The devastating impact of meth or 'P' on a family is the theme of a new short film by actor turned director Jennifer Te Atamira Ward-Lealand.
Form left, Aroha Awarau, Jennifer Ward-Lealand and Peata Melbourne, the team behind the short film Disrupt. Photo: Supplied
The 13-minute film, called Disrupt, has featured at a film festival in Hawaii and last week it screened at the Beverly Hills International Film Festival in Los Angeles and the Wairoa Film Festival, where it won the audience voted Tinirau Prize.
It is also in the programme for the Whānau Marama New Zealand International Film Festival in October and is a finalist for the Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Short Film Competition at the prestigious festival.
The cast includes award winning actress Miriama McDowell (Head High, The Dark Horse), Joe Dekkers-Reihana (Shortland Street, Westside), Kararaina Rangihau (Waru), Ella Edward (The Changeover, The Rehearsal) and Piripi Taylor (Disney's Moana).
Watch a preview on YouTube:
Ward-Lealand said methamphemtamine was a huge problem in New Zealand and the greatest insight she got into its impact was talking to people who had a family member who was an addict.
Disrupt delves into meth addiction through the perspective of a kuia (grandmother) experiencing first-hand the tight grip the drug has on her moko (grandson).
"So understanding what it's like when they're coming up, when they're going down; what the family have to do to deal with it; whether the person is staying in the house or out of the house...
"Many families have to shun their child because they can't take it any more. So that was my best research was actually talking to someone who had been through it."
The film did not claim to represent what other families have endured - instead it was a snapshot through the eyes of one family.
"It's not just about seeing a child who is in this state, it's seeing how the parents have had to deal with it. When the kid turns up at the hospital and then the parents turn up at hospital as well and they haven't seen him for a couple of years and they had to shut the door on him.
"They're still angry; they're still hurt."
Central to the film is the grandmother who still holds out hope, Ward-Lealand told First Up.
"A grandparent's love is a different kind of love ... a grandparent has another, slightly removed in that they don't have the day to day responsibility, but a deeper profound love that they have for their grandchild.
"So that's at the core of it is a grandmother's love for her moko and that hopefully gives us some hope."
A scene from Disrupt. Photo: YouTube/ screenshot
Ward-Lealand said everyone who worked on it was thrilled that they had won the Tinirau Prize at the Wairoa Film Festival.
"It's just so gratifying because it means it resonated with that group of people - that's what you hope for."
She and the producers have not been able to travel to any of the film festivals, including Auckland.
"You just hope that there is some people that take something from it and obviously in Wairoa they did and we're just thrilled about that."
Ward-Lealand has been acting on stage for 20 years but her first inclination was to turn down a switch to being a director.
A major challenge was shooting scenes out of order. "It's quite rare to be shooting things in order so you have to really know as an actor and as a director where you've just come from and where you're going to."
She said as a first-time director she knew she could draw on the talents of everyone within the crew.
"You don't have to know everything ... don't think you have to know everything before you take it on."
Disrupt was produced by broadcaster and Māori Television news presenter Peata Melbourne. It was shot in central Auckland with a production team of experienced crew members and emerging Maori screen professionals.
The bilingual film, with dialogue in Māori and English, was supported by a $15,000 Aho Shorts Production Grant from Ngā Aho Whakaari, an organisation supporting Māori screen professionals.
Jennifer Ward-Lealand makes directorial debut with Disrupt