The Furthest Lantern - Documentary Film
By Paul Davidson
PledgeMe.Project
Film,
NZ $6,830 pledged
23 people pledged
Closed
NZ $6,000 minimum target
This campaign was successful and closed on 14/10/2020 at 2:00 PM.
Make a PledgeAbout
The Furthest Lantern - Documentary Film
Project 2020-07-01 17:15:43 +1200
On the 24th of November 1950, five Irish nuns left their homeland and sailed for six weeks, reaching their journey’s end on the other side of the world in Taita, New Zealand. Taita was a small new suburb in the postwar baby-booming city of Lower Hutt, not far from the capital Wellington. Those five nuns were the first Presentation sisters to come to New Zealand, carrying the light of their founder Nano Nagle as far as they could possibly go. With parish priest Father Joe Leahy, they set up a Catholic church and school in Taita - Saint Michael’s. Their new school opened with 56 foundation pupils in January 1951, and since then generations of children have grown up with the faith and values planted by those pioneering Irish sisters. Seventy years later, we want to honour their legacy and tell their story in a documentary film. And the person to tell that story is experienced filmmaker Paul Davidson - who just happens to be one of those 56 first pupils. |
The film will be a warm-hearted tale told in contemporary current affairs television style. It will be a history of St Michael’s school, a celebration of the Presentation Sisters in New Zealand, and a tribute to the pupils they inspired. Sporting, business and community successes from the school include All Black John Dougan, Black Sox softballers Len Barlow and Terry Bell, footballer Paddy Breslin, CEO Tony Quirke and many other high achieving men and women.
The film will also be a social history of the Hutt Valley, from the simpler days of the 1950s through the changing demographics of Taita and the rich cultural diversity that the tangata whenua and many Polynesian, Middle Eastern and Asian immigrant families now bring.
“The Furthest Lantern” will be made by the experienced documentary team of PAUL DAVIDSON and BARBARA GIBB. They specialise in engaging and cost-effective documentary films, many with a strong bi-cultural or spiritual content, such as their recent feature-length documentary “Helen’s Story”, just screened for the third time on prime-time TV. Award-winning director Paul Davidson has a Doctorate in Visual Arts, a Masters degree in Media Production and almost forty years’ experience in documentary film production. Co-director and production manager Barbara Gibb has a post-graduate Diploma in Visual Communication Design and is an experienced researcher / designer / production manager. She brings a special empathy and sensitivity to their filmmaking through her professional holistic therapy and cranio-sacral practice. The majority of our films are funded with a combination of public grants and private support, but often our major reward comes simply from the capture and preservation of an important human story. "The Furthest Lantern" is exactly that sort of story, and with your help, we will be proud to tell it. |
Overall the finished film will be an engaging, informative and visually rich programme, a most appropriate tribute to those pioneering nuns and the legacy they established. It will be made available for broadcast television, on-demand screening, website viewing and DVD as required. Its cinema World Premiere will also be a highlight of the 70th Jubilee celebrations in early 2021.
Cardinal Dew with Presentation Sisters Frances and Regina Opening of the new school building 1953 |
SUPPORT FOR THE PROJECT
“Dear Paul, your proposal for a documentary “The Furthest Lantern” about the work of the Presentation Sisters in New Zealand, and specifically in the Hutt Valley, has my full support. It’s a story of dedication and personal sacrifice which deserves to be told, and I congratulate you on the decision to make the documentary.”
“Dear Paul, it gives me great joy to see your initiative of a 70th commemoration film of our Sisters arriving in Taita in January 1951 and their ministry down the years. We Presentation Sisters endorse your initiative and are willing to participate, share our archives and support you in any way possible to bring your project to fruition.”
“I cannot speak highly enough of the way Paul and Barbara created this amazing film - “A Test of Faith”. They come with my highest recommendation as a creative and evocative team who produce extraordinary films and documentaries.“ |
We ask your support to help us make this timely and worth-while film. The total budget is $22,000, and some of this has already been raised from funding bodies and personal contribution. We now seek a minimum $6,000 from the general community via this PledgeMe project campaign. All donations, large or small, will help and will be acknowledged. The adjacent Pledge column is an easy way to donate, and gives further details including rewards for various levels of support.
