The tragic events of the last week have highlighted that special spirit of simplicity and fortitude that still shines forth from the West Coast community.
This is a special fundraiser to celebrate that spirit. I hope you can come.

Judging from the myriad rave reviews this superb film received on its release, any Kiwi born last century is highly likely to feel the film speaks directly to them. For sure, we can count ourselves very lucky to have Gaylene Preston’s unique voice and vision consistently enriching our lives and culture through her work. Tony Barry calls her an alchemist.

Tony Barry (pictured) is to star in the upcoming detective comedy Rest for the Wicked, now shooting until November 20 in Auckland.
Last month, Barry won the Best Actor trophy in the Qantas New Zealand Film Awards for his role as Ed in Gaylene Preston’s Home By Christmas, which was selected for the World Cinema Section of the London Film Festival. He has also been nominated for best actor at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards to be presented on December 2.

Boy and Home by Christmas have received nominations in the 2010 Asia Pacific Screen Awards, the region’s highest accolade in film. Australian actor Tony Barry (pictured) has been nominated in the Best Performance by an Actor category for his role in Home by Christmas, directed by Gaylene Preston, while Boy has been nominated for Best Children’s Feature Film, which is open to films suitable for a young audience up to the age of 16 or are films that reveal the world through the perspective of a child character.

Home by Christmas expands to more screens this week, having grossed $290,679 in its opening week.
Factoring in the $81,463 it earned from Anzac weekend previews the previous week, the Gaylene Preston film has a total gross of $372,346.
“We’re tracking just above week one for Second-Hand Wedding,” says Metropolis Films’ Gordon Adam, who also handled that low-budget hit of two years ago.

Gaylene Preston’s Home by Christmas grossed $189,792 in its opening weekend, to rank third at the box office after the record-breaking Iron Man 2 and the perennially popular Boy.
The Metropolis release opened on 57 screens – Boy, which grossed $480,576 at the weekend, has expanded to 84 – and averaged $3,329 a screen. (Anzac Weekend screenings the previous week took $70,176.)
Dwarfing everything in its wake was Iron Man 2, which grossed $1,438,473 on 91 screens, making it the No.1-opening movie of the year (Boy holds the year’s fifth-highest opening weekend gross of $607,471).

NZ Film, the sales and marketing arm of the Film Commission, will look to set itself apart next month at the Cannes Film Festival.
It’ll be the first Cannes that Kathleen Drumm’s successor, James Thompson, will attend as NZ Film’s chief, and he says “We’re taking a slightly different approach this year.