The Bar

In The Bar, a who's who of the 1990s Kiwi acting community play punters at an Auckland bar. Director Dorthe Scheffmann (Vermilion) made the short film at infamous Ponsonby pub SPQR, which she co-owned. A handheld camera weaves in and around the space, as a drug dealer and his friend (Peter Tait and Bruce Hopkins) talk business; yuppies hold forth on political issues (Peter Elliott, Harry Sinclair and Simon Prast); and a couple (Jennifer Ward-Lealand and Michael Hurst) try to hold their relationship together. Goodbye Pork Pie star Kelly Johnson plays the bartender.

Why can't it be like the movies where you only have to bat your eyelashes?

– A female punter despairs at the 1990s bar scene

Key Cast & Crew

Peter Tait

As: Peter (drug dealer)

Jennifer Ward-Lealand

As: Woman discussing break up

Peter Elliott

As: Man who buys champagne

Sophia Hawthorne

As: Flirting Woman

Donogh Rees

As: Sarah (woman wanting baby)

Dorthe Scheffmann

Director, Producer