Millie Lies Low to Premiere at NZIFF

New Zealand film Millie Lies Low began production in March 2020, but was rudely interrupted by a little worldwide pandemic. Shooting resumed in September, and the film will premiere on November 10th and 11th at Whānau Marama New Zealand International Film Festival 2021.

Illustrating how a small misstep can significantly alter the trajectory of a life, this comedy-drama sees a young professional turn to social media duplicity to save face after missing her flight to success.

Already soaking in anxiety, Millie’s day becomes a complete disaster when a moment of panic causes her to miss her flight from Wellington to New York, where she is due to start an internship at a prestigious architecture firm. With no money for another ticket and too ashamed to face the disappointing truth, Millie decides the best course of action is to fool everyone into thinking she’s living her best life in NYC.

Going to ground in her hometown, Millie gets by on her wits and Instagram trickery, convincing family, friends and followers that she’s halfway across the globe while concocting increasingly desperate schemes to get the money for another flight. Deception is no easy feat, let alone deceiving your own whānau, but maybe she can pull it off. After all, “fake it ‘til you make it” they say... so what’s the price to pay for a little white lie?

Many elements of Millie’s life are pulled from award-winning short film writer/director Michelle Savill’s own biography, from her Filipino- Kiwi background to a real-life missed flight that becomes the impetus for the story. With a cast of local talent, including Ana Scotney (Cousins) in the titular role alongside the great Rachel House (Hunt for the Wilderpeople), Savill’s feature debut is a sharp character-driven tale of finding your place in the world. — (Excerpt from Adrian Hatwell, Eleonora Mignacca)

Songbroker Music Publishing was very proud to license music for this production, and we thank Michelle for choosing to license locally for her film.