Night Shift

For me, the authenticity lies in bringing truthful human experience to the screen.

– Writer/director Zia Mandviwalla on creating authentic characters from cultures outside of her own, The Big Idea, 4 February 2010

Aside from numerous nights spent observing and photographing the airport in its various public and ‘behind the scenes’ spaces, lead actress Anapela Polataivao and I followed cleaners on their shifts and learned for ourselves what real night shifts are like.

– Writer/director Zia Mandviwalla on researching Night Shift, in a 1 August 2012 Big Idea interview

[This is] a film about perception. How we perceive and judge others based upon their jobs, their appearances and their actions. And how those perceptions can shift and judgements can be misguided until we fully understand the nature of someone else’s predicament.

– Writer/director Zia Mandviwalla on Night Shift, in a 1 August 2012 Big Idea interview

..New Zealand's only film in competition this year. it is a true gem, subtle and devastating, and unofficially short-listed by the jury in their deliberations.

– Sunday Star-Times reviewer Sarah Watt reporting from the Cannes Film Festival, 1 July 2012, page F15