Aorere Film Academy

​​Live Cinema involves the collaboration of film, dance, theatre and live music; all woven together to create an immersive art form for the audience. This is an original concept that is a new endeavour for Aorere students to take part in. A type of production where characters are stripped from the script and stand torn between the realms of stage and screen. With multimedia representations throughout, giving the show diversity and connection to the social media world, this new, rare experience is definitely one the audience needs to witness. ​​

As this project is co-curricular, it has provided many authentic learning experiences. Our aspiring students have been challenged to set and meet very high expectations in terms of producing a work of art that represents their best efforts as well as their community. The opportunity to develop our own script meant that the students have explored the vulnerabilities of their own stories in order to formulate a work that focuses on current issues that young New Zealanders, in particular Maori and Pasifika youth, are facing. In the midst of so many other issues in the media, we found this project to be an important space for our students to voice their understandings and their coming to terms with the world they are a part of. The result is perhaps an uncomfortable yet significant glimpse into the thoughts and views of our students. Moreover, it is rare for them to benefit from such rich learning experiences in the 'normal' context of the classroom, and as such, we have been working with their teachers to help align the students' intrinsic efforts, whether it be in drama performances, script-writing, or musical performances, with NCEA standards so that they can be rewarded with credits towards their certificate.This also created a cross-curricular collaboration within the school between the digital technology, dance and drama, English, music and business departments with staff on board this project from each department.