SILT a short film

SILT is a short film written and directed by local filmmaker Amanda Jane Robinson. The film studies the intricacies of sisterhood and the way grief recalibrates even the strongest relationships. 

Months after the death of their mother, 13-year-old Rose and 16-year-old Mara reluctantly agree to spend the weekend camping with their father. As they each contend with their grief in different ways, their relationships are strained further and further. When Rose's attempts to mimic Mara's bravado put her in danger, the girls are forced to confront the resentment that has grown between them since their mother's death.

SILT is Amanda's major project for the first year of her postgraduate degree in Screen Production at the University of Auckland. It is produced by Grace Hood-Edwards and filmed by Nicole Brannen and Zoey Zhao. Tom Augustine will assist with directing, and technical crew support will come from Amanda's fellow postgraduate students. Care has been taken to have majority women on the crew.

Your contribution will go towards paying actors, feeding cast and crew, and production design that will increase the quality of the film. Any additional contributions over and above our goal will go towards entering this film into festivals, which often have high entry fees.

Every little bit makes a difference, both practically and as a show of support for the time and effort of local filmmakers. Thank you!

THE TEAM

Amanda Jane Robinson (writer, director, art director)
Amanda is a writer and filmmaker completing postgraduate study in Screen Production at the University of Auckland. She is currently a film critic at Flicks and a digital reporter at Newshub. She is particularly interested in stories of women's interiority, and she places a strong focus on aesthetic and tone. Amanda has worked on a variety of local films and promos and held positions at 95bFM, the Directors and Editors Guild, and Auckland Women's Centre.

Grace Hood-Edwards (producer)
Grace is currently completing postgraduate study in Screen Production at the University of Auckland. She has extensive experience writing, directing, and performing theatre, and most recently directed Small Talk as part of Stir Fried X hosted by Stray Theatre Company.

Nicole Brannen and Zoey Zhao (cinematographers)
Nicole is a photographer and psychology graduate. She recently made her directorial debut with a music video for pop single 'Magnets' by MCK. Zoey is currently completing postgraduate study in Screen Production at the University of Auckland. She recently graduated from UNITEC with a diploma in editing and visual effects.

Tom Augustine (assistant director)
Tom is a critic and filmmaker who won the Geoff Evans Memorial Prize for his short film Long Time Coming in 2014. Most recently, Tom directed the music video for 'Take It Down' by Kiwi hip-hop artist JessB. He also recently wrote an episode of Shortland Street. He currently writes and edits video for the New Zealand Herald, as well as a range of other local and New Zealand publications.

Rachel Ashby (composer)
Rachel is currently completing postgraduate study at Elam School of Fine Arts. She hosts arts and culture show Artbank on 95bFM and founded the campaign to save the fine arts library at the University of Auckland. In 2017 she composed we/some using the individually recorded improvisations of nine musicians.