Directed by Amanda Millar. Reviewed by Paul Sorrell

As my local cinemas are still operating below par, I’ve once again chosen a film from the excellent free streaming service, Beamafilm, offered by Dunedin Public Library. I missed Celia when it featured at the 2018 New Zealand International Film Festival and did not regret the opportunity to see it here.

An intimate portrait of Celia Lashlie, social reformer and passionate advocate for at-risk women and children, the film was made by her longtime friend and experienced television journalist Amanda Millar. The core of Celia was filmed in February 2015 over the last few days of her life as Lashlie lay stricken with pancreatic cancer, surrounded by family and friends in her Wellington villa. Having begun to clear out her house to allow her space to reflect and write, she is now faced with sorting out her spiritual and emotional furniture as she prepares for the ultimate journey.

Celia Lashlie’s long career in Corrections, twinned with a compassionate heart, gave her the tools to probe New Zealand’s all-too-familiar social ills, especially the family violence spawned by intergenerational dysfunction and fuelled by poverty and substance abuse. Happy to wear the term “bolshie”, she was wary of the plethora of social service agencies that treat symptoms rather than causes and had no time for state bureaucracy with its box-ticking solutions.

By contrast, Celia always focused on the individual, their needs and potential. Harking back to her time as manager of Christchurch Women’s Prison, she recalls that she would tell inmates: “I’ll always stand beside you if you want to change.” Celia had the rare ability to see the precious jewel buried deep within every damaged person.

Millar’s final interview with her subject is supplemented by interviews with people Celia worked with over her long career in the justice system, and real-life stories of individuals on the cusp of change. These include scenes shot at Whakakotahitanga Domestic Violence Rehab Camp, where couples caught up in the cycle of family violence learn trust and understanding and acquire new tools to change their situation.

Director Millar skillfully inter-weaves her heavy subject matter with creative responses to Celia and her legacy, including an uplifting song written and performed by 12-year-old Naia Alkhouri and a lovingly crafted portrait by friend Heather Main, gifted to the New Zealand Portrait Gallery in Wellington. But perhaps the finest tribute to Celia is Millar’s compassionate and challenging film. 

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 250 July 2020: 29