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26 STYLE | report<br />

One Lane Bridge actor,<br />

Dominic Ona-Ariki.<br />

Great Southern TV producer, Phil Smith.<br />

It’s been said by many people that the vast natural beauty of<br />

the South Island looks like one giant film set. Some of the<br />

landscapes and cityscapes are so beautiful they almost look<br />

make-believe. What some studios overseas spend years trying<br />

to create artificially, we have right here in front of our eyes<br />

and under our feet. And it’s catching on.<br />

More and more local and international film and<br />

TV makers are using various parts of the South Island as<br />

the main backdrop for their productions. We offer not<br />

only the scenery, but an increasing pool of remarkable local<br />

industry talent.<br />

The enormously successful Top of the Lake (2013) was<br />

filmed entirely on location in Queenstown and Glenorchy.<br />

The first series took 18 weeks to film, and although<br />

Queenstown is referred to by name in the series, Glenorchy<br />

doubles as the fictitious town of ‘Laketop’. Jane Campion cowrote<br />

and directed the film with some overseas funding and<br />

a mixture of cast and crew from here and overseas. It was a<br />

mystery/ drama series in which the engrossing storyline was<br />

offset by the stunning, eerie landscapes. It’s hard to imagine it<br />

being made so beautifully or successfully anywhere else.<br />

Now, another drama is about to start production in<br />

Queenstown. This one is totally home-grown. It’s called One<br />

Lane Bridge and is the baby of Queenstown-based Phil Smith,<br />

who runs Great Southern TV. Smith describes the series as a<br />

gritty drama with a murderous edge. “It’s down-on-the-farm,<br />

down-to-earth New Zealand telly, no Chablis-swilling urban<br />

folk. Hardcore Speight’s and lamingtons for morning tea.” The<br />

characters talk “real Kiwi” and he wanted it to feel real, not<br />

like a pantomime. “It also has a fascinating spiritual edge that<br />

ekes its way into the story… but that’s all we can say. And<br />

somebody dies.”<br />

Smith had the idea for One Lane Bridge 13 years ago when<br />

he drove over one of 25 one-lane bridges on the West Coast<br />

and thought it a great name for a drama. “Recently we spent<br />

a year developing the drama with Carmen Leonard and Pip<br />

Hall. They added a lot to the series.”<br />

Smith said it’s being shot in his home town of Queenstown<br />

because he always wanted to film something there. He said its<br />

appeal is obvious. “Central [Otago] is stunning, vast, cinematic,<br />

and so the people are also larger than life.” He loves the<br />

diversity in the area, too. “Super rich, super struggling, super<br />

ambitious and super traffic jams. Just super all round!”<br />

Unlike many productions in the area, the cast is a<br />

powerhouse of talented locals. “No tax-break actors where<br />

you suddenly see an Alaskan in a drama and see at the end it<br />

was made in conjunction with the Alaskan Film Development<br />

Tax Office.” The casting announcement released in<br />

September confirmed some top Kiwi talent, including Dominic<br />

Ona-Ariki, Joel Tobeck and Alison Bruce.

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