Smoke and Mirrors is a 15-minute contemporary mystery set in Wellington, New Zealand. 

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Directed and written by myself, the pilot narrative follows four students from different walks of life who are mysteriously brought together after receiving anonymous notes regarding the sudden disappearance of their friend, Mia Baxter.

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The pilot episode was developed as a third-year thesis project for Massey University. Under the guidance of New Zealand director and Massey lecturer Jonathan King, 'Smoke and Mirrors' was produced by ten third-year film students, including four second-year students. Inspired by and based off of personal experiences within members of my team, as well as my own life, we have created a story and characters that are influenced by real life scenarios.

 

For our narrative, we’ve taken into account themes surrounding mental health such as anxiety, sexual orientation/identity struggles, elements of racism and cyber-bullying. This is a major factor within our story as we wanted to create a project that would stand out to our demographic and connect with an audience of a similar age range. 

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Through hard work and dedication, I hope to further develop Smoke and Mirrors into a full series beyond my time at University and create a compelling narrative for audiences nationally.