RICE RUN

LOGLINE:

Entrusted with delivering a sack of rice to his family's restaurant, 9-year-old Tent is tested when he encounters three unruly teens who challenge his sense of duty.

ABOUT OUR PROJECT: 

Rice Run is a coming-of-age drama from writer/director Pon Torthienchai that explores notions of duty and burden within the Asian diaspora. 

Drawn from his experiences working in the restaurant business from a young age, Pon seeks to make the all too familiar scenario of the takeout kid a little more adventurous, a little more dangerous, and a little more herculean. 

Set against a hot summer's day, our epic odyssey explores the clash of Eastern and Western values as our protagonist, Tent, is torn between familial commitment and the unruly lifestyle he idolises in an older group of boys. 

Ultimately, we pose the question - Is duty worth the burden it brings? 

This is a discord universal to many and one which we aim to tackle in a bold and evocative manner. Rice Run is a frenzied portrait of childhood rebellion; a coming-of-age about a boy growing into a boy. 

WHY SUPPORT THIS STORY? 

Rice Run has gone through the PASC Short Cuts development lab and is an NZFC Fresh Shorts funded film. Through these stages of development, our story has been fortunate enough to be mentored by writer/director Melanie Rodriga (Teesh and Trude) and Stephen Kang (Breathe). 

With an initial fund of 15k, we have been able to gain visibility and start accruing our talented cast and crew. However, we need your support to raise additional funds for production costs such as crew, equipment hire, and post-production fees!

We are excited to bring this rambunctious Thai story to life, a world rarely seen on our screens, and share it with you all. Your support, no matter how big or small, will bring us a step closer to lifting our epic vision off the ground. 

Thank you for being part of our journey.

MEET THE TEAM:

Pon Torthienchai | Writer/Director

Pon Torthienchai is a Thai-Kiwi writer, director and editor whose shorts “Brother” and “Majesty” have screened locally and internationally. Recently, he directed and co-created “Pincher”, a web pilot funded by NZ on Air, and has been a frequent participant of the PASC Short Cuts lab for emerging filmmakers.

Pon has edited for Day One project, SUA, and continues work on short form documentary content. His narrative works include “Chef’s Kiss”, a 48 Hour grand finalist, and “Close”, an upcoming NZFC short. Pon yearns to tell more Thai-Kiwi stories from the domestic scene to the martial arts world.

Sara Chen | Producer 

Sara Chen is a Chinese-Kiwi producer and Pon’s frequent collaborator, having produced his previous shorts “Brother” and “Majesty”, as well as co-creating and producing the web pilot “Pincher”. Sara also produced Hweiling Ow’s short “Vivie”, premiering this year at SXSW Sydney. She is currently in development for “Slay”, a horror-comedy series created by René Le Bas. Most recently, she produced “Chef’s Kiss”, which was nominated for the Grand Prize at this year’s 48 Hour Film Festival.

Previously, Sara worked in the marketing and advertising sector. She has headed projects for a variety of industries, including VR tech and clothing labels, and has worked on content for brands such as OPPO and ASB.

Harry Wynn | Producer

Harry Wynn is a producer and director who was honoured with the 2023 SPADA ‘New Filmmaker of the Year’ award. Harry is producing the Loading Docs “Hope in the Stars.” He is also the writer and director of “We’ve Always Been Here,” a documentary series exploring Aotearoa’s queer history. 

In 2024, Harry participated in Script to Screen’s FilmUp programme, mentored by acclaimed filmmaker Sally Aitken, and the inaugural Proud Voices on Screen Producer Incubator. In 2019, he was part of the SPADA and WIFT emerging producer programme. 

Hendrikus De Vaan | Director of Photography 

Harrie has worked in film and animation for more than 15 years, both in NZ & internationally. 

His short film, DISAPPEAR, was chosen for a Young Directors Award by a panel including Danny Boyle, and went on to win a Silver Young Directors Award at Cannes Lions. 

Having gaffed many projects – including most recently a network television drama, he currently works primarily as a cinematographer where his filmmaking background has proven to be a valuable resource in helping directors tell their stories visually.

Jolin Lee | Editor 

Jolin is a passionate filmmaker with 7 years of experience editing commercials, TV, and film across multiple genres and formats. 

Recent highlights include their work for Bouncers, which has screened on air locally and internationally for Sky and Comedy Central, and the Our Future is Māori campaign, which won a silver for editing at the 2023 Axis awards. Additionally, Jolin serves as Head of Post Production at Motion Sickness, an award-winning Auckland Agency.

Isidora Parra Soto | Casting Director

Isidora is a casting director with an interest in immigrant stories and championing local talent. She has worked in the casting department for large-scale projects, including James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water”, Gerard Johnstone’s “M3gan”, and Taika Waititi’s “Time Bandits”.