs. Video On Demand
15:05 – Liam asks 5 questions at once (confusing Rene and himself)
15:35 – El Mariachi
16:30 – The leap from 48Hours to Feature Filmmaking
18:00 – The necessary asshole
