Taking the Waewae Express

...a happily flawed and ultimately admirable wee movie ... brave, funny, terrifically honest and unaffected, big hearted and smart enough to transcend its non-existent budget. Go see it.

– Film critic Graeme Tuckett on Taking the Waewae Express, The Dominion Post, 31 January 2009

I just want to go where no one knows me.

– Hayden (Evan Hussey) struggles to come to terms with his guilt in the death of his friend

I've driven drunk before, stoned, too fast. Spun out heaps, eh.

– Wiremu (Matariki Whatarau) reflects on his luck with mate Phil (Issac Heron)

Not my youngest...

– Dad (Rangimoana Taylor) breaks down when he hears about his son's death

When I was a kid there was only two games, rugby and...rugby.

– Dad (Rangimoana Taylor) recalls his childhood

Many said it was the best film they had seen for ages, that it had such a strong message but had not preached to them.

– Cinematographer Deane Cronin on audience reaction at the film's premiere in Wellington, The NZ Herald, 21 June 2008

Waewae is a Māori term for walking and a colloquial translation of the film's title is 'Taking Shank's Pony'...

– Excerpt from an NZ Herald article on the film, 21 June 2008

Torchlight's films are developed using British director Mike Leigh's approach to scriptwriting, where the script emerges from a basic premise and is developed through improvisation by the actors. "It's a process with really surprising outcomes — you never know what the characters might say or where they might lead the story" says co-director Andrea Bosshard.

– Press release on Torchlight Films' second feature, Hook, Line and Sinker, Voxy website, 2 November 2009

a beautifully understated but emotionally strong look at the effect of death on a group of young friends ... sparkles with a big emotional impact ... [and] does it with restraint and truth as well as a disarming sweetness.

– Listener reviewer Helene Wong, 2008