Viv, Kirsty & Twiggy
Viv Kernick, Kirsty Griffin & Twiggy, live on the Thames coast in New Zealand’s beautiful Coromandel Peninsula. Accomplished filmmakers, they are also artists, entrepreneurial business owners and champions of our local creative community. Coinciding with this interview the ladies have their latest documentary short PLUCK debuting at the doc edge film festival where it just won Best Short!
We caught up with Viv & Kirsty to learn more about that project, their creative practice and what role Twiggy plays in their life and work.
Hi Ladies, Can you tell us about how Bella Pacific Media came about?
Bella Pacific Media all came down to Loading Docs. Our 3 minute film WAYNE was one of the first 10 to be chosen for the launch of this extremely successful series.
Since then we have made the 8 part web series amystreet.com sharing the lives of 9 great people living in a supported community for adults with intellectual disability in Thames, Amy Street went on to win numerous awards world wide and in NZ. Our next project was House of Champions a documentary about 3 Special Olympians on the way to the Special Olympics , commissioned by TV3 and now PLUCK a hunting and gathering story about a fearless and talented korowai weaver.
It’s not how big the city is, Thames has supplied us with some great stories, living in a small town makes contact and friendships much easier and accessible. We always premier our films at the Thames Cinema, which is lots of fun and great to share with our community.
You have received much (well deserved) acclaim for your documentaries to-date.
What project are you most proud of?
We both agree it’s our web series amystreet.net. What was really great about the web series is how the films have made the residents lives more visible and the town more inclusive toward them. That to me is the power of good story telling and why these stories need to be easily accessible to everyone.
WalkThe_ had a sneak peek at your latest film PLUCK which is currently (June 12- July 5) showing as part of the DOC EDGE festival. Jean’s determination is compelling and her work is incredible. When did you first learn about Jean and her Korowai weaving?
On a cold winters Saturday morning at the Thames market we met a group of women selling raffle tickets - the prize a full length Korowai, these gals all over the grand age of 70 were fundraising for a hunting trip to the Chatham Islands to gather weka feathers to weave Korowai, and they were hell bent on an adventure, we didn’t miss a beat, we asked if we could come too “of course” they gleefully chorused, sighting a younger woman with a drivers licence and a lot of chop, so as well as documenting the hunt and getting to know them all Kirsty became driver and fixer for this group of plucky women from the Hauraki district.
Kirsty shared a room with Jean her humour and honesty had all the great traits to accompany a story.
On Kirsty’s return we began filming the story of Jean and her weka feather korowai over the next 4 years we spent a lot of time with Jean, learning about korowai weaving and the woman behind 15 korowai all made with aroha for her community.
We 3 made 2 more trips to the Chatham’s. Winging through the in a small plane sky propelled by a Rolls Royce engine, 1000km’s away from home… the sense of adventure was palpable.
PLUCK documents Jeans story, creative practice and also her relationship with animals. She sources feathers for her korowai from all sorts of places, including road kill, feather dusters, hunters, craft and opportunity shops. Given the difficulty in sourcing Weka feathers here on the mainland (and Jean’s abundant source of Pukeko feathers) why did she choose Weka for her daughter’s Korowai?
In the world of Korowai weaving Weka feathers are second only to Kiwi feathers in authenticity. On the mainland Weka are protected but on the Chatham’s they are plentiful and are a food source for the locals. So there are birds a plenty which means feathers a plenty.
What part of the production did you enjoy most?
Making a documentary is a fantastic adventure based on trust. Jean is now for a friend for life. When making a documentary you have a rough idea of your story but it’s not until you start shooting the surprises, swerves and curves along the way that your story becomes clearer.
Films are made in the edit suite collating all the footage with your story arc written on post it notes stuck on the wall. Once this hard slog is completed it’s the next step of collaboration with composers , sound design and finally the colour grade, all elements in making our story come to life. Maree Sheehan did a wonderful job of the soundtrack for PLUCK. using traditional Maori instruments - Taonga Puoro.
We also used animation as a tool to bring some life to Jeans tales.
Documentary making is an addiction more expensive than smack!
The film is visually rich, we loved the playful animations punctuating PLUCK, and also the dramatic landscapes of the Chatham Islands. It is also a really intimate portrayal and acts as a portrait of Jean and her work. What are your favourite features in this documentary?
We love Jeans undying optimism and her talent as an artist.
A really great day was when we met Johnny Rotten on the Chathams, we where at a low point in the filming as Jean wasn’t getting all the feathers she needed and we where wondering if we would have a finished film Jean was wondering if she would have a finish Korowai, then out of the blue in the middle of nowhere Johnny appeared on his quad bike, we stopped for a chat and what unfolded became a turning point in our story.
What did you learn from Jean (& Milly) while telling their story?
We learned about these women growing up in the time that they did, their practical view of the world and society and in our case their views on Korowai and it’s place in their lives.
