Broken Hallelujah

Real life couple and creative team Alastair and Vanessa Riddell "lived and breathed" their movie Broken Hallelujah. The cast of the ensemble drama includes Shortland St luminary Ben Mitchell, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 2017 NZ Film and TV Awards. Inspired by Leonard Cohen ballad 'Hallelujah', the film pulls together multiple storylines exploring the fallout from emotional and financial hardships. In this excerpt, Gary (Roussel Dubois) mopes around with a mate, while his recently departed wife Kirsty (Vanessa Riddell) farewells their daughter and first encounters the charismatic Jason (Mitchell).

It was a labour of love, but if you look through history anyone really wanting to achieve something whatever it may be, has to, at some stage, be prepared to go beyond the expected. It is exhausting to take on so many crucial roles in a project as large as the making of a feature film, but the upside is you learn so much and you can't help but develop an appreciation for the skills involved.

– Director Alastair Riddell on the challenges of making his first feature, Stuff, 16 October 2014

Key Cast & Crew

Vanessa Riddell

Writer, Producer, Production Designer, As: Kirsty Preston

Greg Smith

As: Chris Truman

Roussel Dubois

As: Gary Preston

Ben Mitchell

As: Jason Wiki

Alastair Riddell

Director, Editor, Composer, Executive Producer

Dean Carruthers

Cinematographer, As: Francis