Sunday, 10 August 2008

Cutting those Apron Strings

Apron Strings is the debut feature film of Sima Urale and looks at the changing face of South Auckland through the eyes of two selfsame different families.



The movie was made for $2 million and filmed on location in Auckland in October and November last year.


Producer Rachel Gardner describes the film as "a little kiwi motion-picture show made for not very much money by a bunch of women."


The original concept for the plastic film was conceived by writers Shuchi Kothari and Dianne Taylor over a bowl of noodles in London, and nutrient remains a recurring melodic theme throughout the film.


"Food is a metaphor for mothering and suffocating. All of the women in the film parent their loved ones through food, in very different ways - the bar house, the curry house and the television chef."


The low budget nature of the production meant that from the very beginning the filmmakers were forced to probe how every single cent could be best spent.


"Sima (Urale) and I went through every scene talking about where we could compromise, location changes or where we could fit a scenery into that day, keeping actors out of whatsoever or putt them in, just never-ending changes with the docket to try to have it fit."


Gardner said that making a low budget film is always departure to be a challenge.


"With low budget films there's more of a chance they'll make less money. If you've got bigger budget films you feature bigger stars and audiences are attracted to them."


There might be no �big names' just Apron Strings has attracted a gifted cast with plenty of international experience.


Actress Laila Rouass who plays the television receiver chef has previously appeared in the UK series Footballers Wives and Hollyoaks and Actor Scott Wills has appeared in the features Stickmen and Perfect Creature.


"Sima got such with child performances out of everyone. The throw up loved her! They adore her!" Gardner said.


She credits the "astonishing synergy and communication" of the cast and crew with the success of the externalize, saying "in that respect was such great intuitive feeling on the shoot from everyone".


The photographic film opened the 48th International Film festival in Auckland, something Gardner says was a capital payoff for everyone involved.


"We purposely didn't have a cast and crew masking so that everyone would come to the one at the film fete and everyone did. So the gang had the opportunity to celebrate what they did."


A charity viewing of the film volition take shoes on Monday, before the film opens to general audiences on Thursday, with proceeds departure to the widow of Navtej Singh - the shopkeeper lately killed in an armed robbery in South Auckland.


"The positive multiculturalism in Apron Strings was a good opportunity to have a charity screening in South Auckland for the�people to recognise the positives in that community."


Gardner hopes the film will repeat the recent winner of Second Hand Wedding.


"It's about how the audience responds to it and you can't second suppose them, everything is subjective and some people will love it and some won't. It's great to evoke unassailable emotion either way."


* Apron Strings opens on August 14 across New Zealand.






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