EXT. DAY. ROWING BOAT. 19TH CENTURY
On a boat rowing towards a deserted shore. The passengers are early
Scottish SETTLERS - lean, hardy pioneers, grimy from travel. Two
WOMEN search the shoreline anxiously and a LITTLE GIRL is calmly
singing quietly to a LAMB that she is cradling. Two men are rowing
the boat, another (the LEADER) is at the prow.
EXT. DAY. CONT
The SETTLERS P.O.V. of the land from the boat. It is pastoral and
fertile, ripe for farming.
EXT. WOODS OVERLOOKING THE SHORE. DAY. CONT.
We observe the SETTLERS nearing the shorethrough some large ferns a
little further up the shoreline.
EXT. SHORE. DAY. CONT.
The prow of the boat hits the shore. Feet land in the water and begin
to heave the boat ashore.
EXT. WOODS OVERLOOKING THE SHORE. DAY. CONT.
Still from behind the ferns we see the SETTLERS unloading. The women
carry clothing bundles ashore, the men offload an ewe in a wooden
cage. The women negotiate with the LITTLE GIRL to put the LAMB in the
cage with its mother.
EXT SHORE. DAY. CONT.
A male SETTLER dumps a grain sack onshore and joins the LEADER's to
look at the view inland. Journey's end. A new beginning.
EXT. WOODS OVERLOOKING THE SHORE. DAY. CONT.
From the ferns we see the LEADER and the SETTLER scanning the land.
The other settlers continue behind them.
EXT. SHORE. DAY. CONT.
SETTLER claps the LEADER on the back.
SETTLER
Looks like home.
A proud moment. Suddenly, there is a scuffle and a yell goes up from
one of the women.
EXT. WOODS OVERLOOKING THE SHORE. DAY. CONT.
We follow the action from the ferns. The two MEN whip around to see
what's happened. The WOMEN are sruggling to contain the ewe in the cage.
EXT. SHORE. DAY. CONT.
The MEN bolt to help the WOMEN but something bundles past their legs
nearly knocking them over. The LEADER spins around to see what but
twists his ankle on the uneven shore. He lands heavily to see the
LAMB disappearing off up the shoreline pursued by the LITTLE GIRL.
EXT. WOODS OVERLOOKING THE SHORE. CONT.
From behind the ferns we see the LAMB running down the shore towards
us, pursued by the LITTLE GIRL.
EXT. SHORE. DAY. CONT.
The LEADER, heart in mouth as his LITTLE GIRL runs down the uneven
shoreline with the pointed cage pin in her hand.
LEADER
ISLA!
The LEADER'S WIFE hears the cry and turns from the cage to see the
situation.
EXT. FURTHER DOWN THE SHORE. DAY. CONT.
The LAMB is getting further away. The LITTLE GIRL looks as if she
could stumble. The point of the cage pin looks lethal.
EXT. SHORE BY THE BOAT. DAY.CONT.
The LEADER'S WIFE rushes to her husband but sees he cannot move. She
turns back up the shore and shouts commandingly.
LEADER'S WIFE
ISLA MAY! STOP...RIGHT...THERE!
EXT. FURTHER DOWN THE SHORE. DAY. CONT.
The LITTLE GIRL slows to a stop, still watching the LAMB.
EXT. WOODS OVERLOOKING THE SHORE. CONT.
From behind the ferns we see the LAMB slows down to a stop and turns
to face the LITTLE GIRL.
EXT. FURTHER DOWN THE SHORE. DAY. cont.
The LITTLE GIRL and the LAMB face off. Who will move first?
EXT. SHORE BY THE BOAT. DAY. CONT
The SETTLERS hold their breath.
EXT. WOODS OVERLOOKING THE SHORE. DAY. CONT
From the ferns, we see the LAMB and the LITTLE GIRL almost in
profile. Our POV slowly creeps closer, almost to the edge of the
cover then stops.
EXT. SHORE BY THE BOAT. DAY. CONT
The SETLLERS P.O.V. of the YOUNG GIRL and the LAMB from down the shore.
EXT. FURTHER DOWN THE SHORE. DAY. CONT
The LAMB foreground, the other SETTLERS in the background, the LITTLE
GIRL, poised betwen them. Stillness. The Young girl slowly transfers
the peg to the other hand and slowly reaches out towards the LAMB when-
BAM! Something flies out of the undergrowth, grabs the LAMB and rolls
away. The LITTLE GIRL stares in amazement but holds her ground.
EXT. SHORE BY THE BOAT. DAY. CONT.
The LEADER'S WIFE instinctively lunges towards her daughter but her
husband holds her back. The other SETTLERS frozen with fear.
EXT. FURTHER DOWN THE SHORE. DAY. CONT.
Over its tattoed shoulder, the LITTLE GIRL watches as the figure
unrolls itself to it full height, towering over her. It is a MAORI,
holding the bleating lamb. His huge hands make the LAMB seem tiny. He
looks up from the LAMB to the LITTLE GIRL. A beat, then the MAORI
slowly offers the LAMB to her in one hand. Another beat. The LITTLE
GIRL takes his empty hand and leads him back down the shore towards
the boat.
