Mr Pip movie premiere

Nothing Trivial star Will Hall, with Ben Barrington from The Almighty Johnsons.

Newstalk ZB host and former Firstline presenter, Rachel Smalley dazzled in Sabatini.

Former Labour leader David Shearer didn’t shy away from the camera since stepping down.The dapper politician attended the premiere with his wife Anuschka.

First-time actress, Papua New Guinean Xzannjah Matsi, wore Kiwi designer Ruby on the red carpet, where she posed next to director Andrew Adamson. The 15-year-old, who hails from Buka in Bougainville, plays the lead character, Matilda, whose world is changed forever when her teacher Mr Watts (Hugh Laurie), introduces her to the work of Charles Dickens. “I felt a huge responsibility was on me with this film because I feel like the people back home were counting on me to tell the story of the conflict of our people,” says Xzannjah. A highlight of the production was filming some of the scenes in New Zealand. “It was interesting for me, I got to experience snow for the first time, I thought it was a dream come true.”

Whale Rider star Rawiri Paratene worked as an acting coach with Xzannjah and says her talent reminds him of a young Keisha Castle-Hughes. “I have never done acting coaching before so this was a new adventure for me,” says the actor. “In terms of coaching Xzannjah, she was a joy – she’s bright and hard working and picks things up very quickly, the camera adores her.”

Kiwi author Lloyd Jones, brother of businessman Bob Jones, with niece Frances Jones (left) and daughter Sophia Duckor-Jones (right), wearing Trelise Cooper. “One of the greatest strengths of the film is [director] Andrew’s ability to recreate Dickensian London in Bougainville, and he’s done it so well with all the tropical colours,” says the author.

Former cricketer Martin Crowe attended with his wife, former Miss New Zealand and NZWW cover star Lorraine Downes, who looked ever classic in monochrome Yvonne Bennetti.

Blue Rose star Theresa Healey and (here with) husband Steven O’Meagher travelled to Bougainville, Papua New Guinea to work with the Mr Pip actors on their voice work. “I loved this experience so much,” says the star. “The women I met were amazing, it was a life changing experience.”

Kiwi music legend Tim Finn spent three weeks in Papua New Guinea composing the film’s music and original songs. “I played a lot of instruments myself,” says the former Split Enz and Crowded House singer. “The women in Bougainville talked to me for hours about their family and their lives. The women of the village we shot the movie in took me to a church and played me their funeral songs to teach me how they grieve. They sung uninterruptedly for three days and after that a woman had to come and give me a special blessing because they had told me sacred stuff. It was really special.”