It fair to say, Craig Newland enjoys going to the movies, and he lists his favourite films as ‘Blade Runner' and ‘One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest'.

He reckons it's too expensive nowadays not to sit back and relax while watching a good flick.

Craig Newland. Photo: File.

The other reason is because if he's not enjoying it, he'll pick it to pieces.

That's because the Tauranga man is in the film industry, and has been on-and-off for around 10 years.

'I do tend to just go along and try to enjoy the film without critiquing it,” says Craig. 'But I'm like any person – you go and watch a movie and there'll be things that jump out at you.

'I'm no different in that regard. If something's been badly written, acted or shot then I notice it just as much as the next person, probably just a little bit more.”

The Tauranga man isn't just a film director – he's a writer and producer too.

'I'm the first person on board a film project and I'm the last person off,” says Craig. 'That whole rollercoaster ride is really the most enjoyable aspect for me.

'I love the creativity of it. The ability to start something from the seed of an idea through to the completion of sitting in a cinema watching a movie with other cinema-goers. For me that's probably the most appealing aspect.”

The director of award-winning movie ‘3 Mile Limit' is working on his next feature-length film ‘Frozen Moments', which he's planning to film in Tauranga for the first time. The casting process is underway now.

'Where we're filming is yet to be determined,” he explains, 'but there'll be some beach elements that we'll be using in the film, possibly the coastline of Papamoa and the Mount.”

‘Frozen Moments' is a physiological thriller centred on successful San Francisco businessman Josh Hodder, who lives a perfect existence with a beautiful wife and two children, until one day he wakes up in a different country and a much different life.

Filming is expected to begin in November, with the movie likely to be released next year.

Directing a good film is like trying to write and release a hit song, says Craig. Nobody knows at the time how it's going to be perceived.

'Ultimately you have to make a film for yourself, you can't make a film for an audience,” he says. 'At least that's the way I approach it.

'You have to love what you're doing in terms of storyline. If it doesn't work then at least you've made a film that you like.”

He liked ‘3 Mile Limit' and, apparently, so did film-goers worldwide. His self-directed flick won five Best Feature Film awards in Washington DC, West Hollywood and Charleston, as well as Official Selection into more than 20 International Film Festivals in 2014.

Based on the 1960s beginnings of Radio Hauraki on a boat called TIRI in international waters in the Hauraki Gulf in Auckland, ‘3 Mile Limit' is an iconic true NZ story. The film is now available on DVD, which is available online.

SunLive has three ‘3 Mile Limit' DVDs to give away to three lucky readers who can tell us the name of the first boat Radio Hauraki broadcast from in the Hauraki Gulf.

Enter under the competitions section.

Entries must be received before Wednesday, August 19.