Short Western to Screen in Cannes

A 15-minute film by Aucklanders Luke Thornborough and Lisa Fothergill, called Jess, will screen at Cannes International Film Festival in the Short Film Corner of the event, in May.

Its makers are trying to raise $4800 online to get Thornborough to France next month so he can take part in the festival and its various workshops and submit their entry to other contests.

The film is a western and features just 14 lines of spoken dialogue. It was filmed in the Hawke’s Bay and at the Howick Historical Village in Auckland’s eastern suburbs.

Lead actress Amie Bentall stars as Jess, who sets out on horseback to find her father, fighting the elements and coming to terms with who she is along the way.

Fothergill, 24, says being accepted into the event makes all the early mornings and life on a shoestring budget worthwhile.

“Don’t be afraid to put it out there,” Thornborough says to budding filmmakers.

This year, New Zealand filmmaker Jane Campion will become the fourth woman to head the Cannes Film Festival jury. Campion won the coveted Palme d’Or in 1993 for The Piano.

Original article by Jess Etheridge, Stuff, April 19, 2014.