Should donations exceed the listed target, all additional amounts will contribute to additional location filming, travel costs, re-enactments and digital effects which will enhance and enrich the finished production. The balance will be donated to support the Presentation Sisters current works.
Paul, Barbara and the Presentation Congregation greatly appreciate your support. Thanks and blessings upon you all.
Comments
Updates 1
"The Furthest Lantern" - FUNDING COMPLETE
17/10/2020 at 12:56 PM
GREETINGS ALL
I'm delighted to say that our public funding campaign for "The Furthest Lantern" reached its $6,000 target. Many thanks to all who contributed, and I look forward to thanking you all personally at the film's Premiere. That now looks likely to be on 21st February next year, and we have the makings of a fine film coming up. There are certainly some fascinating stories emerging from the interviews conducted so far.
Along with other generous grants, the project is now fully funded and the big job of stitching it all together begins. Barbara and I are humbled by your support, and are determined to make a film worthy of those pioneering nuns - and the whole St Michael's coimmunity.
Thank you again. Many blessings.
Paul
Pledgers 23
14/10/2020 at 9:04am
13/10/2020 at 5:59pm
13/10/2020 at 3:12pm
13/10/2020 at 2:18pm
12/10/2020 at 1:18pm
07/10/2020 at 9:58am
"Good luck!"
06/10/2020 at 12:03pm
02/10/2020 at 4:07pm
"Donation is from Duggan Family"
24/09/2020 at 3:59pm
"Well done-looking forward to seeing the film"
23/09/2020 at 10:26am
21/09/2020 at 11:32am
21/09/2020 at 2:56am
16/09/2020 at 9:00am
"Wish you the best of luck Paul. Very happy to support the Presentation Sisters story."
15/09/2020 at 7:40pm
"Good luck with the project."
15/09/2020 at 3:00pm
"Best of luck with the project."
15/09/2020 at 1:03pm
15/09/2020 at 12:38pm
15/09/2020 at 10:38am
14/09/2020 at 7:59pm
"Best wishes from the Gibbs Family"
13/09/2020 at 9:31pm
13/09/2020 at 5:27pm
27/08/2020 at 3:30pm
"Best of luck, this is a trial pledge through the bank credit portal"
Followers 1
Followers of The Furthest Lantern - Documentary Film
The Furthest Lantern - Documentary Film
Project 2020-07-01 17:15:43 +1200
On the 24th of November 1950, five Irish nuns left their homeland and sailed for six weeks, reaching their journey’s end on the other side of the world in Taita, New Zealand. Taita was a small new suburb in the postwar baby-booming city of Lower Hutt, not far from the capital Wellington. Those five nuns were the first Presentation sisters to come to New Zealand, carrying the light of their founder Nano Nagle as far as they could possibly go. With parish priest Father Joe Leahy, they set up a Catholic church and school in Taita - Saint Michael’s. Their new school opened with 56 foundation pupils in January 1951, and since then generations of children have grown up with the faith and values planted by those pioneering Irish sisters. Seventy years later, we want to honour their legacy and tell their story in a documentary film. And the person to tell that story is experienced filmmaker Paul Davidson - who just happens to be one of those 56 first pupils. |
The film will be a warm-hearted tale told in contemporary current affairs television style. It will be a history of St Michael’s school, a celebration of the Presentation Sisters in New Zealand, and a tribute to the pupils they inspired. Sporting, business and community successes from the school include All Black John Dougan, Black Sox softballers Len Barlow and Terry Bell, footballer Paddy Breslin, CEO Tony Quirke and many other high achieving men and women.
The film will also be a social history of the Hutt Valley, from the simpler days of the 1950s through the changing demographics of Taita and the rich cultural diversity that the tangata whenua and many Polynesian, Middle Eastern and Asian immigrant families now bring.
