Oamaru feature film Lexi has been a labour of love for three years for producer Wayne Turner.
The independent film premieres in Oamaru on October 16 and will screen for two weeks at Limelight Cinema.
Lexi is inspired by real life events, about a young woman with dyslexia and her search for acceptance in small-town Oamaru.
It is Mr Turner's first feature film and the cast is a collection of local actors, many of who had to fit filming around shifts at meat processing plants and factories.
The ''dedicated'' cast and crew volunteered their time, and the community has provided assistance and moral support.
Mr Turner said the film, shot at weekends over several months, highlighted the struggles faced by many ordinary people in New Zealand.
Mr Turner offered unemployed Waitaki youths work experience opportunities in the production of the film.
The self-funded project has cost him about $1000 a month for the past three years.
In the last stage of post-production, the final phase of professional editing including sound design, mixing, colour correction, composing original music and licensing additional music, Mr Turner turned to crowdfunding for assistance and received $12,000 in donations.
After its Oamaru screening, he hopes to take the film to other small theatres around the South Island.
