Ghost Hunt - St James Theatre
Series Ghost Hunt made dead of night visits to locales with a reputation for being haunted. The trio of presenters became paranormal investigators, trying to detect ghosts in iconic locations across New Zealand. In this excerpt, the crew visit St James Theatre in central Wellington, and discover a number of mysterious lights on their footage. The presenters are former What Now? host Carolyn Taylor, actor Michael Hallows, and team leader Brad Hills, who would go on to direct and star in 2015 romantic comedy Excess Baggage.
The Dead Room
Filmmaking team Jason Stutter and Kevin Stevens plunge back into the paranormal with this feature, which sees three investigators arriving at a rundown farmhouse, to discover just how haunted it really is. The ghost hunters are played by screen veteran Jeffrey Thomas (Mercy Peak), Jed Brophy (The Hobbit) and Laura Petersen (Shopping). The Dead Room’s Halloween release saw a perfect storm of publicity, from a contest involving a special app which allowed contestants to photograph ghosts, to a video blogger who claimed to have tracked down the house where the movie was filmed.
The Frighteners
Peter Jackson’s fifth feature is a playful blend of comedy, thriller and supernatural horror and was an effective Hollywood calling card for Weta FX. Frank Bannister (Michael J Fox) resides in Fairwater, where he runs a supernatural scam. Aided by some spectral consorts, he engineers hauntings and “exorcises” the ghosts for a fee. When a genuine spook starts knocking off the locals, the FBI suspects Frank is the culprit. To clear his name, Frank must deal to the real perpetrator – none other than the Grim Reaper ...
What Lies that Way
In 2001 New Zealander Paul Wolffram was in Papua New Guinea studying music for his PhD, when he began making films about the Lak people he was staying with. Fifteen years later he headed back for another film, utilising his connection with the Lak to undergo a gruelling initiation into the world of Buai magic. The experience involved dehydration, fasting and isolation over the course of five days, with the intent of enhancing creative powers. What Lies that Way is set to get its world premiere at the 2017 New Zealand International Film Festival.
ScreenTalk Short: Jackie van Beek
The multi-talented Jackie van Beek first honed her storytelling skills in theatre. Since then she has combined acting with directing, starting with a run of award-winning short films.
Jackie van Beek: On the importance of chaos in filmmaking...
Jackie van Beek is an actor, director and writer who first honed her storytelling skills in theatre. She has acted in a variety of television and film roles, and directed several award-winning short films. In 2017 van Beek directed her first feature film The Inland Road, then co-wrote, co-directed and co-starred in hit comedy The Breaker Upperers, with Madeleine Sami.
Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Clement is the bespectacled half of folk-comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, who achieved international cult status in their own HBO series. Clement's screen career began after he appeared on 90s sketch shows Telly Laughs and Skitz. Following his big screen debut in Tongan Ninja, he starred in misfit romance Eagle vs Shark. In 2014 he co-directed and acted in hit vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows.
Taika Waititi
Sometime actor Taika Waititi has clearly sunk his teeth into directing. His 2005 short film Two Cars, One Night was Oscar-nominated. Second feature Boy (2010) became the most successful Kiwi film released on its home soil — at least until the arrival of Waititi's fourth movie, Barry Crump inspired adventure comedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople. In 2017 Marvel movie Thor: Ragnarok became an international hit.
Jackie van Beek
The multi-talented Jackie van Beek emerged from Wellington’s 90s theatre scene. After directing a run of award-winning shorts, her first feature The Inland Road was invited to the 2017 Berlin Film Festival. She went on to co-direct, co-write and co-star in comedy The Breaker Upperers, with Madeleine Sami. As an actor, van Beek is probably best known for her role in What We Do in the Shadows, as a vampire groupie.
Maaka Pohatu
Maaka Pohatu was an established theatre actor (Strange Resting Places, The Māori Troilus and Cressida) before making his movie debut as hapless flatmate to Bret McKenzie's character, in 2012's Two Little Boys. Pohatu went on to play a policeman battling the supernatural in comedy show Wellington Paranormal. Alongside three fellow Toi Whakaari graduates, he was a founding member of The Modern Māori Quartet. They were the house band on Temuera Morrison variety show Happy Hour then hosted their own show on Māori TV, My Party Song. Pohatu played Dalvanius Prime in acclaimed documentary Poi E.