A kindness film in the making.

If you wandered through Martinborough Square on the weekend of 26/27 September, you may have wondered just what was going on.

Milk, a short film about kindness, was written in lockdown by Martinborough resident Celia Jaspers, one of the directors of Hyundai Country Calendar and House Hunters International.  With a fitting theme in today’s world, Celia’s vision for Milk was finally realised over the weekend as she directed the cast and crew on location in Martinborough.

Starring Frank Edwards, Christy Sullivan and Charlotte Jaspers, scenes were filmed in Martinborough Square, on Jellicoe Street and in Kitchener’s Dairy and Tearooms.  Filmed on the smell of an oily rag, Celia has been humbled by the incredible generosity of all those involved who willingly and freely have given their time and expertise to the project.  Professional camera, lighting and sound crew came into town, bringing the very best of tech gear to the set.  Local film extras and the TriQUESTra Films production team all came together in support of Celia’s vision.

Milk will be released at the end of this year and submitted into the NZ International Film Festival, and then subsequent Film Festivals around the globe.  Celia’s first short film Home School, written and shot on the farm one April weekend in lockdown, was entered into 48Hours, NZ’s largest filmmaking contest, winning the Best Family Team Award.  Home School has recently been accepted into the Boston International Kids Film Festival.

TriQUESTra Films started when three like-minded local creatives Celia, Auriga Martin, and Juanita Deely came together to realise their collaborative interests in writing, directing and producing short films.  The trio stepped up a gear and took action on Milk with the addition of line producer Jane Cooke.  Several other films are already in the pipeline and the team are excited about the future.

In keeping with the theme of Milk, Celia and the team have been “blown away and amazed by the support and kindness of our wonderful local community”. The team at TriQUESTra Films would like to thank the following local businesses for all their contributions to the making of this film.  It couldn’t have happened without them. 

The team at Kitchener’s: Gail Wilson at Turret Salon and Spa: P&K: The Martinborough Hotel:Martinborough TOP 10 Holiday Park: Go To Martinborough: Little Square Pizza: Café Medici: Big Sky Wines: Schubert Wines: In The Neighbourhood Coffee House: Martinborough Brewery: Colombo Martinborough: Palliser Estate: Margrain Vineyard.