Novice NZ director takes 'silent' film to Montreal

By STUART DYE

A film about a teenage male prostitute - in which the characters don't speak - has been selected as a finalist in one of the world's leading movie competitions.

Boy, a short film about 14-year-old Sam living in small-town New Zealand, is a finalist in the Montreal Film Festival's world competition category.

It is a major achievement for first-time filmwriter Welby Ings, an associate professor at the Auckland University of Technology.

"I entered in the casual Kiwi way - then when I found I was selected it was a case of knees buckling and collapsing to the floor," said Mr Ings.

"I felt it was a good film, but to be recognised on the international stage by people who don't know me from a bar of soap is wonderful."

In the film, Sam witnesses a hit and run by a member of an influential family, which then threatens Sam to keep him quiet.

Mr Ings, an award-winning playwright, designer and illustrator, believes the film's appeal is in its unusual treatment of the subject matter.

Young, heterosexual men's emerging sexuality was commonly explored in film and television, said Mr Ings, but their gay equivalent was generally avoided or portrayed as neutral, or as the victim of paedophilia.

"It is a very, very New Zealand film, but without any of the old cliches.

"The themes are played out 100 times every day across the country, yet there's a great vacuum in our literary profile."

* The 28th Montreal competition runs from August 26 to September 6.