Interview: ‘Orphans & Kingdoms’ director Paolo Rotondo

Orphans & Kingdoms is a New Zealand drama that sees a trio of teens break into a Waiheke holiday home for a night of partying. When the owner unexpectedly arrives, he begins to exert control over the situation. The directorial debut of NZ actor Paolo Rotondo (Stickmen) and the second feature project of the NZ Film Commission’s Escalator scheme, which produced the nationally-praised Fantail.

Orphans & Kingdoms will have its world premiere on Sunday night July 20 at Auckland’s Sky City Theatre – you can secure your tickets here. We posed a few questions to Rotondo about the film.


Hello from Flicks. What have you been up to today?

If you really must know – I cuddled my kids and then taught them to cheer for Argentina in the World Cup. I then continued into the wee hours of the night trying to finish our film.

What sparked the concept behind ‘Orphans & Kingdoms’?

Becoming a dad and living on Waiheke Island caused me to question things and to look at the world differently. On Waiheke you can see such extremes of wealth all on the same street. Underneath it all there are universal things that make us all much more connected and similar. With that in mind, I got an inspiration from my five year old daughter’s favourite ‘Brooke Fraser’ song and soon I had characters knocking at my door to get into the script.

How did you discover the three young leads?

They all auditioned. Calae who plays Kenae was the only kid who could really stand up to an adult actor in the audition and hold his own. Hanelle (Tibs) had auditioned for me when I was helping to cast a US TV film, she was so strong I wanted her for Orphans. Jesse auditioned and proceeded to teach me about the real world of the characters I was exploring, he didn’t need a script – he knew the story.

Was it difficult going to lots of flash houses on Waiheke to find the right one?

Oh yeah it was hideous! Actually it was slightly depressing at first because we went to several amazing places but the owners were not that keen. The more humble people were the more generous. The problem is that we wanted something flash not humble. In the end we found two stunning places with owners that ‘got’ what we were doing and were keen to help.

I see your film was funded by the NZ Film Commission’s Escalator scheme. How does it feel to follow up their debut project, the nationally-praised ‘Fantail’?

I loved Fantail and I know the filmmakers behind it well. Curtis Vowell the director shared his experience with me, and together with Sophie Henderson the writer/lead actress they were a great touchstone. Thanks guys! Both projects were made with a similar methodology but in the the end the films are quite different so there’s plenty of variety to keep audiences satisfied.

Could you share with us your most memorable moment during production?

I could not have been more proud of my team of collaborators than when I introduced them to the Waiheke Community at Piritahi Marae. We hadn’t started so the excitement was palpable, nearly everyone was away from home and it felt like an adventure. The night one of our cast went AWOL for a couple of hours was another ‘memorable’ experience but probably one I’ll keep to myself for a while longer.

Seen any other good New Zealand films recently?

I am dying to see The Dark Horse – it looks amazing from the trailer. Shopping was great. I try to see all Kiwi films!

Who would be the best, and worst, people to bring along to your film?

I’d love to get a bunch of conservative, right wing, intolerant, greedy individuals trapped in the cinema with a whole bunch of people who wouldn’t normally go to a festival or art house cinema. Orphans & Kingdoms is a beautiful heartfelt film about adults and kids, please bring some of them.

What are you thinking about doing next?

I have a few balls in the air at the moment ranging from other film projects to theatre. Whatever gets traction is what I work on and the rest I keep developing. But wait a minute – I’m still finishing this film!