EXT. SHORE BY THE BOAT. DAY. CONT.
The SETTLERS watch the approach of this odd couple for a moment then
rise cautiously to their feet as get closer. The MAORI is huge, even
towering above the LEADER. The LITTLE GIRL calmly leads him past the
settlers to the cage and opens the door for him. The Ewe cowers and
the MAORI kneels to place the lamb inside. The LITTLE GIRL uses the
peg to lock the cage door, sighs and turns to smile at the MAORI who
is now face to face with her. A beat and he returns the smile with a
huge beaming smile of his own, then leans forward and presses his
nose against hers. As he does so, he passes the triple twist
greenstone necklace he is wearing over his head onto her.
MAORI
Haere Mai.
The other SETTLERS take this in from a distance, still wary. The
MAORI stands and begins to retreat. The SETTLERS watch transfixed for
a moment until the LEADER has an idea.
LEADER
HEY!
The MAORI turns. The LEADER gestures to the Third SETTLER, who grabs
an oval object from the boat and, (in a slick sequence of passes that
would do the All Blacks proud) they pass a Haggis to the LEADER who
lofts it to the MAORI.
LEADER
Here.
The Maori instinctively catches the object in one hand above his
head. It is a great reaction catch. He brings it down to his face
slowly to examine it. He rotates the item, sniffs it and recoils a
bit. He looks back at the LEADER, confused by it.
LEADER
's a Haggis....You...
He realises language alone won't work, so he mimes as well.
LEADER
You eat it.
The MAORI recognises the gesture, smiles and beckons to them to
follow him. The SETTLERS rush to gather their belongings and follow
him. The LITTLE GIRL is back stroking the LAMB in the cage.
SETTLER'S WIFE
Time to go Isla...ISLA-
CUT to:
INT. OTAGO SETTLER'S MUSEUM. DAY.
The LITTLE GIRL's face BCU, daydreaming. We pull back to see reveal
she is in modern clothes and staring at a sepia picture of the LAMB
in a cage. Her GRANDMOTHER approaches.
GRANDMOTHER
Come on Isla, it's stopped raining.
They begin to leave. The Girl looks back over her shoulder and we see
the receding image of the LAMB.
ISLA
I wish I could've seen what it was like back then.
On the way out, they pass the MAORI, ageless but who could be wearing
modern clothes. He smiles at the GRANDMOTHER, she smiles back.
GRANDMOTHER
Well...it hasn't changed that much.
The GRANDMOTHER touches the greenstone pendant around her neck and we
crane up and out into the sky to see New Zealand in all it's glory.
TITLE:
1% imagination
TITLE:
99% exhilaration
TITLE:
100% NEW ZEALAND
TITLE:
THE YOUNGEST COUNTRY ON EARTH.
=======================================
About Me:
Hello there, I'm Hywel from Wales and I really want to be a Film
Director. I've been telling stories for the last 17 years as an actor
and I've finally admitted to myself that I really want to get behind
the camera tell stories as well.
I've probably left it too late at 37 to retrain but I'm saving up and
I'm going to try to get on to the BBC Director's course but without a
track record I need a huge bit of luck. That's why this competition
really would be such a big break for me if I got into the final five.
I'm no good at drawing so I've edited a sort of video storyboard with
some of the action for the first 1'30" of the film but hopefully the
script is clear enough. I wanted to write something that captures all
the things that make New Zealand great for me - the landscape, the
sense of pioneering adventure, the proximity to nature and also to
show the origins of what New Zealand is famous for now: the rich mix
of Maori and Pakeha, the warmth, humour and hospitality of the
people, Rugby and of course Sheep.
I hope you like it. I hope to get there one day.
All the Best,
Hywel
amelia said...
Hey Hwyel, thanks for mailing me the link to your script, I really enjoyed it and I can picture it now ... feels like new zealand i remember. Good luck, i think it could be a very beautiful piece x
madhura said...
A Good One!
Antonia DiBenedetto said...
Nice idea for a film - definately something different.
Would be very interesting to see if this works ...
Hywel Morgan said...
Hi Lorraine,
Thanks for your comments.
You're right, the events in the film aren't historically accurate or even likely because:
a) it's not a documentary and
b) it's a fictional little girl's daydream -that's the whole premise.
Not having had the good fortune to get to NZ yet, I was doing as Shakespeare did...using my imagination, (thanks to Jeff below for that!)
By the way isn't the meaning of indigenous 'occurring naturally or orginating in a particluar place'? I thought the Maori are themselves settlers in NZ, albeit back around 1200 CE, long before the Europeans, (see...research!) ;-)
Allright not 'deep' research, but I'm a writer, not a teacher passing on historically inaccurate information to a classroom of impressionable kids. It's just a story, like a Maori Legend - New Zealand wasn't pulled out of the sea like a giant fish but it's a great story to tell the kids because it captures their imagination.
