Relic - director Q&A for the 2020 New Zealand International film Festival

Your Name – Natalie Erika James 

Title of your film – Relic 

Tell us about your 2020

I’ve tried to make the most of being in lockdown by getting stuck into writing a few projects. Joining a writing group online has done wonders for my productivity and morale. But along the way I’ve definitely had some unproductive weeks where I was glued to the news and suddenly baking a lot.

How has Covid-19 impacted you and your film?

I’m so grateful we managed to squeeze in our Sundance premiere, because soon after all of the festivals where Relic was supposed to play began cancelling. Our US Distributor was really proactive in making the decision to release the film in July, taking advantage of the gap created by a lot of the bigger studio films postponing their release. We had originally planned to release the film theatrically in Australia, but I was over the moon when Stan jumped on board and we were able to release the film online alongside the US.

What's the moment you wish audiences were seeing in a theatre, and why?

Probably the whole third act, ha! It gets particularly dark (both in image and content), and there’s something amazing about experiencing horror in the darkness of a cinema with others.

What have you learned about film-making, the film-making community and the film-going audience during the pandemic?

I’ve been fascinated by the different approaches filmmakers have been coming up with to ensure they can continue shooting in a socially distanced, safe environment. Things like, writing scenes with only three people or less who don’t have physical interaction, rehearsals over Zoom, splitting up crews over two units so that if one becomes infected, the other unit can continue shooting, etc.  

What's the single best moment of your film?

I think most people would say the final scene of the film, I suppose because it is horrific and emotionally affecting at once. 

What do you plan to do next in terms of film-making?

I’m working on a Japanese folk horror with the same co-writer and Australian producers from Relic. 

Relic plays at Whanau Marama New Zealand International Film Festival. Get all the details here - https://www.nziff.co.nz/2020/at-home-online/relic/