Otago Polytechnic staff members and a graduate have been involved in the production of a short film, Milk.

Stefan Roesch, who works as an Analyst in Otago Polytechnic’s Organisational Research Office, is the producer of the film, which tells the story of two German U-boat officers who come ashore to Otago during World War 2 to obtain fresh milk. While there, they are discovered by the widow of a man who has been killed fighting in Europe.

Liz Stewart, from Learning and Teaching Development, was the Assistant Director of the film. In addition, Graphic Designer Sam Hendry created the promotional material and the production assistant was Otago Polytechnic graduate Annie Theewis (Certificate in Film and Television). 

About 20 people, including Berlin-based actors Peter Volksdorf and Mike Hoffmann, were involved in the filming, which took place in Dunedin in April this year.

The film is currently in post-production and a step closer to completion with the launch of a crowdfunding campaign through the Boosted platform.

The script for Milk was chosen by Short Film Otago as the winning script for its 2016 funding round, was shortlisted for Fresh Shorts funding by the New Zealand Film Commission and received a special mention award from the Mumbai International Short Film Festival.

At its core, the film is about what happens when adversaries come face-to-face and what they discover about each other.

Director Pennie Hunt and producer Stefan Roesch were inspired to make a film about cultural misunderstanding and forgiveness between their two home countries.

“We’re hoping this film will lead to bigger future projects, including feature films,” Pennie says.

Donations can be made at www.boosted.org.nz/projects/milk


Published on 28 Aug 2018

Orderdate: 28 Aug 2018
Expiry: 31 Jan 2019