The Homegrown short film selections play at the Auckland Film Festival on several dates. Flights of Fantasy is on Saturday 13 July at 1.45pm and Thursday 28 July at 1.45pm, while the Drama section is on Friday 29 July at 6.15pm and Saturday 30 July at 11.15am. With subsequent screenings as the festival travels throughout the country, check www.nzff.co.nz for more details. We watched a few and here’s what we think…
Ebony Society (Works on Film, 13 mins) is a lightly humourous drama about two Maori youths who break into a house one Christmas only to find some kids in there. Directed by Outrageous Fortune’s Munter (Tammy Davis), and going for a Boy / Two Cars One Night vibe, the film kicks into gear once they find the baby. The film ends rather abruptly without any big climax, but it’s a simple, sweet and modestly effective little piece.
Proving a big contrast is Huhu Attack! (Flights of Fantasy, 15 mins), an absurdist mismash of 50s sci-fi B-movie and old-fashioned musical, and a really enjoyable short. Whilst it’s made up of numerous, rather disparate elements, the short is slickly put together and features a very impressive score performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. I’m looking forward to seeing what director Patrick Gillies gets up to next.
One of the more abstract entries on the programme, is Meniscus (Flights of Fantasy, 8 mins), based on excerpts from the Hone Tuwhare poem No Ordinary Sun. Very poetic in itself, it’s beautifully shot and features a whole lot of naked people intertwined. I think it’s a metaphor for the gestation of life, or something like that.
Hauraki (Drama, 10 mins) is a very simple little tale, probably a little bit broad to be believable, but quite sweet as the same. The title refers to the location, the Hauraki Plains, where most of us drive through to get to somewhere else. So spare a thought for the little girl who feels carsick and has to vomit in the driveway of a grumpy farmer’s wife. Good sense of place, plus some nice cinematography and a cute folksy soundtrack.
Darryn Exists (Drama, 15 mins) is probably my favourite short of the lot. A simple Wellington-set story of a woman looking for love, told with a good sense of humour and an inventive visual style. Quite heavily art directed and verging on overly quirky, this nonetheless is absorbing and fun, with a great performance from the lead actress.
Elaine Rides Again (Drama, 15 mins) features a standout, engaging performance from Donogh Rees as a Christian mother whose daughter (Chelsie Preston Crayford, also great in a subdued performance) is growing distant. Interestingly the Christian angle, with all its loaded connotations, is just a backdrop to the story. That’s typical of the film, which refreshingly doesn’t overplay anything, instead gently unfolding to reveal a funny and charming story.
NZIFF 2011: TRAILER SPECIAL | FULL LINE-UP | OFFICIAL SITE