“The Furthest Lantern” will be made by the experienced documentary team of PAUL DAVIDSON and BARBARA GIBB. They specialise in engaging and cost-effective documentary films, many with a strong bi-cultural or spiritual content, such as their recent feature-length documentary “Helen’s Story”, just screened for the third time on prime-time TV. Award-winning director Paul Davidson has a Doctorate in Visual Arts, a Masters degree in Media Production and almost forty years’ experience in documentary film production. Co-director and production manager Barbara Gibb has a post-graduate Diploma in Visual Communication Design and is an experienced researcher / designer / production manager. She brings a special empathy and sensitivity to their filmmaking through her professional holistic therapy and cranio-sacral practice. The majority of our films are funded with a combination of public grants and private support, but often our major reward comes simply from the capture and preservation of an important human story. "The Furthest Lantern" is exactly that sort of story, and with your help, we will be proud to tell it. |
Overall the finished film will be an engaging, informative and visually rich programme, a most appropriate tribute to those pioneering nuns and the legacy they established. It will be made available for broadcast television, on-demand screening, website viewing and DVD as required. Its cinema World Premiere will also be a highlight of the 70th Jubilee celebrations in early 2021.
Cardinal Dew with Presentation Sisters Frances and Regina Opening of the new school building 1953 |
SUPPORT FOR THE PROJECT
“Dear Paul, your proposal for a documentary “The Furthest Lantern” about the work of the Presentation Sisters in New Zealand, and specifically in the Hutt Valley, has my full support. It’s a story of dedication and personal sacrifice which deserves to be told, and I congratulate you on the decision to make the documentary.”
“Dear Paul, it gives me great joy to see your initiative of a 70th commemoration film of our Sisters arriving in Taita in January 1951 and their ministry down the years. We Presentation Sisters endorse your initiative and are willing to participate, share our archives and support you in any way possible to bring your project to fruition.”
“I cannot speak highly enough of the way Paul and Barbara created this amazing film - “A Test of Faith”. They come with my highest recommendation as a creative and evocative team who produce extraordinary films and documentaries.“ |
We ask your support to help us make this timely and worth-while film. The total budget is $22,000, and some of this has already been raised from funding bodies and personal contribution. We now seek a minimum $6,000 from the general community via this PledgeMe project campaign. All donations, large or small, will help and will be acknowledged. The adjacent Pledge column is an easy way to donate, and gives further details including rewards for various levels of support.
Should donations exceed the listed target, all additional amounts will contribute to additional location filming, travel costs, re-enactments and digital effects which will enhance and enrich the finished production. The balance will be donated to support the Presentation Sisters current works.
Paul, Barbara and the Presentation Congregation greatly appreciate your support. Thanks and blessings upon you all.
Comments
"The Furthest Lantern" - FUNDING COMPLETE
17/10/2020 at 12:56 PM
GREETINGS ALL
I'm delighted to say that our public funding campaign for "The Furthest Lantern" reached its $6,000 target. Many thanks to all who contributed, and I look forward to thanking you all personally at the film's Premiere. That now looks likely to be on 21st February next year, and we have the makings of a fine film coming up. There are certainly some fascinating stories emerging from the interviews conducted so far.
Along with other generous grants, the project is now fully funded and the big job of stitching it all together begins. Barbara and I are humbled by your support, and are determined to make a film worthy of those pioneering nuns - and the whole St Michael's coimmunity.
Thank you again. Many blessings.
Paul
14/10/2020 at 9:04am
13/10/2020 at 5:59pm
13/10/2020 at 3:12pm
13/10/2020 at 2:18pm
12/10/2020 at 1:18pm
07/10/2020 at 9:58am
"Good luck!"
06/10/2020 at 12:03pm
02/10/2020 at 4:07pm
"Donation is from Duggan Family"
24/09/2020 at 3:59pm
"Well done-looking forward to seeing the film"
23/09/2020 at 10:26am
21/09/2020 at 11:32am
21/09/2020 at 2:56am
16/09/2020 at 9:00am
"Wish you the best of luck Paul. Very happy to support the Presentation Sisters story."
15/09/2020 at 7:40pm
"Good luck with the project."
15/09/2020 at 3:00pm
"Best of luck with the project."
15/09/2020 at 1:03pm
15/09/2020 at 12:38pm
15/09/2020 at 10:38am
14/09/2020 at 7:59pm
"Best wishes from the Gibbs Family"
13/09/2020 at 9:31pm
13/09/2020 at 5:27pm
27/08/2020 at 3:30pm
"Best of luck, this is a trial pledge through the bank credit portal"