A new heart-wrenching portrayal of a couple’s fight to keep their café in business, and their family intact, is the latest film release as part of the Doc Edge Film Festival. Monterey follows Kiwi battler Paul and his Croatian partner Mira as they launch their Auckland café Monterey, hiring three young Samoan boys with no kitchen training and teaching them everything they know about hospitality. It’s a happy, nurturing family environment, however it isn’t making money.
Over six years, Paul and Miro fight to keep Monterey open, finally bringing in a high-end UK chef to turn their misfortune around. But you can’t mix oil and water. The result is heart wrenching and poignant, a power struggle with many casualties and few winners.
The movie is showing at The Roxy in Wellington on Sunday 8 May, and at Auckland’s Q Theatre on Wednesday 25 May. For tickets visit, www.docedge.nz/festival/
