Trouble Is My Business

Juliette Veber's observational documentary tells the story of Gary Peach, a teacher in charge of discipline at South Auckland's Aorere College. 'Peachy' has unorthodox methods (like wrangling truants with a loudhailer) which aren't universally popular, but his genuine commitment to the mainly Māori and Pacific Island kids is heartfelt and affecting. Filmed over six months on the trail of Peach's beat, the film won applause when it debuted at the 2008 NZ Film Festival and made many annual 'best of' lists. The NZ Herald called it a "very moving report from education's frontline ... a compelling watch".

I worked at Aorere [College] as the Arts Coordinator for six months before I started shooting, so the teachers all knew me and many of the students had seen me around the school. I can also be quite shy when I first meet people and I think this worked in my favour as it meant the students weren’t intimidated by me. I think the kids and their parents could tell I was a genuine person; they trusted Mr Peach, and Mr Peach trusted me. The main reason though is that I was filming for so long that everyone just forgot about me.

– Director Juliette Veber, in an interview with Flicks, 1 June 2008

Key Cast & Crew

Cushla Dillon

Editor

Luke Berryman

Composer

Chris van der Geer

Composer

Juliette Veber

Director, Producer, Sound Recordist, Camera Operator

Vicky Pope

Producer

Joost Langeveld

Composer