One of the last shoots I directed before the world drew its curtains around us back in March 2020, was in New Zealand on a piece for a brand-new FEI series called Ride.
I was fortunate enough to spend two days just outside of Auckland on the set of children’s drama ‘Mystic’, which was shown on CBBC in the UK this autumn, as well as TVNZ and the Seven Network. We told the behind the scenes story of the cast and crew as they filmed sequences for two episodes in the series: ‘The Lost Herd’ and ‘The Storm’.
Mystic is a beautifully shot drama and captures not only the relationship between human and horse, but the setting of New Zealand couldn’t be more stunning. Despite the age-old rule of never working with children or animals, this series bucks that trend and proves it can be done (and done brilliantly). All the young cast have bright futures ahead of them and I look forward to tracking their progress, and the crew onsite couldn't have been more welcoming.
After a few days in New Zealand I headed to Australia for a planned 14-day epic shoot, which was sadly called time on just three days in – we had to get a flight home before the boarders closed. I did moot the idea of heading to Fiji to ride out this new COVID-19 storm… but I’m not sure what my wife would have thought about that idea had it happened.
If you haven’t seen it yet, Mystic is available on BBC iPlayer in the UK and is worth a view – my family watched each episode religiously every week. We can’t wait for series 2 which will be out sometime in 2021.
The behind the scenes piece for Ride will be out soon… watch this space.
Here is the link to Mystic on BBC iPlayer - you'll love it. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m000kxr2/mystic
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