By Dave Goosselink
An independent feature film shot in Christchurch before the city's earthquakes is being described as a window on the past.
Almost a third of the locations used for comedy drama movie The Holy Roller were destroyed or damaged in the quakes.
It's taken a few years to get here, but the film is now hitting the big screen.
It tells the story of a struggling small-town pastor. Things improve when Pastor Luke is inspired to turn a seedy nightclub into a thriving church, upsetting the local crime lords.
And despite the setting, the film's director says it's not really a religious movie.
“It deals with a religious character, but what we're trying to do is make a film that appeals to the widest possible audience,” says Patrick Gillies.
The Holy Roller was shot in Christchurch in early 2009, and has been described as a bit of a time capsule for the city.
Locations included studios at the CTV building and Sol Square, both devastated by the earthquakes.
“We shot at Sol Square and the Majestic and quite a few places around town. And I know that some of those places are now either destroyed or in the process of being destroyed, which is pretty sad,” says production designer Bryce Holtshouden.
Mr Bryce Holtshousen spent years working in Los Angeles on big-budget movies and music videos, but this is the first New Zealand feature film he's been involved with.
He admits the budget of under $200,000 was a creative challenge, but found Christchurch businesses and residents were happy to help out.
“People were really great with that, specifically because of the kind of film it was, people felt that they were kind of helping create something special, so that helped a lot,” he says.
The film's just been released in cinemas, and the team are hoping it won't get lost over Rugby World Cup season.
“I was thinking ‘crikey who's going to even notice our film?’ but we like to think that our film is a bit of a cinematic antidote to the rugby,” says Mr Gillies.
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