In 1979 an aspiring filmmaker, cameraman and sound recordist went to a little Masterton school to follow the lives of a group of students. The school was Makoura College, a small, predominantly Māori low decile school.
For two years the students felt like film stars while the crew followed them around the campus. It made them dream big, consider the infinite possibilities of life and what might happen when their high school years finished.
For many years the film, Learning Fast couldn’t be found. It was finally tracked down and has been digitised by Nga Taonga Sound and Vision and will feature at this year's Wairarapa Film Festival.
Festival organiser Jane Ross has invited the filmmakers to return for the screening. The director is none other than Dame Gaylene Preston, the camera operator Alun Bollinger, and the sound recordist, Lee Tamahori, all now internationally acclaimed filmmakers.
Jane is now hoping to find the stars of the film and bring them all together at the Wairarapa Film Festival.
