March 16, 2023
Change of script as Hangi Pants hits Queenstown
Expect a change of tone from scriptwriter and producer Claire Varley after a spell in the South Island.
Varley’s 2020 short film, Hangi Pants, drew considerable acclaim.
Her five-part television series Stolen Lands: Betrayal of a Chief, based on the false charges and execution of Te Whakatōhea leader Mokomoko which were used as an excuse to confiscate the tribe’s land in the eastern Bay of Plenty, goes to air next month.
It was a collaboration with her partner, cinematographer and Mokomoko descendant Jake Mokomoko.
Now she’s at the second Tahuna Writer’s Retreat in Queenstown with three other writers and a brief to come up with a television series to be shot in the region.
“It’s a whole other world down here for me like obviously the landscape’s very different in comparison to the north but just human behaviour and all that like obviously there’s a lot of wealthy people here so it’s been very interesting wandering the streets and getting the vibe and the feel,” she says.
Claire Varley says as a mum of six, time is her most precious commodity – so the month long retreat was an incredible opportunity.