Curiouser and curiouser!  Ex Hastings Girls’ High School student Amy Osborne is about to direct a short film based on the story of Alice in Wonderland.  Set in Hawke’s Bay and using a local crew and cast, the film is Amy’s major project during her second year in the Screen Production programme at the Eastern Institute of Technology in Taradale.

Production Design lecturer Jonathan Rogers says Amy is an incredibly motivated young student.  “She has a distinct vision to put a new spin on the story of Alice in Wonderland, which is to be shot in the Redwoods Forest on Te Mata Peak.”

Jonathan, who has had years of valuable experience in the New Zealand film industry working on feature films that have included The Frighteners, Lord of the Rings, Sydney (a film starring Rachel Hunter and Joan Collins) and King Kong, says the local forest will be transformed into Wonderland with the help of colourful props made in class by Amy under his instruction.

“Amy has been incredibly busy all year producing props and wardrobe for her production.  She is recycling returned fashions into a Queen of Hearts dress to be worn by classmate Amanda Dawson.”  The props Amy has made include brightly painted giant mushrooms handcrafted out of wire mesh, papier maché and plaster.

Amy finished Hastings Girls’ High School in 2008 and is basing her film on the 6th form portfolio she did with photography teacher Jenny Dickerson.

 “Amy studied photography at year 12 and 13 and was very interested in narrative photography,” says Jenny.  “Photography gives us a chance to say, in more than words alone, what we believe in, where we stand.  Film for Amy is a natural development.  She loved to tell a story through her images.”

After school, Amy attended a one- year Animation and Digital Video Diploma at Natcoll in Wellington and then returned to the bay to do this course.  She is using her animation skills to create the White Rabbit character in her short film.

 Amy is loving her course at EIT. She has just come back from a field trip to Auckland where she was an extra on the Mighty Power Rangers TV series.