PAYBACK.

ABOUT:

Short Film - Drama, Comedy

Official Selection NZIFF 2024, Official Selection Show Me Shorts 2024, Official Selection Māoriland 2025

When a welfare department’s insidious prejudice can no longer be tolerated, a group of unlikely heroes band together against a narrow-minded caseworker. Made in collaboration with Toi Whakaari, Mia Blake cleverly reflects the state of the nation in this punchy black comedy. Funded by Toi Whakaari and Wellington City Council.

DIRECTOR’S NOTE:

When I was in my early 20s, I was a performer trying to make ends meet. Under Helen Clark’s Labour Government I was eligible for the newly created “Artist’s Benefit”. It was a revelation and meant, for once, I could be transparent about the co-op Theatre Shows I was involved in and still receive benefits. It also meant I wouldn’t have to take jobs I wasn’t trained for. I was lucky enough to be assigned a lovely WINZ Case Manager who was interested in my career development and even came to one of my shows. But when I had to move to a different branch I was assigned a new manager who sneered at me and said, “Artist’s benefit? You’re on the dole like everyone else in here darling.” It was all downhill from there. Every interaction I had with her was negative and my self-esteem plummeted. My WINZ experience was completely flipped upside down. It went from something where I felt ok about needing a hand up to be being shamed for taking a handout.

PayBack uses black comedy to discuss aspects of our Social Welfare System and the stress it places on both its clients and its workers. The characters are based on people I have known, encountered or observed and inspired by real life testimonies from a 2017 Report called “We Are Beneficiaries” by Sam Orchard.

Payback also explores activism through collectivism. Each client arrives into our Department of Welfare offices as an “I,” an individual case, but by the end they are definitely a “we,” united as a collective sharing a rather unconventional cause.My ambition is to take this story, filmed in Pōneke, to Film Festivals around the world. 

Mālō aupito,

Mia Blake - Writer / Director of Payback