Celia Lashlie Documentary Film: Research and pre-production

“At the heart of my being is the plight of women. We spend millions of dollars on benefits, millions of dollars trying to stop child abuse, millions of dollars trying to stop family violence and no-one has said stop working with the children, turn to the mothers, and so that’s my thing. It’s only by working with the mothers that we will get to save the lives of these children. And who’s to say that this isn’t the step I couldn’t see, who’s to say this isn’t the catalyst that will push it forward?”

– Excerpt from Celia Lashlie’s final interview, February 14th, 2015

The ‘catalyst” was pancreatic cancer. A little over two days later, international author, social advocate and world-class storyteller, Celia Lashlie was dead.

New Zealand has the worst domestic violence record in the world. Last year 13 babies and toddlers were killed by their parents or step parents. Domestic and child abuse is estimated to cost the country $7billion (2014). The statistics show no sign of an improvement. Yet, Celia Lashlie had the vision, the international credibility and the determination to change all that with her simple message to the world: "Turn to the mothers.”

This is the documentary that tells of her life, her death, her work and her dreams of a New Zealand that would grow up and recognize that the power lay with mothers in saving lives and improving the outcomes of our families and our country’s future.

This documentary will be a reflection of who Celia was… provocative, powerful and pragmatic. Its purpose is to go beyond a 90 minute film. It’s a wake-up call that’s relevant for all societies, globally.

Celia’s last wishes demanded that politicians, social agencies, every parent and grandparent must take a stand to motivate and help create change in the lives of our most vulnerable in order to create a healthy future for all of us.

We will be launching the official crowd funding campaign for the documentary early in 2017, but we want to make progress with some of the research and pre-production over the Summer period - so really need your help to make this happen!