And how to pluck a bird!
We saw Twiggy has a supporting role, and PLUCK also features Peaches, Koha and Ruby (who very importantly also get canines credits!) Does Twiggy often come to shoots with you?
Jeans dog Ruby and Twiggy got on like a house on fire and as all dog owners know when your pup makes a friend it makes you soo happy, Twiggy also adores Jean, so how could we leave her at home? It just wouldn’t be right. We’d love to take them to the Chatham’s as you see in PLUCK it’s a dogs paradise.
Does having dogs on set present any unique challenges to filming?
Many years ago Kirsty had a lovely old Blue Healer fondly known as Lumpy . Back in the day on film sets we all brought our dogs to work.
At the time Kirsty was the Art Director on Xena and Lumpy would come along, she even made it to the show, Lumpy’s roll was walking though a deserted village, the shot was from above and when we saw the episode, rather than putting a dogs bark over her scene , the sound engineer put a snorting pig, yes Lumpy was rather broad, we didn’t have the heart to tell her.
Tell us about a typical day in the life of Twiggy…
Twiggy lives in the lap of luxury, every need and desire is catered for throughout the day, in return she gives us unconditional love and constant companionship all mixed with hours of tummy rubbing, squeaky toy tossing and romps on the beach.
How does she participate your creative process?
In a snuggly sitting on your knee kind of a way. She’s very good at telling us we’ve spent too much time in front of the computer and its now time to leave the desk and go for a walk a much better alternative to an fitbit.
There is lots of evidence that animals are associated with physiological, psychological
and social benefits for humans. How does having Twiggy improve your wellbeing?
Viv: I totally agree , whats the point of going for a walk if you don’t have a dog ? Twiggy has a fun and lively energy, I always say she’s like a tonic.
Kirsty: Twiggy is the first small dog l’ve ever had and I’m a convert. I love the very physical nature of small dogs they are very present and right there. There is nothing aloof about Twiggy.
What is Twiggy’s origin story?
Twiggy was a trade me dog , she was 4 months old when we got her, a companion for our old dog Peaches the most beautiful serene dog you’ll ever come by, Peaches really didn’t mind this crazy pup muscling in on her life at all.
Peaches became Twiggy’s constant - always sitting as close as she could to Peaches they had 6 happy years together before Peaches died at grand age 18. Twiggy was bereft, she seemed to grieve for a long time, a year down the track now she’s found her new groove.
The next question is should we get another puppy?
Where is Twiggy’s favourite spot to hang out in your studio/workspace?
Twiggy likes to lie at Kirsty’s feet while she’s editing or often sits in the second chair beside her desk.
What is the most mischievous thing she has ever done?
Drawing on her Mexican ancestry as a Chihuahua X Twiggy has a penchant for celebrating death, little birds that accidentally fly into our windows and die, she likes to carry them round for a day or so, lying them in state on our velvet cushions celebrating their tiny lives by keeping everyone and everything at bay - it’s very sweet.
Twiggy (and you both) had another special dog in your life (as mentioned above!)
tell us more about Peaches?
Peaches was a truly wonderful dog, a Staffie X she came to us at around 2 years old and a few months later produced 10 puppies! What a surprise!!! It was all so overwhelming I had to leave my job to care for Peachy and her pups. Peaches was Viv’s first real dog.
She began life as a pig dog before moving in with us we had to retrain her to come inside and sit on the couch she soon got the hang of it assimilated in to a world of snuggling and eating fine foods and even had a stint at retail in our beautiful homeware store and Cafe in Auckland -‘Bella Pacific’. Kids in the shop loved her and parents often asked if peaches could come and baby sit.
She happily gave up her city life and retired to the picturesque Thames coast.
Among the many other things you ladies do – you also have a community art space in Thames.
How did studio 121 come about?
The building had originally belonged to Kirsty’s parents from where they ran and owned Griffin Refrigeration, Kirsty had great memories of the building as a kid, so when it came back on the market 15 years later it was a no brainer, we just had to give it our best shot to buy it. After years of working in the film industry in big old warehouses I think there was a nostalgia for creative times from the past, sharing a space with other creatives is very soothing.
What do you value most about having this shared creative space?
Being creative can be very solitary, it’s great to be around other like minded people, quietly getting on with our work.
Creatives are navigating challenging times right now…
how have you been affected and how have you adapted?
To sustain our documentary making Kirsty works as an onset stills photographer in the NZ film industry, her year of bookings all came to an abrupt halt in March (along with all the other film crew members) However creativity can also be the mother of reinvention so she has now begun working on a behind the scenes book from the past 20 years photos from all the films she has worked on , a look at all the great people that are part of the big creative family that come together to make a film.
Pluck is free to view, during the festival here, https://festival.docedge.nz/film/pluck/ where can people check out and follow more of your work?
https://kirstygriffin.com/
