• 
• 

Robyn Paterson's debut feature documentary Finding Mercy is not only a personal search for her childhood friend in Zimbabwe but 'a guided tour of a nation on its knees'.

During what hours of the day do you feel most inspired?

Robyn Paterson's debut feature documentary Finding Mercy is not only a personal search for her childhood friend in Zimbabwe but 'a guided tour of a nation on its knees'.

During what hours of the day do you feel most inspired?

In the early evening unfortunately – which, as a mum, hardly ever ends up being a time when it’s possible to work!

How would a good friend describe your aesthetic or style?

Depends which good friend…

What aspect of your creative practice gives you the biggest thrill?

The edit process. Grappling with the jigsaw puzzle of footage is hard but ultimately satisfying - and seeing everything finally start to come together is the most exciting part.

Do you like to look at the big picture or focus on the details?

Big picture first, details later.

What's your number one business tip for surviving (and thriving) in the creative industries?

Diversify. The more skills the better. I worked on casting jobs on and off throughout the doco period (four years) to make ends meet. It’s not what I want to do ultimately, but it got me through!

Which of your projects to date has given you the most satisfaction?

Definitely this one, on both a personal & professional level. But it’s also given me the most stress – I guess that goes together.

Who or what has inspired you recently?

Bryan Bruce taking on Inside Child Poverty NZ. Whatever your politics, it’s fair to say his doco made a tangible difference in our awareness of the issue at least. And that’s what we aim for, as documentary filmmakers: making a difference.

Tell us a bit about your background.

Personally:  Grew up in the middle of Zimbabwe, moved to the middle of Dunedin just in time for high school. Bit of a culture shock to say the least!

Professionally: Have worked in film/TV industry for just under 10 years now, in a wide range of roles from writing to producing to crew work. (See above re making ends meet…!)

Tell us a bit about your documentary

Finding Mercy is a personal journey to find a friend – Mercy – who I grew up with in Zimbabwe. We’re representative of the Mugabe era in the sense that, as a black girl & a white girl, our friendship was typical of so many Zimbabweans post-Independence. Mugabe was our hero. We were once chosen to meet him – a highlight of our young lives at the time. But what we didn’t know then and came to experience first hand later, was the atrocities that were happening so close by. People hear a lot about white farmers in the media – which is certainly an issue. But the Zimbabwe situation is so much more complex than that – and the vast majority of people who are suffering under Mugabe aren’t white. In this film I put myself out there on camera and go undercover into Zimbabwe to search for Mercy.

Why is documentary important?

It’s a vital way of communicating about the world – whether it’s political, human rights issues, or just fun & quirky events and people. It gives us access to environments we may never know about otherwise - and has the potential to improve our understanding of each other across cultural and socio-economic divides.

What do you think of the new documentary funding?

It’s great.

What else is needed to support documentaries in NZ?

More broadcast time slots available for documentary, or documentary series. I know it’s about ratings – but I believe good docos can get bums on seats.

Tell us about your other upcoming projects.

Ooh, not sure yet. I have a couple in the early planning stages, but right now I’m working with Attitude (TV1 series about the lives of people living with disabilities) so I’m getting to make heaps of short docos, which is great.

If you could go back and choose a completely different career path to the one you've chosen, what would it be?

When I was little I wanted to be a wildlife tracker – so maybe some sort of zoological research or something!

What place is always with you, wherever you go?

Zimbabwe

What's the best way to listen to music, and why?

Through good headphones, for obvious reasons

You are given a piece of string, a stick and some fabric. What do you make?

A mess

What's the best stress relief advice you've ever been given?

Breathe

What’s great about the Documentary Edge Festival and Forum?

It’s a world-class festival that provides a vital chance for both documentary audiences and documentary filmmakers in NZ to keep up with our international counterparts. And it’s a rare chance for doco filmmakers to come together and share, learn, discuss, support each other.

What’s your big idea for 2013?

That’s a secret…. 

* * *

• The Big Idea is proud to be a Media Partner for Documentary Edge Festival 2013.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 New Zealand License.