Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1397791
42 C I N E M O N T A G E F E A T U R E international sport, the U.S. Election returns. I felt like I was still in my home time zone as I waited on the border ( t h e a i r p o r t a n d m a n a ge d i s o l at i o n are considered New Zealand's border) f o r a n e g a t i v e r e s u l t o n m y D a y 1 1 COVID-19 test and release on Day 14 for good behavior. I v e n t u re d f ro m t h e G r a n d M e r - cure and masked up for the flight to Wellington and my first Kiwi home, at the Hotel Bristol, and for my reentry into a life without a pandemic. My New Zealand assistant, Amanda Mulderry, greeted me with a hug. It was so strange to have a sensory exchange with another human being as I had COVID-habitated in the States with only my furry canine companion, Puppicasso. Amanda and her family immediately made me feel welcome and introduced me to the COVID Tracer App. Barcodes are on every establishment in New Zea- land (including outdoor special events) are to be scanned, and the app keeps a 30-day diary of the places you went, which is a practical tool for keeping the virus at bay. If the app notifies you that you might have been exposed, get a COVID-19 test and isolate until you get results. It's simple and effective, if everyone participates. There is a strong sense of community in New Zealand. It is common for Kiwis to address a group as "Team." Whānau (the Maori word for family) is highly regarded here. As New Zealand is a small country on an isolated island, there is the profound sense that everybody and the surrounding environ- ment is interconnected. The production had a Powhiri for the few Americans on the crew. It is a traditional Maori welcoming ceremony complete with a Haka (a vigorous Maori group dance) and a Hongi, which is a greeting where you touch noses and sometimes also foreheads. This was a pretty overwhelming sensory overload: crowds and close contact just two days out of managed isolation. It was here where I met Joseph Gordon-Levitt for the first time face-to-face; until then, he had been a face on a screen. And now, a year after a video conferencing interview, he was three-dimensional. So with this welcoming ceremony, and the news of Biden being declared the winner of the American election, I began my working location life. Appropriately enough, production was located at Avalon Studios. The myth- ical Avalon island has always resonated for me as a place where a person heals from their wounds, as King Arthur did. The production started in Level 2, which meant being masked when we were outside of our bubbles. Everyday, regardless of what level we were in, we were required to scan in with our tracer app, receive a temperature and health status check, get a sticker for the day and then we were set to work. After the first week, we were back at Level 1; the masks came off and we were free to mix with the other bubbles. The greatest culture shock for me on the other side of the world was driving on the wrong side of the road. I was grateful to have Amanda drive with me for the first time. Afterwards, I have to admit, with the extreme wind of Wellington, I was white-knuckling it to work every day. The commute filled me with a certain dread. Jonno Woodford-Robinson, my fellow editor, and the other assistants, Greg Jennings and Jessica O'Donoghue, schooled me in their ways of coffee- mak- ing, pronunciations, places to visit/eat, and Kiwi television shows. The crew's input guided me into the further explora- tion of the country. New Zealand editorial is different from America in that they are working for Team New Zealand. There's a sense of national pride in the editing room. I have never been in a cutting room in the States where the quality of work was performed in the name of the U.S.A. — an- other example of the camaraderie of the Kiwi people. T h e c r e w s a n d f a c i l i t i e s i n N e w Zealand are top notch, and the f ilm Sotelo (center) with her New Zealand editorial team. Greg Jennings, back left, and Jonno Woodford-Robinson. Front: Amanda Mulderry, left, and Jessica O'Donoghue. P H O T O : C O U R T E S Y S H A R I D A N S O T E L O