Can’t Beat Wellington (on a Good Night) - Short Film

Two strangers, out on a date, slowly fall into sync through the language of dance. Captivated by the nightlife of Wellington and fueled by emotion, will this bold city accept them for who they are?

The Film

Can’t Beat Wellington on a Good Night is a choreography-focused short film that seeks to create an explicitly Wellington setting while being timeless and classic. 

Our objective is to romanticise Wellington and its community in a post covid age.

Our project began life as a simple idea, two people dance, and it has only grown from there. 

Can’t Beat Wellington on a Good Night tells a story of what it means to belong, not only within a city and community but within yourself. A city and its community can help you to grow and develop but it is only yourself that can decide who you are as a person and how you fit into this big world.

Can’t Beat Wellington on a Good Night follows two strangers through the ups and downs, the back and forths of a first date and finding your feet in a strange new city. 

Over the course of the night, our characters express their emotions about themselves, each other and the city through the language of dance. 

Through the push and pull of a first date, they find themselves surrounded by the community of Wellington, a tight-knit group where everyone knows everyone, which can be confronting for a newcomer, but as all looks lost, the community we all know and love comes to support our characters through their toughest times. 

Why we want to make this film

As students, we have all come to make Wellington our home over the last few years and so much of this time has been riddled with Covid and lockdowns. This city, famous for its quirks and creativity, has seen a dip in its usual spark and we want to bring that back. We want to kick a little joy into people's lives and bring the romance back to the coolest little capital in the world. 

Help bring this amazing film to life

Can’t Beat Wellington is being made as part of our graduate project for our final year at university. Your generous donations will help us support the amazing rangatahi talent working to make this project happen, from the composers to the choreographers and performers.

It will also help with transport to locations along with ensuring we can hire equipment and make our film look (and city) look stunning in post-production

If we don’t reach our target, we get nothing!  So please help us by donating and sharing this with your friends.

Our Team

Callum and Breana are a writing, directing and filmmaking duo  but they can't do this alone

Behind them is a whole team of amazing rangatahi filmmakers and creatives.

• Callum - Co-Director/DOP
• Breana - Co-Director
• CJ Draper - Producer
• Thais Ehinger - 1st AC/Editor
• Max Kenny - Sound Technician
• Rocielli Fernando - Composer
• Emily Ardern - BTS Videographer
• Seb Boyes - A-Cam 2nd AC
• Tim Dann-Hoare - B-Cam 2nd AC
• Kate Chu - Production Assistant 
• David Nadakuitavuki - Production Assistant 
• Noah Crooks - Grip/Best person 
• Tom Lewis - Grip/Best person 
• Fletcher Howell - 2nd AD
• Anja Lukic - Art Dept Assistant
• Lewis Weatherley - Lighting Assistant
• Victor Woodfield - Editing Assistant