Kerosene Creek

One summer’s day, teenaged Jayde (Atarangi Manley) and Wiremu (Darcey-Ray Flavell-Hudson) tag along with their older siblings on a trip to a local swimming hole. Young passions ignite by the Rotorua hot pool. Later tragedy occurs and one of them faces lost innocence and the ritual of tangi, while bearing a secret. Michael Bennett’s short — cutting between the day and its aftermath — was shot in his Te Arawa home turf. It was selected for the 2005 Berlin Film Festival. 'Mu' was an early role for Flavell-Hudson (Mt Zion, Ghost Chips ad fame).

As a Māori writer and director, this film provided a unique opportunity to explore one of the most significant foundations of Māori custom, the tangi, the profoundly cathartic rites of tribute and farewell to the dead. But on another level, the film is an exploration of life — of that unique moment between childhood and adulthood, between innocence and sexuality, when a realm of exciting and confusing possibilities is opening before a young person’s eyes.

– Writer/director Michael Bennett

Key Cast & Crew

Catherine Fitzgerald

Producer

Michael Bennett

Director, Writer

Darcey-Ray Flavell-Hudson

As: Mu

Danielle Mason

As: Tatum

Atarangi Manley

As: Jayde

Rangimarie Holtham

As: Zoey