Cold Water

Date
2020
Authors
Johnstone, Amy
Supervisor
Bancroft, Andrew
Item type
Thesis
Degree name
Master of Creative Writing
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Auckland University of Technology
Abstract

This thesis consists of practice-led research in the form of a full-length script for a feature film; plus a 6000-word essay (exegesis). A summary of the script is as follows:

Heidi Walters often thinks with her heart and not with her head. Semi-estranged from her family, 25-year-old Heidi is living in Queenstown and championing causes important to her. However, a sudden job loss and the threat of eviction causes Heidi to seek out a new source of income quickly. Putting her values aside, Heidi charms Medella Wellness and Research Clinic director Dr Kate Morgan into giving her a job, even though she is concerned by the clinic’s significant class divide. Heidi also finds herself increasingly attracted to Kate’s property developer husband Oscar. As Heidi begins to suspect there’s trouble in the marriage the pair teeters on the edge of an affair. At the same time, a suspicious phone call leads Heidi to believe there may be something more sinister going on behind the scenes at the clinic. Heidi confronts Kate, who admits she has developed a procedure which can transfer a terminal illness from one person to another. Her justification is that Oscar is dying. The only matches she’s discovered to save him are a 3-year-old boy with cancer, Stanley, and Heidi. Devastated by this news, Heidi’s feelings for Oscar escalate. When he tells Heidi he wants to spend his last months with her, Heidi is compelled to offer to give up her life in order to save his. However, Heidi discovers this was Kate and Oscar’s plan all along. She puts together a plan to stop them and save Stanley’s life at the same time.

Description
Keywords
Cold , Water , Drama , Script
Source
DOI
Publisher's version
Rights statement
Collections