Scratch the Cat

Abstract

This thesis consists of practice-led research in the form of a full-length script for a feature film titled Scratch. It also includes a 6000-word essay (exegesis). A summary of the script is as follows: On the verge of retirement, Kare, a retired special forces officer is begrudgingly reunited with his estranged daughter and her two young children, Tawhai and Katarina. As they start to make early steps in healing their relationship, all is threatened by an angry and confused supernatural force that harms the children. Both are forced to reawaken a long suppressed supernatural gift that has also been passed on to Tawhai, in order to protect the children and communicate with this entity. They discover that in order for healing to begin, that they must help the entity reunite with her own child. Themes of toxic masculinity, colonisation and whanau are faced as they all attempt to overcome their past in the hope, they can move toward a healthy future together.