Streets of Roses follows a group of friends through the storytelling of Angel whose favourite places in Christchurch to hang out during the 1980s was the bookshops, the square and the infamous Dog House. 

 

The Cathedral Square was a vibrant place as it was where all the main movie theatres were and was the central stop for all Christchurch’s famous Red buses preparing to head back out to the suburbs.  It was also the main retail shopping centre of Christchurch.  The Dog House was a little, two storey gaming machine fish’n’chip shop famous for it’s American Hot Dogs and Bulls-eye milkshakes.  It was also one of the first 24-hour fast food shops in Christchurch.  People would fall out of nightcubs, pubs or would drive in from parties at all times of the night to the early hours of morning just to get something to eat.

 

The Dog House was intimidating to many people as many street kids, gangs on bikes or cars would park outside and wait for food or their mates playing video games.  To these girls they felt safe.  Nothing would happen to them there.  To some the Dog House was safer then their homes.  The girls use to sit on the stairs and look outside to see people (mainly pakeha-white people) walking out of The Press front doors or come around the corner from Worchester street, see who was outside the Dog House and cross the road to the catherdral to only cross back over at the pedestrian crossing on the corner by Warners.  This was all in an effort to avoid the gang members waiting outside.  This would make the girls laugh at the ignorance of some people.

 

The story is a build up to a retribution fight, not always planned and not always supported by our main character Angel who in her efforts to seem hard still can’t brush off her kind nature and her efforts to care for her bestfriends.  Also it was the 1980s, Angel had her own fear of consequences from her solo-mother if she was to find out.  This fight does not turn out well for most of the girls involved but events like this one shaped Angel’s life.

 

The writer would like it known that the events portrayed in this film were taken from the 1980s, not all in one night.  A novel was started when the writer was 14 years old and completed when she was 18.  She would like to acknowledge ALL the friends she had from her school, other high schools and street kid friends whom for artistic purposes have been merged into specific characters.  She also acknowledges the use of specific friends’ names, as any other name would not have fit in the story, also because they did not mind their names being used back when the novel was first started.  They know who they are.  

 

She also apologises for the modern backgrounds; due to hardly any budget.  To the wonderful students and adults who gave their free time to be cast and crew, she is forever grateful too.  Rewards will come one day.  Enjoy the film. 

 

 

“The streets could be hard for those who didn’t master them.”