Picture this: a major snowstorm blocks roads in and out of a city, making them impassable for most vehicles.
Cue dramatic music. One man takes on an improbable mission to transport an important cargo from Dunedin to Christchurch using his trusty four-wheel drive with nothing but chains, determination and a steaming hot cup of coffee.
That man is Regent Theatre technical manager Nelson Miles, and his important cargo was a stack of films destined for screening yesterday at the New Zealand International Film Festival in Christchurch.
The films were screened at the Regent Theatre for the New Zealand International Film Festival in Dunedin on Tuesday, and because snow caused transport stoppages, there was a risk of major interruptions to the flow of film prints at other festival venues around the country.
The transport stoppages caused changes to the schedule in Dunedin, including cancellations and film replacements.
But due to Mr Miles' actions, showings at the festival in Christchurch avoided a similar fate.
Mr Miles said his journey was "quite an adventure" but doubted whether a movie about it would do well at the box office.
"From Ashburton onwards, it was snowing quite heavily and settling on the road. It was very slippery. There was a bit of sideways driving involved.
"I did it because I would have hated it if someone had to miss out on the film festival because we didn't go the extra mile.
"Christchurch has had enough ... I didn't want to add to it."
Festival director Bill Gosden, of Wellington, said Mr Miles' actions saved the day and were "well above the call of duty".
"It's not something that we asked him to do. The festival is under very tight time constraints and this has enabled the programme to be screened as scheduled in Christchurch for the next few days.
"The people of Christchurch would be pleased he did it, if they knew."
A spokeswoman yesterday said several films scheduled for Dunedin this week had not made it to Dunedin, because of the weather. Rebecca McMillan said festival organisers had decided the risk of not getting the films to Dunedin in time was too great.
Festivals were running simultaneously in various centres and transport ran to a tight schedule, she said.
Advance tickets bought for films that have been replaced in Dunedin can be used for admission to the substitute sessions, or can be refunded at the theatre box office.
Changes to the schedule can be found at: www.nzff.co.nz/dunedin/schedule-update-for-dunedin
