Wellington WIFT member April Phillips wrote, co-produced and acted in her two short films "Letter For Hope" and "Utu Pihikete". The films were independently produced by Executive Producer Craig Hutchison of CAS'n'OVA Productions and hit the festival circuit at the start of this year. Both films have just received Awards for Excellence in the Accolade Global Film Competition. The notification emails stated "You cleaned up this season!" and "Our festivals receive thousands of submissions. You can be justifiably proud of winning Accolade honors. The judging standards are high and winning means the craft and creativity exhibited by your entry is outstanding and stands above other productions."
To date "Letter For Hope" has been selected for seven international film festivals and has also won awards at the Sunset Film Festival in L.A., and the IndieFest Film Festival.
"Utu Pihikete", a colonial drama, has screened at two film festivals and also won an award at the IndieFest Film Festival.
Phillips' short film script "The Halfway House" has also been selected for the Mile High Horror Film Festival in Colorado.
Phillips and Hutchison are currently looking for investors for their first feature film which is an adaptation of April's acclaimed and SWANZ nominated stage play, "Motel".