Canterbury on the big screen at Cannes

Otago Daily Times

22-05-2025

A team of NZ actors and narrators including Davey Round, Robert Tait and the Wizard of New Zealand worked on the project. Photo: Cannes Film Festival
Canterbury has hit the big screen at the Cannes Film Festival which runs until May 24.
Our Man in Cannes - the David Blake Story was directed by Woodend's Sam Miller.
It has dramatised scenes shot in Rangiora, Waikuku and New Brighton, along with other parts of Christchurch where locals stood in as extras.
Sam Miller, who self-funded the feature film with ''sweat equity'', says the film is a must-see for ''cinephiles'' and those who love the history behind the scenes of the movies at Cannes.
''The history is just so deep and rich. It's staggering,'' he says.
A team of New Zealand actors and narrators have accompanied Miller to Cannes, including Davey Round, Robert Tait and the Wizard of New Zealand.
David Blake during filming at the Paradiso Restaurant, Hotel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes. Photo: Cannes Film Festival
The narrators chronicle Cannes history - Napoleon, Cote de Azur, painters Edward Lear, Cezanne, Jean Cocteau, Miro and Picasso at the La Colombe d'Or and the surprising Cannes history of British Chancellor, Lord Henry Peter Brougham and Vaux of Cumbria on the borders of Scotland.
The documentary follows the life of erstwhile London producer, sales agent and Hollywood veteran David Blake who has been on the Croisette (the Esplanade) at Cannes every year since 1968.
The behind-the-scenes documentary captures the history of the Cannes Film Festival and Blake's incredible access to the best parties and glamour in Cannes, Los Angeles, New York and London for over 50+ years.
David Blake, born in Trincomalee, Sri Lanka, in 1948 takes viewers into the history and mystique of Cannes - a unique journey to the heart of the entertainment world and its political/cultural roots.
The film will premiere in New Zealand and overseas.