RUBY AND RATA

“Ruby is old. Rata is young. They seem to have nothing in common... except for Willie. Maybe he'll be the peacemaker in their domestic warfare. 

“The small downstairs apartment is a dream come true for Rata (Vanessa Rare), and Ruby (Yvonne Lawley) encourages her agent to rent it to the suitable young businesswoman she sees from her window. With a helpful and friendly tenant to keep an eye on her, Ruby is sure she can ignore plans to have her moved to the Sunset Villas reitrement home. But nothing is as it seems. Far from being a businesswoman, Rata is a mistress of disguise - practised in welfare fraud, a would-be rock singer and mother of eight-year-old Willie (Lee Mete-Kingi). Neither is Ruby the kindly child-minder Rata anticipated. Willie wants nothing to do with the "old witch" upstairs. And Buckle (Simon Barnett), the agent who is really Ruby's nephew in disguise, soon finds both women more than a match for him. From the ensuing clash of personalities and generation, emerges a story told with humour, warmth and charm - of two determined and manipulative women who have more in common than they realise ...” - New Zealand Film Commission; www.nzfilm.co.nz/film/ruby-rata; 27/01/2014.