Senior tutor edits feature documentary selected for NZIFF

Ross Dredge, who teaches video and film production at Toi Rauwhārangi College of Creative Arts, edited the documentary My Humble Friend, Fonotī Pati Umaga, directed by long-time collaborator Mark Papalii. The pair first met while studying at film school in 2015 and have continued working together ever since, including on two short films that were previously selected for the New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF).

In early 2025, Mr Dredge helped Mr Papalii film a music video for Samoan-language song Pepeve'a with Pati Umaga, using Massey's LED volume in the Great Hall.

Mr Dredge says that a couple of weeks later, Mr Papalii called him and asked if he wanted to help him make a documentary about Pati.

“He explained Pati's life story, all the things he'd done and the hardships he'd overcome. It's an incredibly interesting and inspiring story, so I said yes. Then Mark told me it was going to be feature length – my first feature film edit."

Filming began with interviews in February 2025 and continued throughout the year as the team balanced the production alongside other professional commitments. As filming progressed, the filmmakers captured interviews with a range of well-known figures connected to Pati's life and career.

Once teaching wrapped up at the end of Semester Two in 2025, Mr Dredge began assembling the documentary, spending around nine months shaping the film before submitting it to NZIFF.

"Being used to teaching and editing narrative films, editing a feature documentary has been an amazing learning experience. Balancing a feature film edit while coordinating and teaching courses this year has been a learning experience too."

He says one of the main challenges, but also the charm of the production, was how low budget it was. 

“Documentaries are notoriously pretty low budget. Until recently we hadn’t even bought so much as a hard drive. Mark drove up to Auckland at one point to shoot a bit, but that was essentially it. We used all our own existing equipment to shoot, store and edit everything. Despite this, dare I say, it’s cinematic and engaging. It’s only towards the end of post-production when we’ve spent real money for the archived material we’re licensing.”

Despite spending hundreds of hours going over the footage, Mr Dredge says the emotional impact of Pati's story has never diminished.

My Humble Friend premieres on Saturday 1 August at SkyCity Theatre in Auckland, followed by screenings in Wellington on 15 August and Christchurch on 22 August. More information and tickets are available on the NZIFF website.