Kiwi short Nature's Way was the sole New Zealand entry in this year's Cannes Film Festival. Competing in the short film section, the film follows the psychological journey of a child murderer after the violent fatal act. The Big Idea's Isaac Davison spoke to director Jane Shearer, producer Leanne Saunders, and lead actor Matthew Sunderland about Cannes, violence in New Zealand, and projects to follow Nature's Way.

Jane Shearer co-wrote Nature's Way with partner Steve Ayson while the two were artists in residence at Chateau de la Napoule in France. She has recently returned from the film's showing at the Melbourne Film Festival.

Kiwi short Nature's Way was the sole New Zealand entry in this year's Cannes Film Festival. Competing in the short film section, the film follows the psychological journey of a child murderer after the violent fatal act. The Big Idea's Isaac Davison spoke to director Jane Shearer, producer Leanne Saunders, and lead actor Matthew Sunderland about Cannes, violence in New Zealand, and projects to follow Nature's Way.

Jane Shearer co-wrote Nature's Way with partner Steve Ayson while the two were artists in residence at Chateau de la Napoule in France. She has recently returned from the film's showing at the Melbourne Film Festival.

TBI Isaac Davison: What is your background in film? What has been your career path until now?

Jane Shearer - Director: I started as a runner, then did a little art department, third assistant directing and then casting. I realized I wanted to work in the ideas and concept stage of film, so I began as a copywriter and art director in advertising. I thought this might get me closer to being a director (it doesn't by the way).

TBI: Nature's Way was the only New Zealand film chosen for the Cannes Film Festival - what do you think the selectors valued in your film?

JS:I think they liked the film because it has three possible story lines woven into a very simple story. I also worked really hard on the visual quality of the film.

TBI: Violence is a popular topic in New Zealand media at the moment, particularly towards children. Is your film born out of this violent climate? Do you think it provides any commentary on violence?

JS:The film started as a dark fairytale, like the Brothers Grimm, but as we focused more on the murderer and changed the script around we found the murder of Coral Burrows interesting. Her stepfather who murdered her told the media that it didn't matter what sentence he was given, he spent every waking and sleeping moment with her face watching him. There seems to be an unnaturally high child murder rate in New Zealand, and I like to think that this kind of crime is not escapable. This is what I was trying to say in the film.

TBI: Many short films, like Nature's Way, portray dark themes - is this the most effective way to evoke emotion in a short space of time?

JS:Yes, it is true, most shorts seem to delve into darker themes. Even if they are a simple drama, there is usually an undercurrent of darkness. Children are also a popular tool in shorts as the audience don't judge them too harshly - as they would an adult. Children can also gain sympathy quickly. Comedy shorts are few, and I haven't seen many I like, so maybe they are harder to do.

TBI: Why did you choose to have no dialogue in the film?
JS:The film started out as a fairytale, and to move into a more drama/psychological/horror mix it felt right to have no dialogue. I wanted the audience to follow the story with the possibility that the murderer was getting haunted, or it was all in his mind, or nature was paying him back. So to keep the 'it was all in his mind' angle afloat there needed to be no dialogue. I also wanted the film to have a modern day fairytale edge, and dialogue would have taken that away, leaning more over to drama.

TBI: What did you want to convey in 'Nature's Way', most of all?
JS:It's in the title - You'll never get away with it.

TBI: What is next on the agenda for you? Is it hard to follow a successful project, or inspiring?
JS:Inspiring, I am thrilled with how Nature's Way has been received - the French love it. I'm following it up by trying to get it shown in as many quality film festivals as I can, in as many continents. Right now I am in starting another short, plus I have two feature scripts I have to finish and deliver.

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Producer Leanne Saunders has worked in the film industry in New Zealand and the UK for over a decade. She has been involved in release campaigns for David Lynch and Pedro Almodovar films, and in 2000 created Severe Features, the film company which produced award winning feature film Christmas (2003).

TBI: Firstly, why did you take on this project? What drew you to Nature's Way?

Leanne Saunders - Producer: The script stood out as a classic short. It relies on visual story telling as there was no dialogue in the script. I believe this is still the key, distinguishing element of difference between cinema and television. In many other ways the mediums have blurred. This interested me very much, and made the project stand out from so many I get to read. There was a compelling sense of a world inhabited. The bones of the story gave a traditional three act structure which was going to work for audiences.