As a storyteller my intention is sometimes to make the audience forget reality and access your imagination. It's often referred to as 'suspension of disbelief' - it's a tacit agreement the audience enters into in a cinema, a theatre, a community hall, wherever the story is being told that they know the events aren't real but for as long as the story takes to tell they are going to try and forgo that reality for the sake of going on the journey with the characters and at the end they go back to reality, hopefully having come close to experiencing some of the same feeelings as the characters, for their own pleasure, whether that be pain, fear, panic, love, compassion, honour...whatever emotional journey the story takes them on. It's escapism, for many people, the chance to experience something out of the ordinary for a short while.
That said, judging by the effect that AVATAR seems to be having on some people, perhaps the line is becoming a little blurred!
Hope you enjoy the other entries anyway.
By the way, they may just be stories too...sssh! ;-)
Jeff Teare said...
My sort of film! Short, sharp and to the point and where I live in Wales is full of sheep. I believe there's a few in NZ too? As to only writing 'what you know' - It didn't work for Shakespeare!
Lorraine Lowe said...
Sorry - hated this! Having lived in Scotland for half of my life and NZ for the other half I have a reasonable knowledge of the historical accuracy and the likelihood of the events in this short film. It is a nice idea, but totally romanticised and not very interesting to be honest. I would suggest some deep research into the colonisation of NZ and its indigenous people as well as a visit. It is always good to write about what you know...
Hywel Morgan said...
Dear Jim Baltaxe,
Thanks for your comments, good to have some constructive criticism.
I hope you'll indulge me in a little 'right to reply' and perhaps you can educate me in return.
I suppose it would be eurocentric - I'm from Wales and have never been lucky enough to visit New Zealand and it's probably romanticised because I've been in love with the idea of living there since I saw a photo of Milford Sound in a Dentist's waiting room when I was 22.
Sadly, I haven't been able to afford the money or more importantly the time to go since - I don't want to do two weeks of bungee jumping, zorbing & powerboating, a 'Lord of the Rings' tour and then hop off to 'do' Australia in a fortnight. It's not a theme park for me. There are mountains and lakes, beaches and pasture, people, art, history and theatre that I want to be around and have time to appreciate for a lot longer.
I spent a year working in the Scottish Highlands in 2005 - the best year of my life. I believe it's similar to New Zealand and there's a large amount of Scots that emigrated there, so that was a starting point and my frame of reference for the story.
So yes, I suppose it's rose-tinted but it's what the competition brief, 'the Spirit of New Zealand', evoked in my imagination. It's a fiction, not a documentary, a little girl's daydream of what it might have been like when two great cultures met and converged to produce an even greater one. It's not about the first Maori settlers - I have NO idea how to do 1200 BCE to 2010 in 3 minutes!
Anyway, thanks for reading and being honest and sorry if the concept angered or offended you, that was never the intention. Believe me I got thoroughly fed up of trawling through other entries with people power-boating down Milford Sound...I mean, the noise, the pollution...it may make money but they're slowly poisoning the youngest most extraordinary country on earth.
So, disabuse my romantic vision and set me straight - what's the reality?
Hywel
beatrice curnew said...
I loved this fresh, exhilerating pitch. This competition is meant to capture the essence/spirit of NZ. This does. Seriously one to watch out for!
Andi Osho said...
Very compelling story, intriguing, beautifully paced. I'm looking forward to seeing this made. A very different take on the theme.
Jim Baltaxe said...
This is a load of sentimental, mawkish crap! A look at the first settlers of NZ and then he goes to European contact? C'mon.
Eurocentric and overblown sentimentality.
Freddo said...
What a lovely concept. It avoids all the usual tourist cliches yet encapsulates the history, mystery and curiosity.
rRachael Battistini said...
Beautiful imagery and a simple, but strikingkly poignant moment captured. Very good luck Hywel
Matt Cullum said...
It's real skill to use narrative drive and strong character to impart a sense of 'place'. Far tougher than stringing together lovely images with funky music - but also far more interesting, dynamic and ultimately lasting. This script has the potential to do that - and with the drive of Hywel Morgan behind it, it must surely be a strong contender in this competition. I'd love to see it made. Matt Cullum of These Colours Ltd.
Lisa Parry said...
Really love the Scottish/NZ landscape link with this; and the innocence/youth of the lamb image. It's pretty much New Zealand bottled - fabulous!
Tim Dyer said...
Hywel,
Wow! What a powerful story. My story too has a bit of yours woven into it. But wow! I AGREE WITH THE FIRST POST: NZ TAKE NOTE! What an excellent story of innocence and discovery!
DaiBrynteg said...
TAKE NOTE TOURISM NZ: an imaginative and original narrative that cleverly and simply evokes "New Zealand" in terms of history, culture, people and place so succinctly. I think it's an idea begging to be realised!
john said...
Lovely simple visual storyline with a bit of mystery and humour. Linking all the main historical features of New Zealand to the present day. I think it would make be a fine short film