Motormania - Episode One
In the first of this two-part documentary about Kiwis and cars, actor Rima Te Wiata sets off on a road tour of New Zealand. Starting in the South Island, Te Wiata learns about the first bus tours to Aoraki, which were handled by the Mount Cook Motor Company. Then she travels to Westport via the infamous Hawks Crag, and hears from locals about the difficulties and dangers of transit before the introduction of cars. A trip back up the country takes Te Wiata to Northland, where the locals suggest they may have been better off when the primary mode of transport was by boat.
Noise Control
This Simmonds Brothers short film tells tells the story of Raumati South Kindergarten's beloved — but ill-fated — rooster. The early-rising hard-rocking cockerel's waking up of the neighbourhood sees complaints made to the council, and dog ranger Don Wolff is assigned to the case. The tragi-comic saga adds a surrealistic talking rooster twist to the Simmonds Bro's distinctive 'documation' style, which uses 2D animation and audio to portray real-life events. The 2001 shooting made national news, and Paul Holmes' and Carol Hirschfield's coverage features alongside local reaction.
Ian Cross
Ian Cross trained as a journalist. His 1957 novel The God Boy has been hailed as a classic (and similar status afforded to the 1976 TV adaptation). As Listener editor he doubled its circulation; as broadcasting chair and chief executive he had a turbulent relationship with the Muldoon government — and failed to stem what he saw as the over-commercialisation of television.
Louis Sutherland
Two of Louis Sutherland’s short film collaborations with Mark Albiston have been invited to Cannes: 2007 drama Run (which Sutherland also stars in), and The Six Dollar Fifty Man — both won special mentions. Their 2013 feature film Shopping screened at Sundance and Berlin, where it won a Grand Prix. The drama school grad’s acting talents have graced TV's The Insiders Guide to Love and Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby.