Our inaugural Fundraising High Tea held at James Wallace´s home, ´Rannoch´ was a great success.

Since 2004 the Friends have presented "The Golden Elephant" award to a promising upcoming NZ short filmmaker, and is gifted by the Friends of the Civic Charitable Trust as an appreciation for the art of filmmaking and the association of cinema with Auckland´s Civic Theatre.

The award this year, 2009, was presented by Peter Wells to Christopher Banks for his short film Teddy.

"Teddy" is a short film about Tony, a dyed-in-the-wool Londoner who has traveled over 10,000 miles to rural New Zealand for a holiday with his ex, the man who abandoned him for a life on the other side of the world - Neil. While Tony´s hopes of rekindling his relationship with Neil are complicated by the presence of Neil´s new man, Phil, it´s a faded old teddy bear, which will finally decide their fate.

"Teddy" was filmed in Helensville and Kaukapakapa, in the Rodney district of New Zealand (north of Auckland), over two days in late November 2008. The film is currently screening in festivals worldwide.

Christopher Banks – Writer/Director

Christopher is a 31-year-old filmmaker and journalist.

In the late 1990s he wrote and produced a string of top 40 hits in New Zealand, including three consecutive number ones for a pop group that he founded, Deep Obsession. It was the first time a local group had ever achieved such a feat, and the subsequent album was certified platinum and went on to be released internationally.

In 2004, he wrote, directed and presented stories for the award-winning TV2 show Queer Nation.

His first feature, the camp comedy Quiet Night In, was unleashed on the International festival circuit in 2005 to positive reviews. An Australasian DVD release followed in 2007. Teddy is his second film project, which saw him serving as director, writer, editor and composer.