Two young Auckland filmmakers are getting plaudits for a film putting the spotlight on a man caring for donkeys in a beachside reserve north of the city.
After discovering Peter Caccia-Birch and his work as the primary carer at Highfield Garden Reserve in Algies Bay, Katie Bilbrough and Tiana Marsh decided they should make a film about him as part of a project towards their film degrees at AUT.
The film - called Sound in Wind and Limb - is about how Peter first got involved with the donkeys in 1995 and his devotion to them and the land they live on.
The short film is now up for a number of awards - including at the East Village New York Film Festival.
The reserve was gifted to the public in the 1990s by Alison Roberts and her husband Ted - who wanted the community to enjoy it as well as the donkeys.
Peter soon took it over and along with his wife Val, they have transformed it into a vibrant reserve - working alongside many volunteers over the years.
It was a chance meeting that Katie and Tiana found Peter, after a decision from the university students to take a day trip out of the city to visit the donkeys.
They wanted to tell his story - and how he had retired as a farm worker, only to discover his true calling in life.
