Blind Panic is the debut feature film of director Mark Willis and producer Matthew Mawkes. The film came about when Mark and Matthew decided to fulfil a long-held dream of making a quality genre movie in their own backyard. Needing a low-budget idea, Mark came up with a story about a man on home detention, while Matthew hatched a story about a blind woman trapped in suburbia. The ideas merged and Blind Panic was born.

Blind Panic was funded by a Kickstarter campaign – one of the most successful ever achieved in New Zealand – along with private investors. Despite the Kickstarter success, the film still had a shoestring budget – but enough was raised for principal photography to take place in Wellington, New Zealand, over 21 days, in April-May 2017.

With funds dried up, it took several years of tireless editing by Jeff Hurrell, along with major re-shoots, to turn Blind Panic into the crime thriller Mark and Matthew originally envisioned. The project also faced a major set-back with the tragic killing of Mark in May 2023. Fortunately, Mark was able to sign off a cut of the film before his death.

This has been a filmmaking journey with ups and downs – and blood, sweat and tears – like no other. But the final product is a crime thriller Mark would be proud of. We look forward to unleashing it upon the world.

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