NOW A MAJOR NEW ZEALAND FILM staring Jim Moriaty, Helen Pearse-Otene, David McPhail, Mark Hadlow, Janice Grayreleased asTHE WAIMATE CONSPIRACY"An irresistibly enjoyable piece of work that easily transcends its microscopic budget to make a great contribution to a debate not normally noted for its levity."Peter Calder, THE HERALD• WINNER:Festival Prize & Best Feature Drama (Aotearoa), 2006 Wairoa Maori Film Festival• WINNER:2006 digiSPAA Awards (Screen Producers Association of Australia).First Prize is a return airfare, accommodation, and free registration to the prestigious Rotterdam Cinemart feature film market. Movie Network Channels sponsorship includes a $15,000 cash prize to the winner and a screening on their Movie Extra channel available throughout Australia on Foxtel and Austar.First screened as part of the 2006 Pacifica New York Hawaiian Film FestivalScreened as part of 2006 NZ International Film FestivalScreening soon in Reading and art house cinemas around NZSpecial Hazard website-only 25% off to celebrate film screenings (normal booktrade RRP $19.99)What in the world is going on in the backwater township of Waikikamukau?George Kepa’s got the Tangata Whenua in an uproar over a 133-year-old land Claim – it looks like Happy Valley, once a disused sixty acre bush block, is about to be subdivided into holiday homes. Now George is on the warpath and when George gets mad… well you’ll find out about George.What’s more, they say there’s been shooting and the local cop came back with a hole in his hat. Someone keeps burning down the developer’s real estate signs, and now George is smouldering like a lightning-struck Kauri.George’s lawyer nephew, Hercules, says the only way to redress the wrongs of the past is in a court of law. Hercules is getting set to argue the case in front of Judge Henry on Monday. He says the wheels of justice grind slow. I’ll tell you one thing. If that Judge Henry doesn’t see sense, George Kepa’s going to do something about it…Stefen Lewis is the Pseudonym of a forty-year-old New Zealander. He has worked variously as a freelance film-maker, African Safari guide and police officer. He now lives in Christchurch with his wife Bev and daughter Phoebe.“Kiwi humour cries out for film version. An absolutely hilarious yarn.”(The Northern Advocate)“A well-written, well-paced novel that will hold you spellbound”(Radio NZ)“Land grab tale oozing humour”(Bay of Plenty Times)“Excellent, relevant and believable”(Southland Times)“A warm and whimsical story”(Hawkes Bay Today)“Lewis pitches this chuckle-a-page yarn just right. This book is a gem.”(Christchurch Press)“A light hearted look at land claims. Humorous, devious, irreverent.”(Timaru Herald)
