Reporoa stars set for film premiere

FAMOUS: A still from the movie The Ground We Won. PHOTO/ SUPPLIED

Reporoa has been taken to the big screen, so its people are heading to the big smoke.

Farm workers have been organised to look after the farms and milk the cows as up to 300 supporters of The Ground We Won, a documentary that tracks the fortunes of the Reporoa Rugby Club A team, make their way to Auckland for its world premiere tonight.

Main character Kelvin Thomas, who has been busy fielding media inquiries, told the Rotorua Daily Post yesterday the whole community had been buzzing about the event.

"A couple of vanloads are going up [yesterday] and some more still [today]. There's a bus going up. There's heaps.

"There seems to be a fair number of people going up to it. It's starting to build. I am starting to get a bit nervous.

"I have been doing a few interviews. I am not used to it at all. It is a bit of change to the quiet life on the farm.

"There are a couple of hundred from Reporoa heading up. I know there's 60 complimentary tickets for the people in the club and that was nowhere near enough for just who we know are going. There should be about two or three hundred."

Mr Thomas will walk the red carpet tonight with his two sons, who also feature in the film.

"There is a pretty fine line between being an idiot and a character. There's red carpet and photos and all that. We will walk the red carpet. I have a suit and tie. I am getting a bit camera shy now."

Film makers Chris Pryor and Miriam Smith were pleased with the support.

"We knew the people in the film were coming up but all their friends and family are coming up to support them too so it's just going to be such a special night. I just love that they are all going to be there," Mr Pryor said.

"Quite a number of Rotorua rugby clubs feature in the film and we shot at Whakarewarewa, Murupara - all over the Bay of Plenty, so there will be a lot of interest all the way up to the Mount. A lot of people are going to see themselves in the film which is pretty exciting."

Mr Thomas said most of the Reporoa club had seen the film, and were happy with it. "What we have seen of it is mean. It's just how it is, they have done a magic job of it ... "

-The Ground We Won will debut at Auckland's Civic Theatre tonight as part of the New Zealand International Film Festival's Autumn Series, before screenings in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. It will be released nationwide on May 7 and will be shown at Rotorua's Basement Cinema.