Hope and Wire (directed by Gaylene Preston) is a compelling docu-drama about the 2010/2011 Christchurch, New Zealand earthquakes that shows how the thousands of earthquakes and aftershocks affected a number of fictional characters who weave in and out of each other’s lives.

The narrative is enhanced by the use of found footage and by a technique where the characters turn and speak directly to the camera.The February, 2011, 6.3-magnitude quake was not officially an earthquake. Rather, it was an aftershock of the 7.1-magnitude quake of September 4, 2010, but it caused many fatalities and added more damage to a city that had not been able to recover from the original quake.

The film, which was originally made as a TV mini-series, was shot on location despite the obstacles of a city still struggling to reconstruct itself within an atmosphere of trauma. The gritty realism of the film is not bombastic nor sensationalized but rather concentrates on the survivor impacts and narratives. This should be required viewing for all of us living in the Ring of Fire.

SCREENINGS:

Sunday Oct 5, 1:30 pm IN08

Monday Oct 6, 6:45 pm VCT

Buy tickets here.