"Digital filmmaking is New Zealand's 'hidden cinema'," says Diane McAllen, the curator of the Desktop Cinema Season, on every Wednesday night at the Film Archive until 26 September. The Desktop Cinema Season is your chance to see these "low-budget masterpieces by the unsung heroes of our film industry". In the first of a six-part series of interviews with digital filmmakers, McAllen talks to director Stefan Lewis about the making of his award-winning film, The Waimate Conspiracy."Digital filmmaking is New Zealand's 'hidden cinema'," says Diane McAllen, the curator of the Desktop Cinema Season, on every Wednesday night at the Film Archive until 26 September. The Desktop Cinema Season is your chance to see these "low-budget masterpieces by the unsung heroes of our film industry". In the first of a six-part series of interviews with digital filmmakers, McAllen talks to director Stefan Lewis about the making of his award-winning film, The Waimate Conspiracy.How long did it take to shoot your film?
We shot the film in six days in early January 2005.

How much did it cost?
Total shoot budget was 15k. The NZ Film Commission invested $5k for post-production.

Tell me about the process of making the film. How was the script developed?
I took the script directly from my novel The Waikikamukau Conspiracy. Because I decided to shoot it as a documentary, we had to approach many scenes from the book differently. With the documentary approach, the camera cannot be everywhere and it is often playing catchup after events transpire. So there are scenes shot as interviews with key characters after events. Rather than being restrictive, this has injected the film with versimilitude. The Canadian audience was completely fooled into believing they saw a fly-on-the-wall documentary.

Did you apply for or receive any funding/support?
We had an investment from Waimate District Council and some funds from Creative Communities and also NZ Film Commission.

What attracts you to the digital video format?
I chose to go digital because it suited the documentary look of the story I was telling.

Have you had your film accepted for any festivals?
Pacifica Hawaian New York Film Festival, New Zealand International Film Festival, Wairoa Maori Film Festival 2006 (Best Feature Drama and Festival Prize), DigiSPAA, Screen Producers Association of Australia Film Festival 2006 (Best Film Australia and NZ), Dreamspeakers International Aboriginal Film Festival 2007 (Best Feature Film) and the Melbourne International Film Festival.

Have you had formal training/experience in television or film previously?
No. I was a frustrated novelist and I very much wanted to make a film of my first book. I taught myself about film from books and devised the unique shooting style out of necessity.

Are you working on any new projects?
Yes, I'm working on a script of my second novel The Hydrosnipe, an environmental crime story.

Where do you see the future of digital filmmaking going?
Digital is the future of filmmaking - actually, it's the reality now but many filmmakers have their heads in the sand and are still nostalgic about film.

The Waimate Conspiracy
(2006, M - low level offensive language, 111 mins)
Director: Stefen Lewis
Screening: 22 August 2007, 6.30pm
Where: Film Archive, 84 Taranaki Street, Taranaki Street, Wellington
Tickets: $8 ($6 concession)

22/8/07

Image: A still from The Waimate Conspiracy.