Community to the fore in new television pilot

A television pilot set in Whangarei will premiere this month at the Youthshorts Film Festival at the Forum North.

The Rei is a teenage drama about activism and features a cast of up-and-coming actors from Northland.

The 30-minute pilot is a co-production between the Northland Youth Theatre and Channel North Television.

The producer of The Rei, Gareth Mauchline, says the pilot is about "doing good in the community through interesting ways".

Script writer Peter Larsen said the "constructive mischief" of kids at the theatre who organised flash mobs for World Vision inspired the film.

A flash mob is a group of people who come together suddenly in a public space to perform an unusual act for a short period of time and then disperse.

"The Rei showcases the ability of small communities to make good, relevant television," says Larsen.

And Mauchline says: "It's good to show people what can be done with a limited budget."

Larsen says a grant made by the Oxford Sports Trust is a "great hallmark of Whangarei generosity".

The Rei will show on August 23.