A documentary that follows an Alexandra police team that worked in Christchurch in the aftermath of February's earthquake could be a real eye-opener for many people, one of its subjects believes.
The documentary follows Alexandra's rural drink-drive team as it works inside the cordoned-off red zone in the five days after the February 22 quake.
Dunedin freelance camerawoman Pip Walls, who had been filming the drink-drive team during the previous four months for a television series, was with the team when it was called to Christchurch.
As a police contractor, she worked inside the cordons with the only media camera allowed in, and has produced the hour-long documentary 5 Days In The Red Zone.
Sergeant Bruce Martin said he thought people would be surprised to see just how bad the damage was inside the red zone.
"I think it will give people an appreciation of the real extent of the damage."
It might also help people who had wanted to get inside the cordons understand why the cordons were there, and give them a better understanding of the work search and rescue teams, emergency service workers and the military did in the initial days.
Miss Walls said what had emerged from her filming was a candid view of the disaster, from late-night debriefs, to coverage of search and rescue within the red zone.
The documentary will screen at 9.35pm on Wednesday.
