
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.
Directed by —, The Bar leans on a strong ensemble — Peter Tait, Michael Hurst, Jennifer Ward-Lealand — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.
The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about screen titles of 0.
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Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian, a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.
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