Jos

Documentary Jos unearths the life and work of Czech-born New Zealand photographer Joseph Divis. Born in 1885, Divis was a pioneer of street-style photography in an era of colonial studio portraits. His photography captures the everyday lives of the residents of gold-mining town Waiuta, and its eventual decline into a ghost town. The film follows a historian, a photographer, and a museum curator as they rediscover New Zealand's past through the images of a photographer ahead of his time. Stuff writer James Croot praised Jos for managing to distil Divis’ adventures without "feeling forced, or once-over-lightly".

...unlike the modern selfie, Divis isn’t putting himself forward. These pictures are not about him, he’s just a witness, capturing something that will otherwise vanish unremarked. The film Jos is a bit like that too. . . . it’s a glimpse at two lives — Jos, and the young country he watched grow up.

– Reviewer Simon Morris on Jos, Radio New Zealand website, 10 May 2023

Key Cast & Crew

Brian Scadden

Subject

Brendan Smyth

As: Jos Divis

Robyn Janes

Writer, Research

Simon Nathan

Subject, Additional Research

Dylan Galletly

Composer

Dave Kwant

Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor, Sound Recordist