Last Thursday, WIFT NZ member Emily McDowell, part of Wellington film production team Major Arc, set off on an intrepid journey to the wildest part of Alaska in search of the man who inspired the legendary Greenpeace boat, the Rainbow Warrior. Why? Well, one year ago - almost to the day - Emily and Lala Rolls, the founders of Wellington-based film production company Major Arc, came knocking at the WIFT NZ door, looking for ideas for 'films which could make a difference'. WIFT NZ Executive Director, Susi Newborn, showed them a treatment she'd written for a film called The Eighth Colour of the Rainbow, which was about William Willoya, Inupiaq elder, prophecy collector and fallible hero, the man whose book The Warriors of the Rainbow formed the spiritual background to a global movement. Major Arc loved it so much, they took the project under their wing.
As you read this, Emily is in the Alaskan wilderness with William Willoya and his posse, filming what is now called Eighth Colour. We can't tell you anything else about the film yet, so we don't give too much away. However, in William Willoya's words, "[This story] makes 'Gunsmoke, 'Dallas', 'Bonanza' and other Golden Globe winners pathetically ancient because this is happening now. This is real life future Hollywood stuff."
We'll be catching up with Emily on her return, as we're sure she'll have many good stories to tell. We are especially keen to find out if she used the rifle she was advised to bring for protection against bear attacks.
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