Filmmaker and WIFT member Lisa Burd loves stories. Life stories, trip stories, event stories – she’s got a keen interest in others and enjoys telling their stories. This curiosity has led to her spending the last 20 years working in film production and creating award-winning documentaries.
Her latest project, her fifth documentary, is called No Tears On the Field and explores the inspirational and emotioal heartland of grassroots women's rugby in Taranaki.
Watch the Trailer HERE and read on fellow Wifties for your Editor's chat with Lisa Burd! And that's not all - we have 5 double passes to giveaway to the film - find all the details on how to enter the giveaway comp after Lisa's interview
Q&A WITH NO TEARS ON THE FIELD FILMMAKER LISA BURD
EDITOR (Ed): How did this germ of an idea come to you?
LISA BURD (LB): I was working part-time for the Daily News as a photographer and was sent to shoot women's rugby. As I looked through the viewfinder and went click, click, click it was a lightbulb moment and I knew I needed to know more about that stunning Amazon woman running towards me. I had also stayed in touch with Michaela Blyde after shooting her when she won her Olympic Gold. The idea just grew from there.
ED: Why was the mighty Naki the place to tell it?
LB: I returned to Taranaki after I made my last film The Pinkies Are Back and during the Covid pandemic. I had always wanted to make a film set in my home province. The mountain and the scenery is a stunning backdrop, in fact the Maunga became a central character in the doco. What better combination than the mountain, farming and rugby. It made a great recipe for a film and a way for me to connect back to myTūrangawaewae. I left Taranaki when I was 17.
ED: So much open vulnerability from so many women on camera, how was your process with the talent and your key to finding their stories?
LB: I have a knack for finding talent that will endure a rollercoaster of emotions and a minimum three year journey. I’ve often been told that the journey can be quite therapeutic for the talent and myself. Identifying the talent to follow took some time, lots of standing on the sidelines and chatting, trying to get a sense of their characters. Kate, one of the talents, was a working farmer so I literally took myself off to her farm, with some very early starts to film her milking and then going on to rugby training. Finding talent that is going to last the whole journey and not mind having a camera following them is the trickiest part. I became part of the furniture. When it gets tough I always remind myself this is a very privileged position to be in.
ED: Are you a rugby gal yourself?? ;)
LB: I was brought up on Rugby Road and our neighbour was former All Black David Loveridge who ran a pig farm. We had no choice in those days, we went to the neighbours to watch rugby, it was always amazing being in David’s house watching him play on TV. I did play rugby with my brothers and then when we got to school was told I couldn't play anymore. That always bugged me and was also a part of why I wanted to make this documentary. How was it that girls weren't encouraged to play rugby all those years ago but now dominated the sport on a world stage. What got them there?
ED: What has been the most challenging part of this project?
LB: No Tears on the Field was pretty much filmed over two seasons, the film is now in its fourth year. Staying the course when you are making independent films is hard, keeping the talent - who were quite young and had busy work/social lives - engaged is always a challenge. The film was shot at small and often isolated country clubs around the mountain so just getting to those places was time consuming and our talent was playing in different places at the same time. We had to make sacrifices as we couldn’t be in all places. And of course raising the funding to make the film and ensure the crew were paid. Once I start shooting I don't stop. The crew and talent have invested in my vision so I stay the course, not knowing how long or what the outcome might be. That's the beauty of documentary filmmaking, it is unpredictable. It's telling unfiltered stories about real people.
ED: Have you had a chance to show your film to cast and crew - and to Taranaki locals?
LB: Yes I am currently on a pre nationwide release special Q and A screening tour with the cast around the North Island. We had a sellout screening last year in Stratford at the historic King's Theatre cinema and for our Taranaki Tour over the past weekend, two sell-out nights at the Event Cinema New Plymouth and the arthouse Len Lye cinema. The cast were blown away - the filming started with me and my camera, then moved to bigger cameras and now the big screen. They are excited and have enjoyed all the photoshoots and media interviews. They are terrific advocates for the sport and for their communities. The film opens nationwide on March 19.
ED: Stories like these are often revealed as you film.. was this the case for you?
LB: Yes, my style of documentary making is very character driven. In this film rugby is the vehicle to tell the stories of four amazing young women on and off the field. In the early days of the doco I had no idea of the final outcome. This is the most exciting part of documentary making. You have to dance with the rollercoaster of life. While this is all happening you become attached and invested in their lives. My background in reality TV as an OPC has given me an incredibly valuable skillset to tackle any stories that I choose. I knew a couple of the girls had very personal backstories that needed to be treated respectfully and with a duty of care. These were young women who put their trust in me and me in them, would they last the distance? Audiences have asked me where I find such talent, I guess after years of making documentaries - this is my fifth - I know what I need to bring emotion and connection to my films, and also bring a commercial potential to the film. I want to capture history in the making as a slice of life so that we can remember where we came from in the future. And most importantly to remember our community and that community is paramount in thiscurrent world.
ED: There was so much fire and passion and commitment and love of the game, how inspiring was this for you?
LB: I have been blown away by the strength, passion and resilience of these young women, and the trailblazers who are featured in the film - Vicky Dombroski and Cherry Blyde - who kept pushing for women to play competitively. Superstar player Michaela Blyde's career really demonstrates that grassroots rugby really does produce legends. It's where our Black Ferns are born. Many people who have watched the film have told me they wish they had played rugby, they could see the friendship and power it gave the women. I hope audiences feel inspired by these young women.
ED: There are never enough big screen stories with wāhine at the centre, was it a challenge getting funding, or at any time in the process where you saw some genuine gender inequity?
LB: It is always hard securing funding to make films, especially documentaries. I am not alone in that. Fortunately I can operate as a one person crew and that has been my life saving weapon when making documentaries. If I waited for funding the story would move on without me. We worked hard to secure sponsors and managed to get some seed funding from the Taranaki Community Rugby Trust who believed in what we were doing. That propelled us along and enabled me to bring in bigger cameras. We ran a successful $30,000 Boosted crowdfunding campaign and managed to get like minded philanthropists, local and national, on board. The NZFC came through at the end with finishing funds and a more recent engagement grant which has allowed us to do grassroots outreach to communities, rugby clubs and schools especially and our nationwide tour. In terms of gender inequity sadly some women's teams do still live in the shadows, manyclubs don't have separate facilities due to a lack of funding but some clubs are pushing the boundaries. Tukupa is a club that has changing facilities for the women and brings babysitters in so that mums can play. It is definitely changing. We filmed a club for six months and had to pivot when that club couldn’t find the numbers to field a woman’s team. Footage and talent that never sees the light of day is hard.
ED: How does it feel to be finally releasing your film into cinemas for kiwi audiences?
LB: I'm excited for the girls and the crew who worked long hours on this project. Madman came on board immediately after we premiered the film at DocEdge. I think they recognised that this was a story that was more than rugby. They have been amazing to work with, really supportive and believe in the power of the story and its relevance. It really is a story about community, rural life and the bond parents have with these young women. I like to think it is a film that will inspire people to see the benefits of sport for healthand wellbeing, mental health and camaraderie. It certainly is not a film for just rugby fans and I think that is what has surprised early audiences. It's funny, sad and a slice of Kiwiana.
I'm proud of the film and hope it resonates with audiences wherever they get to see it.
TICKET GIVEAWAY FOR NO TEARS ON THE FIELD
If you'd like to win a double pass to see this moving and illuminating documentary, be among the first five people to email us on office@wiftnz.org.nz and answer the following question correctly - good luck!
QUESTION: Name the Maunga in Lisa's new film No Tears on the Field.