Taylor wrote and directed the film. The moon is upside down And now she’s starring in it. Sharing her first feature film with the world, first to audiences in New Zealand and now to audiences in Australia, is bringing all sorts of emotions.
“It feels lovely. Just lovely. Absolutely lovely,” the filmmaker confessed to Newshub.
This triple threat actor has chosen his wife well: next to him is the Australian actress Victoria Hararabidou and the well-known New Zealand actress Elizabeth Hawthorne.
Hawthorne, who was awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to theatre, shines on screen in her role as Faith, a wealthy woman from Wellington.
Hawthorne thoroughly enjoyed the role and was lavish with praise on his directorial debut.
“Lauren, it’s an incredible feat that you were able to assemble this, organize it, corral it, bring all your dreams and images and what you wanted to say with it to fruition,” Hawthorne said.
The immediate and strong connection that developed between director and actors was even more significant given the incredibly low budget and shooting time of just 22 days.
“That’s why it’s only possible if we have highly skilled people. Otherwise, I think it’s just chaos,” Taylor said.
At the heart of the story are the three women who anchor it and the men in their lives, and Taylor cast Robbie Magasiver and Jemaine Clement as characters she had been developing in her mind for a long time.
“I’m an actor, so when I’m writing a script I feel like I’m in the story,” she said.
“It’s really satisfying when you find great actors who can act exactly the way you had it in your head. And they were all there. It was so satisfying.”
The moon is upside down is still showing in cinemas across Aotearoa.
