Madeleine Sami and Jackie van Beek go on a musical tour of Aotearoa for Tourism New Zealand.
There's nothing more liberating than heading into the wild places - especially if you are a naturist.
Naked Hiking is a niche hobby that attracts a few fanatical disciples. There's even an International Hike Naked Day on June 21.
For years Stephen Gough, the Naked Rambler, tried to walk thelength of the UK in the buff, from John O'Groats to Lands End. He was arrested 30 times and spent over five years in Scottish prisons pursuing this goal. Yet, each summer - by tandem, bicycle and walking boot - nude adventurers still set out to raise money for various charities, doing the 'End to End'.
The UK is a natural home for naked tramping - and for the international premiere of the delightfully odd Kiwi film, Nude Tuesday.
Nude Tuesday: A fake foreign language film that is at home in New Zealand's great outdoors. Photo / Supplied
The film about a nudist retreat was offered the Gala spot at this year's Edinburgh Film Festival. Filmed around Wonderland Lodge near lake Wānaka, it is a film about a suburban couple Laura (Jackie van Beek) and Bruno (Damon Herriman) who visit a naturalist camp to save their marriage.
One other thing: all of this is delivered in Ikea knock-off-esque fictional language of Zǿbftąņian.
"It's a fairly nutty film so has been popular with film-loving festival audiences," says van Beek.
The Star and writer says she spends a lot of time in the outdoors but the nudity took some getting used to.
"I do a lot of tramping - but have been clothed thus far…" says the comedian.
But having spent the last couple of years telling the country to "Do something new, New Zealand", it would be hypocritical not to pursue the project.
No irony is lost that, while recording the campaign for Tourism New Zealand, her other project was this.
Nudity, subtitles and awkward sex scenes - all the ingredients are there. Did van Beek and director Armagan Ballantyne spend the pandemic filming a faux foreign language film?
Do Something New: Jackie van Beek's other lockdown project was promoting New Zealand with Madeleine Sami. Photo / Supplied, TNZ
Nude Tuesday was made entirely in gibberish and set in the fictional Scandinavian country of Zǿbftąņ. To get the full effect Wellington actor and voice coach Perry Piercy was commissioned to create a fake language that captured some of the oddness of the project.
"We share a love of Scandinavian films and Nude Tuesday reflects that - we focussed our gibberish language around that part of the world."
While van Beek says the project was in the works long before the pandemic, it was the perfect antidote for coming out of the national lockdown. They began filming at the Wonderland lodge - artfully styled as ẄØnÐĘULÄ - in mid 2020.
"It was so nice to be making a film which is about connectivity after being cooped up in our individual homes for so long," she says. "We were all very grateful for the experience. And then after we wrapped, Auckland went back into lockdown."
However, the lockdowns couldn't keep their production under wraps for long. Following production delays and travel restrictions, Edinburgh is their first big trip overseas and their first film festival.
Co-writer Ballentyne, whose family comes from Peebles in South Lothian, managed to convince Jackie to do some exploring with him. Catching shows, exploring the Old Town and meeting up with film collaborators, Edinburgh in August is a city that draws creatives.
