Taika Waititi
Actor turned director Taika Waititi was Oscar-nominated for his 2005 short Two Cars, One Night. His second feature Boy (2010) became the most successful Kiwi film released on its home soil — at least until Waititi's adventure comedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople. In 2017 Marvel movie Thor: Ragnarok became a global hit. Waititi then took away an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, for Nazi comedy Jojo Rabbit.
Pulp Comedy - Series Seven, Episode Three (Taika Waititi)
Director, writer and actor Taika Cohen (aka Waititi) features in this episode of the stand-up comedy TV series with an off the wall performance as Gunter the German "joke" teller — a buck-toothed, bewigged persona pitched somewhere between Andy Kaufman and Sacha Baron Cohen. Fiona MacKinnon is in more conventional territory recounting her graduation and 21st, and musing about moving suburbs in Wellington. While Andrew Clay has tattoos and one night stands on his mind, and a concern that the early years of the 21st century are lacking in poetry.
Taika Waititi: The real story behind 'that' Oscars gag, and much more...
Taika Waititi [Te-Whānau-a-Apanui] acted in movies Scarfies and Snakeskin, TV show The Strip (sometimes under the credit Taika Cohen), and appeared on stage as a stand-up comedian. Turning his creative energies towards directing, he made Oscar-nominated short Two Cars, One Night, and Tama Tū, based on the experiences of The Māori Battalion in WWII. He has gone on to great success directing (and sometimes appearing in) feature films.
The Taika Waititi Collection
After conquering the Kiwi box office twice running, Taika Waititi directed Thor: Ragnarok, one of the most popular movies of 2017. Hunt for the Wilderpeople follows a city kid (Julian Dennison, whose Blazed ad is below) on the run with a grouchy foster uncle. This collection traverses the career of the versatile Mr Waititi: from acting (Scarfies) to funny accents (Pulp Comedy, The Living Room) to directing success — on everything from blockbuster Boy to quirky music videos (40 Years) and Oscar-nominated short films (Two Cars, One Night).
The NZ Film Commission turns 40
Without the NZ Film Commission, the list of Kiwi features and short films would be far shorter. In celebration of the Commission turning 40, this collection gathers up movie clips, plus documentaries and news coverage of Kiwi films. Among the directors to have had a major leg up from the Commission are Geoff Murphy, Peter Jackson, Taika Waititi and Gaylene Preston. In the backgrounders, Preston remembers the days when the commission was up an old marble staircase, and producer John Barnett jumps 40 years and beyond, to an age when local stories were seen as fringe.
NZ Short Film Collection
This selection — in partnership with the NZ Film Commission — showcases award-winning examples of Kiwi short filmmaking. From the the tale of two men and a Cow, to the sleazy charms of The Lounge Bar, from Cannes to Ngawi; this collection is a celebration of "a beautiful medium for nailing an idea to the fence post with a piece of No.8 wire."
The Animation Collection
Animated plasticine. Talking chickens. Dancing Cossacks. Plus old favourites bro'Town, Hairy Maclary and Footrot Flats. From Len Lye to Gollum, feast on the talents of Kiwi animators. In his backgrounder to the Animation Collection, NZ On Screen's Ian Pryor provides handy pathways through the frogs, dogs and stop motion shenanigans.
The Coming-of-Age Collection
The Coming-of-Age collection includes many of New Zealand's most beloved films. Featured are grumpy uncles, annoying parents, plus a wide range of children and teens negotiating the challenges of growing older — and wiser. Among the young actors making an early mark are an Oscar-nominated Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider), James Rolleston (Boy) and 12-year-old Fiona Kaye (Vigil). The titles include Alone, the winner of NZ On Screen's very first ScreenTest film contest. In the backgrounder, young Kiwi actor Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie writes from New York.
Top 10 NZ Feature Films
Arm yourself with jaffas and get set for debate: NZ On Screen has gone out on a limb and selected an all-time NZ feature film Top 10. Starring the icons of the Kiwi big screen — Blondini, Ada, Beth, Boy. Whet your appetite for our finest features via choice 10-minute excerpts of the movies. Cook the man some eggs, we're taking this Top 10 to Invercargill!
Kiwi Oscar Heroes
When the last Lord of the Rings film won Academy Awards glory in 2004, jokes were made about running out of Kiwis to thank. Taika Waititi’s nap and Anna Paquin’s stutter have also made Oscar night news through the years. Along with the Oscar magnet that is the Weta effects empire, comes a largely unsung legacy of Oscar recognition. Celebrate some of the Kiwi winners and nominees via NZ On Screen's collection of Kiwis at the Oscars: from hobbits, heavenly creatures and whale riders to Two Cars, a woozy gold rush tale, an extreme ski documentary and more...