We're thrilled to hear that filming for producer Kerry Warkia's third feature is all go this month! There are many women in the crew, including some Wifters: Ainsley Calderwood, a paid DOP shadowing the DOP (for this initiative the production is collaborating with NZCS) and two Kiwi-Pacific female directors, Marina McCartney and Matasila Freshwater who are shadowing director Kiel McNaughton (an initiative McNaughton and Warkia set up, and received financial support for from the NZFC). Other Wifters are line producer Marg Slater, and up-and-coming Kiwi-Pacific producers Maria Tanner and Claire Campbell.
Produced by Warkia under the Brown Sugar Apple Grunt banner, The Legend of Baron To'a, tells the story of a Tongan entrepreneur who returns to his old neighbourhood and inadvertently causes the theft of his late father's valued pro wrestling title belt by some ruthless gangsters. When negotiation and diplomacy fail to get it back, he is forced to embrace his father's legacy to reclaim the title.
IMAGE/nzfilm.co.nz
The cast of The Legend of Baron To'a