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Tremble

This short film is dedicated to the people of Christchurch, New Zealand.

Māori myth tells of an unborn god, Rūaumoko. Within the womb of the Earth Mother Papatūānuku, the unborn god kicks. With each push Rūaumoko makes, the ground above shakes.

This is a dramatization of the 2010 Christchurch Earthquake; the forerunner to the infamous 2011 Quake which shattered the Garden City and its people. Through the eyes of Faith, you will experience the quake as the people felt it and see how it haunts them to this day.

The 2011 Quake is a significant part of Christchurch history and New Zealand. It must not be forgotten.

The ground will tremble soon.

  • Ricky Townsend
    Director
  • Ricky Townsend
    Writer
  • Ricky Townsend
    Producer
  • Laika Rountree
    Producer
  • Abdullah Al-Mulla
    Producer
    A Journey to from Love, Old Airport Road, Yellow Nights
  • Ocean Jones
    Key Cast
    "Faith"
  • Laika Rountree
    Key Cast
    "Owen (Voice)"
  • Snow Valormae
    Music Composer
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Horror, Thriller, Docudrama
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes 1 second
  • Completion Date:
    February 3, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    625 NZD
  • Country of Origin:
    New Zealand
  • Country of Filming:
    New Zealand
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    DCI 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.90:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Ilam School of Fine Arts
  • Sydney Indie Film Festival
    Sydney
    New Zealand
    October 24, 2019
    Australia
    Official Selection - Award Nominated for Best True Story
  • Top of the South Film Festival
    Nelson
    New Zealand
    November 21, 2020
    New Zealand Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Ilam School of Fine Arts: Red Room Film Festival
    Christchurch
    New Zealand
    October 21, 2019
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Ricky Townsend

Ricky Townsend is a young filmmaker from Christchurch, New Zealand. Ricky is a fine arts student, specialising in film, at the Ilam School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury. He is also pursuing an arts degree in Philosophy.

Ricky was diagnosed within the Autism Spectrum Disorder at a very young age. Because of this, Ricky has found filmmaking helps him understand other people and be understood in ways he could never achieve before.

Ricky Townsend’s early work won the Overall Secondary Student Award for the 2016 ‘New Zealand Young Filmmakers Competition’ and the Secondary School Runner Up Award for the 2016 ‘FocusOnAbility Short Film Festival’. Ricky also directed the comedic ‘How To Bus’ social etiquette video with Metro Canterbury which currently has more than 270 thousand views on Facebook.

Ricky has had his recent short films 'Tremble' and 'TRUTH.exe' selected for the 2019 Sydney Indie Film Festival, the 45th Boston Science Fiction Film Festival, the Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival, the SciFi Film Festival, in Australia, the Changing Face International Film Festival and the Top of the South Film Festival.

'TRUTH.exe' won Best Student Film at the Miami International Science Fiction Film festival and 'Tremble' was nominated for Best True Story at the Sydney Indie Film Festival.

Ricky's short film on autism, 'Mr. Savant', is one of 10 winning films in The Outlook for Someday 2019 Film Challenge. A nationwide film competition for people under 24 in New Zealand.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I grew up during the pre-quake days of Christchurch and was still very young when the 2011 earthquake hit. Seeing how the earthquakes have changed the city psychologically, physically, creatively and culturally made me realise at a later age just how significant that quake truly was for us, the Christchurch people.

This short film is an amalgamation of different accounts I have heard from multiple people who have experienced the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury quakes.

It was important for me to document the subjective experience of the earthquake; what it was like to actually be there, like a nightmarish collectivist memory.

Ultimately this short film cannot account for the entire experience and trauma that people have gone through during these quakes. Hopefully it will give people who have never experienced a massive earthquake an idea of what it would have been like both physically and emotionally.