Regent Theatre technical manager Nelson Miles with films
for the New Zealand Film Festival. Photo by Peter McIntosh.
It is the stuff you could make an action/adventure film
out of.
Picture this: a major snowstorm blocks roads in and out of a
city, making them impassable for most vehicles.
Cue dramatic music. One man takes on an improbable mission to
transport an important cargo from Dunedin to Christchurch
using his trusty four-wheel drive with nothing but chains,
determination and a steaming hot cup of coffee.
That man is Regent Theatre technical manager Nelson Miles,
and his important cargo was a stack of films destined for
screening yesterday at the New Zealand International Film
Festival in Christchurch.
The films were screened at the Regent Theatre for the New
Zealand International Film Festival in Dunedin on Tuesday,
and because snow caused transport stoppages, there was a risk
of major interruptions to the flow of film prints at other
festival venues around the country.
The transport stoppages caused changes to the schedule in
Dunedin, including cancellations and film replacements.
But due to Mr Miles' actions, showings at the festival in
Christchurch avoided a similar fate.
Mr Miles said his journey was "quite an adventure" but
doubted whether a movie about it would do well at the box
office.
"From Ashburton onwards, it was snowing quite heavily and
settling on the road. It was very slippery. There was a bit
of sideways driving involved.
"I did it because I would have hated it if someone had to
miss out on the film festival because we didn't go the extra
mile.
"Christchurch has had enough ... I didn't want to add to it."
Festival director Bill Gosden, of Wellington, said Mr Miles'
actions saved the day and were "well above the call of duty".
"It's not something that we asked him to do. The festival is
under very tight time constraints and this has enabled the
programme to be screened as scheduled in Christchurch for the
next few days.
"The people of Christchurch would be pleased he did it, if
they knew."
A spokeswoman yesterday said several films scheduled for
Dunedin this week had not made it to Dunedin, because of the
weather. Rebecca McMillan said festival organisers had
decided the risk of not getting the films to Dunedin in time
was too great.
Festivals were running simultaneously in various centres and
transport ran to a tight schedule, she said.
Advance tickets bought for films that have been replaced in
Dunedin can be used for admission to the substitute sessions,
or can be refunded at the theatre box office.
Changes to the schedule can be found at: www.nzff.co.nz/dunedin/schedule-update-for-dunedin
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