Little People

Patu-paiarehe exist, but only the gifted or the damned can see them.

A “Martin Shaw / Cameron Ross” FILM
WRITTEN BY Martin Shaw

Duncan has Down’s Syndrome. He lives a sheltered life in a small brick and tile unit and works as a busboy in a small town café. His colleagues include him in their enjoyment of everyday as best they can, but he usually ends up being the butt of jokes or the fall guy for their pranks. He is well aware of this and usually turns down invitations to meet them outside of work.
One day, at the insistence of Maria, the most kind hearted of the group, he accepts the invitation of his workmates to go hiking and camping in the hills one long weekend.
He endures their japes on the way to lookout rock but feels increasingly that they are being watched. Soon he realises he can see the Patu-paiarehe in the trees but his workmates think he’s just trying to play a game back on them.
When one of the group falls to her death, Duncan realises that there is more to it than just an unlucky fall but his workmates won’t believe him. The Patu-paiarehe, realize that Duncan can see them and will have to kill to protect the secret of their existence.