Earlier this week, New Zealand’s most awarded, Villa Maria, welcomed special guests to an exclusive pop-up cinema event celebrating 10 years of partnership with BAFTA. It was an evening of wine tasting, conversation and film, with a private screening of 2019 award winning film, Green Book.

Guests were treated to the unique chance to participate in a ‘Talking Film’ Q&A with BAFTA Chief Executive, Amanda Berry, as she gave her insight into something at the heart of Villa Maria’s brand – conversation. Speaking to Villa Maria’s Brand Ambassador, Angela Lewis, she talked about the value of conversation in film, as well as how conversations have shaped her own life and career. Here, we share some of Amanda’s thoughts:
Angela Lewis: What is your personal favourite film?

Amanda Berry: I find that question so hard to answer… I think for me it so varies depending on my mood or what I fancy watching. I love Breakfast at Tiffany’s I could watch that over and over but a couple of years ago there was a film called Argo which just grabbed me. Everyone expects me to be a film connoisseur whatever that means but I just love film and I get something out of every film I see.

AL: The film we’re going to see tonight (Green Book) is set in the 1960’s. The main character Tony writes letters to his wife while he’s travelling. Over the decades, our conversation has changed tremendously with the invention of texting, emails and social media… how has that affected communication at BAFTA?

AB: I think it’s a challenge. I still send letters, particularly if I want to say thank you, or congratulate someone. I still think receiving a letter feels special, different and considered. We are all drowning in our email inboxes, we even have talked about having email-free days at work. People will email someone who is sitting two pods down the office! I think email puts us under a lot of pressure because people expect immediate reactions. In my first job at the theatrical agency, everything was sent by letter or typewriter… The agency I worked for used to represent David Bowie and I think we represented him for a year before we had a phone number for him… so we used to contact him by telex…

AL: I thought you were going to say pigeon!

AB: I do think it’s important to have conversations. Often when you type, what you say and what you read could be completely different. If it’s a difficult conversation, they’re always so much better to have face to face.

In recent months, Villa Maria has been championing the value of conversation with its latest campaign, encouraging people to take the time out and enjoy great conversation, over great wine. This has seen the wine brand explore meaningful conversations and the way we communicate in different areas of life and explore the role conversation now plays in the modern world.

Angela Lewis, Brand Ambassador at Villa Maria wines, commented:

“It was fascinating to get Amanda’s perspective on conversation and the role she feels conversation has in film and the modern world in general. Film is a powerful way of communicating, challenging perceptions and bringing people together in the process, which is something we are passionate about at Villa Maria.”