Jonah works as the panel operator on an Auckland talkback station. When Roger, the regular host on the midnight-to-dawn shift, walks out Jonah is thrust into the job. But why did Roger leave? Will her on-again off-again affair with him survive the night? And what effect will the haunting voices of night-time Auckland, including the mysterious Jim, have on the novice host?
Jonah - Lucy Sheehan
Roger - Alistair Douglas
Jim - Peter Tait
Writers - Alison Maclean, Geoff Chapple
Producer - Bridget Ikin
Director - Alison McLean
Hibiscus Films
Night-time Auckland on talkback
Press, 10 September 1988
The winner of the short film category at this year’s Listener Film and Television Awards, “Talkback,” screens on Sunday at 8 p.m. on One. Night-time Auckland reveals itself to Jonah (played by Lucy Sheehan), when she becomes talkback host for a night after her sometime lover, Roger, the regular host, walks out of the studio.
His hasty exit is a mystery to both Jonah and her listeners, and their curiosity is fuelled when a caller reveals Roger’s reason. The talkback lines run hot.
As Jonah copes with feelings of betrayal, she becomes increasingly drawn to the strangers who call through the night to talk on air. Then one final caller takes her by surprise. The director, Alison McLean, says a longstanding fascination with talkback radio prompted the idea for this drama.
“I thought it an interesting challenge to make a drama about an aural medium — radio. When you talk, or listen to someone you can’t see, you only have half the information. I was fascinated in exploring that gap, between what the characters experience and what the film audience can see.
Alison McLean lives in Auckland. She has a degree from the Elam School of Fine Arts, and works as an independent film writer and director. She has previously directed the half-hour drama “Rud’s Wife” (screened by TVNZ in 1986) and is currently developing a documentary project on phobias as well as a new short film.
“Talkback” producer Bridget Ikin is a partner with John Maynard in Hibiscus Films, which was established for the production of high-quality drama. She and Maynard coproduced the “About Face” series of half-hour dramas for new writers and directors in 1985.
Lucy Sheehan, who plays Jonah, is well known throughout New Zealand as a stage actor. Her first leading film role was in the “About Face” production, “A Fitting Tribute,” in 1985.
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