Fly By Ms Magpie

A short film by mixed generation creators about a reclusive hoarder forced to confront the ghosts of her glamorous past. 

Dorothy, a 51 year old transgender woman lives quietly in a rural beach town with an outrageous garden and fading memories of a vibrant past.

Her life changes when a bold teenager approaches her after a confrontation. His curiosity stirs Dorothy’s buried grief.

Memories of a life left behind and a partner she lost to HIV/AIDS begin to resurface. As they dive deep into her hoard of eclectic keepsakes, reality begins to blur, giving way to a surreal world that triggers tensions.

Fly By Ms Magpie is written and directed by Stevie Goodwin, an emerging queer filmmaker whose work is rooted in community, visual boldness, and unapologetic storytelling. 

Raised in Tea Matau-a-Māui (Hawkes Bay) and now based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara (Wellington) as a filmmaker, librarian and drag performer, Stevie draws inspiration from rural and urban queer existence. 

The film stars Ramon Te Wake, a highly respected takatāpui storyteller, documentarian, and television presenter whose career includes Māori Television’s Takatāpui and multiple documentary and scripted projects centred on trans lives in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Her involvement brings cultural depth, lived experience, and intergenerational resonance.

Producers Daniel Betty, James Cleary and Lynnaire Macdonald support the production, together bringing a combination of development experience, community engagement and creative care. 

Daniel Betty brings strong industry insight and community connections to the film. He currently serves as Creative Director of Dream Big, Producer at Kōtiri Productions, and Manager of Kahurangi Toi Ātea, the National Screen Skills Training Programme. Daniel is also deeply embedded in regional and cultural leadership as Chair of Screen Hawkes Bay, board member of Ngā Toi Creative Hawkes Bay and the Kahurangi Māori Dance Theatre Company. 

James Cleary has a broad range of experience across the film industry in Australia and New Zealand, producing his own films and running an interior and architectural design practice. Through Shrimpton Film, he develops his own projects while supporting others with script development, workflow management and pot-production through Post Unlimited.

Lynnaire Macdonald is a writer and producer and runs Rāpeti Magic Films. Her first feature with Australia's Black Forest Films, Haunted & Devoted, premiered at Monster Fest 2025 and her second feature, Grand Finale: A New York Odyssey is currently in post-production. She also has a 12 year background in film publicity and social media marketing, assisting independent filmmakers in Aotearoa, Australia, Canada, the UK and the US.

Cinematography is led by Bayley Broome-Peake, whose recent feature Help Mum I’m Alien Pregnant has been selected for screening at the Sundance Film Festival 2026. Bayley brings a strong visual sensibility and is supported by gaffer Sash Samaratunga, with additional lighting support from Paul Eversden. The art department is led by emerging queer filmmaker Seren Ashmore, working alongside Willem Koller and Murphy Cody.

The project is backed by significant industry experts and community support. Tony Keddy from GripHQ will provide grip equipment and support, while Emma Slade of Velvet Moss mentors the producing team. Screen Hawkes Bay will support the production through crew access, infrastructure, and permitting in Hawkes Bay. Will Hansen, transgender historian of Kawe Mahara Queer Archives Aotearoa, supports the project through archival consultation and strengthening the film’s connection to Aotearoa’s queer history.

Together, this mixed-generation team of emerging and established practitioners brings both technical excellence and deep cultural care to Fly By Ms Magpie. 

• Food and catering
• Cast and crew payments
• Transport
• Production design (sets, props, costumes, etc.)
• Location fees and permits
• Gear hire

Fly By Ms Magpie is about the quiet pasts of people, lived experiences and the next generations hunger for those histories. This story is captures a bold queer perspective. It is messy and rough around the edges, unafraid to have a go at exploring the generational complexities felt by the queer community. 

Stories like Dorothy's deserve to be felt on screen. Audiences deserve to be drawn into her world, moved and enchanted. Through detailed production design, thoughtful casting, and immersive storytelling, we aim to create a film that feels both familiar and dreamlike.  In just 12 minutes this film will capture some of those gut wrenching feelings of love and loss. But also sprinkle in a bit of stupid glamour and laughter. 

Fly By Ms Magpie is set to be a standout piece of local queer cinema, exploring local queer life in ways rarely seen on screen. Right now, with the world feeling overwhelming and political pressures weighing on our communities, this film is a chance to celebrate joy, resilience and our place in history. The film is about the importance of intergenerational connection and what we can learn from each other to carry forward. Its about encouraging openness and understanding, queer or not.