In a week where Shortland Street has introduced a character played by an actor with Down Syndrome, Wellington film-maker April Phillips is near completion of her latest short film which stars an actor with the same condition in a leading role. Phillips would dearly love to see a greater reflection of society’s neuro-diversity on screen and hopes that Shortland Street will make their new character of “Winston” (played by local performer Jacob Dombroski) a regular role in the s

Phillips didn’t want to use a fake hypodermic needle. She wanted the opening, extreme close-up shot to be “real”. Her actress playing the “pregnant lady” receiving the vaccination (Rachel Millar) volunteered to take the real shot, but the actress was actually pregnant and Phillips didn’t want to take any risks there. Our Make-Up designer Sarah Elford also volunteered. But Phillips’s philosophy was one of “don’t ask someone to do something you wouldn’t do yourself”. So needle-