TBI: Is a short film more - or less - marketable than a full-length feature? Do you struggle to acquire funding for smaller works in New Zealand?

LS:The shorts exist in their own universe in terms of marketing and are seen as a valid form in themselves although there is a more limited audience. The New Zealand Film Commission has a marketing department dedicated to shorts and we are well known internationally for the quality of shorts we produce from here. There can be a long life for the right short - Kitchen Sink (1989) still plays.

Making short films for an international market is not the only reason for NZFC supporting shorts, they are also seen as a talent development opportunity and can profile emerging directors internationally. I think there is a healthy amount of support for shorts financially within NZ. The industry comes in behind them as well, which helps the budgets. Getting features up and running is much harder.

TBI: You have been involved in many films chosen for international film festivals, but 'Nature's Way' is the first that has been chosen for the Cannes Festival. Why do you think this film was selected for Cannes?

LS:A combination of factors. My instinct on the script was that it would be likely to perform well internationally if it was realised to full potential. Putting together the right team and cast was hugely important. The creative collaborators on Nature's Way are very talented and there was a huge amount of dedication to detail and quality that really made this film deliver internationally. The shorts in competition at Cannes this year were eclectic in terms of style and subject; there was no obvious curatorial influence that I could tell, apart from quality.

TBI: How do you think your film stacked up against the foreign competition?

LS:I am very happy with the film, and I thought it was as good as the film that won (Sniffer, a quirky Norwegian short), but obviously very different in subject as Nature's Way is a psychological drama, or has been described as a gothic horror. Needless to say it is dark in subject matter. There has been hot interest from other international festivals and invitations from Melbourne, London, Stockholm and Palm Springs Short Film Festival to name the A-list or Oscar accredited festivals thus far. This further validates the film as it is assessed by programmers out there against what else has been produced internationally in the past 12 months or so.

TBI: What upcoming projects are you, and Severe Features involved in?

LS:I am an EP with Headstrong, and we have our first feature in post-production - The Devil Dared Me To - and are looking to green light a couple more in the next few months.

Severe is developing features for the international market, and I have been selected to attend co-production markets Cinemart (Rotterdam) and SPAAmart (Australia) with projects over the past 12 months which has been great for making international contacts and finding out more about international financing opportunities.

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After graduating from Toi Whakaari in 1997, lead actor Matthew Sunderland has featured in numerous plays, short films, TV roles, and feature films. He has been nominated for Best Performance in a Short Film at the Air New Zealand Screen Awards for his role in Nature's Way.

TBI: What is your background in film?
I was trained at New Zealand drama school in the mid-1990s.

Matthew Sunderland: I've worked on several short films with Grey Kay, and recently a few digital features, including Christmas (2003). I have just played the lead role in the film of the murders at Aramoana (showing at Toronto Film Festival).

TBI: Is starring in a film shown at Cannes Film Festival the highlight of your acting career so far?

MS:It's certainly a buzz, and very gratifying. I was lucky to be in Australia when Nature's Way was shown at the Melbourne Film Festival. It is Jane first film, and what a way for her to start…

TBI: Was it difficult to carry a film without dialogue? It must be a great compliment to be nominated for an acting award without uttering a word.

MS:What attracted me to the film in the first place was the script – it is the best script I have read for a short film. When you have material as good as this words aren't necessary. Dialogue was never an option in this film. The situation, with the murderer and his conscience, is so loaded that the tension is sustained without dialogue.

TBI: Violence is a popular topic in NZ media at the moment – does Nature's Way provide any commentary on this topic? You're also in another violent tale – of David Gray's murders in Aramoana.

MS:The film mainly shows the repercussions of violence, and a murderer getting his comeuppance after a murder. Even more powerful than the violent act is the corrosive nature of a secret, the rot that sets in, and the suppression of the act. This is what drives the film.

TBI: Is it a heavy burden, playing tortured or dark characters? Are these roles easy to walk away from?

MS:With any character you play, you inhabit the role, and then there is a process of letting go. The process of this tranformation - this shedding of the character - means there is no psychological baggage when I finish a film.

TBI: What is next on your agenda?
MS:More short films. I am also involved in a theatrical production, Peninsula, directed by Gary Henderson. We premiered in Christchurch in 2005, have just performed in Brisbane, and will be performing it in Nelson in October.

ENDS