New Zealand Film Festival: The Map Reader
Venue: Broadway Cinematheque, Prosperous Garden
Address: 3 Public Square Street , Yau Ma Tei
Date: Saturday, 4th September 2010
Time: 8:40am
Synopsis
Sixteen-year-old Michael escapes the realities of his small-town New Zealand life by immersing himself within a world of maps. Yet his seemingly happy isolation is broken by the serendipitous arrival of two young women into his life. Mary is twenty and blind from birth, on the verge of voyaging into the world on her own. Alison is Michael’s peer, whose grace betrays darker secrets. Behind it all is Michael’s single mother, Amelia, who cherishes her son while simultaneously pushing him away.
About the Film and the Director
Director Harold Brodie was born in Toledo, Ohio, USA. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1992, where he has lived ever since. His first film as writer/director/editor was the micro-budget Orphans and Angels, which won a Special Jury Prize at the 2003 New Zealand Film Awards. The Map Reader is his second film. He also works as a film and television editor.
Brodie wrote the first draft for the film about 12 years ago, drawing on his own fascination with maps as a child. Brodie received funding for the film in New Zealand and wanted to address “New Zealandness" from an American perspective and give the audience a feel for where New Zealand is in the world.
