Review: The Teddy Show movie premiere, at Uxbridge Arts and Culture in Howick on March 25.

It was a proud moment for Howick and east Auckland on Tuesday evening when the premiere played out for new Chinese-New Zealand produced film, The Teddy Show.

The venue, Uxbridge Arts and Culture in Howick, was abuzz with excitement as The Teddy Show, a charming covid-era story highlighting the growing loving relationship of a grandfather and granddaughter in lockdown times, had its first public screening in New Zealand.

It was fitting that it rolled out first in Howick, as it was set and filmed here and in other parts of east Auckland.

Viewers, especially locals, will immediately recognise scenes shot in places such as Selwyn Road, Mellons Bay, Bucklands Beach, Botany and East Tamaki, while a beautiful one-act scene was captured across the region at the magnificent Muriwai ganet colony.

Local viewers will also spot other locals, some of them neighbours, as east Auckland residents appear as acting extras, some with brief one-line talking parts, no doubt a thrill for them.

The Teddy Show is very much a wonderful showcase of east Auckland and New Zealand and undoubtedly will put the area and country in the minds of viewers overseas.

Mark Hadlow, an acting great of New Zealand stage and screen, takes the role of the grandfather who is asked to look after his granddaughter, played by first-time movie actress, Meiling Brougham, during a covid lockdown.

In his talk to the premiere audience at Uxbridge before the movie screening, Hadlow spoke about the positively “life-changing” experience in making The Teddy Show.

Tuesday was the first time Hadlow had seen it in entirety, and for someone with all his experience of diverse productions over the decades, it was a different kind of project that took place two-and-a-half years ago.

Co-producer, director and lead screenwriter Yalin Zou and many of the crew didn’t speak English, yet they’ve collectively created a well-written and easy to understand English language movie, using three translators on set, that highlighted some of the experiences and situations we all felt during those uncertain pandemic times.

For some watchers, it will be a roller-coaster of emotions reliving the lows and highs of that unstable period.

But it’s a gentle revisiting, because of the tender and enjoyable story that focuses on the evolving relationship of the characters played by Hadlow and Meiling.

It’s not all doom and gloom as there are humorous moments, as well as genuine caring scenes, and the pace at times was slow.

It’s hard to say if that was deliberate, but it did appropriately recall the occasions when lockdowns dragged on frustratingly.

The premiere screening took place deliberately on March 25, as explained by Yalin through his interrupter and wife Helen Wu, also a co-producer.

“Today, the twenty-fifth of March, is a special day. Five years ago, on this very day, New Zealand went into its first lockdown due to Covid-19,” Yalin said.

“However, the purpose of making this film is not to relive painful memories but to highlight love and hope in times of hardship.

“We chose Howick as the premiere location for two main reasons. First, the film was inspired by Big Ted and Friends, a series display created at that time by Susan Mudford from Howick.

“Do you remember the teddy bears that stood by us? They witnessed our resilience, brought warmth and hope, and accompanied us through those challenging times.

“Second, this lovely area was our primary filming location. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to Susan and the people of Howick.

“Making an independent film is never easy, and we couldn’t have done it without your tremendous support,” Yalin said.

Hadlow is full of praise for Yalin and the cast and crew, saying the project saw a lot of very committed, focused people working hard and together, respectfully and sincerely, for the integrity of the art they were producing.

“On the first day of filming, I was nervous,” Hadlow said. “I had no idea what to expect.”

He alluded to the old saying in show business that actors should never work with children and animals.

But to the complete contrary, he was “inspired every day” by “the extraordinary acting”, personality and character of “an eight-year-old girl”, who is now age nine.

“Every day was a joy, and we had such fun.”

Hadlow went on to describe Yalin as a “wonderful director”, and in the great tradition of stage and screen, he had the “humble pleasure, the greatest delight” to present a bouquet of flowers to Meiling to mark her screen acting debut.

There was also a bouquet of flowers for Meiling’s mother, Emily Gao, who played her mum in the movie and is also a novice in filmmaking, who delivered a very natural performance just like her daughter.

Yalin added: “We sincerely thank our lead actor, Mark Hadlow. We thank him and Meiling Brougham for their passionate performances, marking Meiling’s screen debut.

“We truly appreciate Emily Gao, Zoe Lin, Kuang Gao, Ken Chen, Meilan Brougham, and all the cast and crew for their dedication and hard work.

“A big thank you to our producers – Wayne Guo, Jay Zhou, Jeff Shen, Amy Xiong, and Qi Lin. Thank you for your trust.

“A heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported us along the way, as well as to Uxbridge Arts and Culture for providing the venue and special support.

“We hope you enjoy the film. Experience this heartwarming story and help pass on the love and hope,” Yalin said.

Writer’s conclusion: Bravo to all the people who have come together to make this very enjoyable movie. It has, undoubtedly, been a very rewarding experience and interesting, fun project to work on. You’ve delivered a film that allows us to retrace our steps through a difficult time in history not so long ago, a reminder that through adversity comes strength. There’s a lot of love, culture and spirit in this artwork. – PJ

• There are two screenings of The Teddy Show (PG, Teddy Bear Films Ltd, Fantasy Films Ltd) set down for Thursdays April 10 and 17, at Uxbridge Arts and Culture (go to www.uxbridge.org.nz for tickets), and it’s now available to stream on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/ondemand/teddyshow.
• For an earlier Times story about The Teddy Show, read: https://www.times.co.nz/art-entertainment/teddy-show-movie-to-premiere-in-east-auckland/