Robert Sarkies’ latest feature film, Two Little Boys, has been selected in competition at the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival, which will run February 9^th – 19th this year. 

The film will screen in the Generation section of the Festival and will be judged by two juries: a young person’s jury which awards the prestigious Crystal Bear to the best feature film in the programme, and an international expert jury which awards a cash prize to the best feature film in the programme. 

New Zealand Film Commission CEO, Graeme Mason, said today “It’s wonderful to start the New Year with further international A-list festival endorsement of our filmmaking talent.  The Generation selection compliments the film’s youthful energy and recognises the fresh perspective Rob offers with this film.  I congratulate Rob, Vicky, Tim and all the cast and crew on the film’s selection.”

Two Little Boys is Sarkies’ third feature (Out of the Blue, Scarfies), and is based on the novel of the same name by brother Duncan Sarkies.  The film was produced by Vicky Pope (Trouble is My Business, Choice Night, The Graffiti of Mr Tupaia) and Tim White (Out of the Blue, No. 2, The Boys are Back, Sleeping Beauty).

The film is an irreverent comedy about Nige (Bret McKenzie - Flight of the Conchords) and his recently estranged best mate Deano (Hamish Blake - Hamish and Andy).  The film follows Nige and Deano’s riotous misadventures as they struggle with their imploding long-term friendship which has been put under pressure by an unfortunate incident involving a hot meat pie, a ginger cat and the untimely death of a Scandinavian soccer star.

Two Little Boys was made with the support of the New Zealand Film Production Fund Trust (The Film Fund), New Zealand On Air, Southern Institute of Technology, Invercargill City Council, Community Trust of Southland, Invercargill Licensing Trust, Film Otago Southland, Fulcrum Media Finance and the NZ Film Commission.   NZ Film, the sales arm of the NZFC, is handling world sales of the film.  

The film is scheduled for a New Zealand release on March 15^th and is being distributed in New Zealand and Australia by Hopscotch Films. 

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ENQUIRIES:  Jasmin McSweeney, NZ Film (Jasmin@nzfilm.co.nz or +64 4 382 7682)

NEW ZEALAND MEDIA ENQUIRIES: Adria Buckton, Trigger Marketing & Publicity on behalf of Hopscotch Films (adria_trigger@orcon.net.nzor 09 834 3348)

INTERNATIONAL SALES ENQUIRIES:  James Thompson, Head of Sales and Marketing, NZ Film (james@nzfilm.co.nz or +64 4 382 7695)

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) has announced the nominees for the Samsung AACTA Awards in 2012.

Internationally awarded animator, writer and director Adam Elliot joined actors Alexandra Schepisi, Daniel Henshall and Claudia Karvan at Sydney’s National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA) to announce the nominees, which confirmed the strength of Australian film and television in 2011.

Highlighting the reach and diversity of our screen industry, the nominations are spread across 14 Feature Films (out of a possible 21), 14 Documentaries, four Short Animations, six Short Fiction Films and 23 Television Productions.

The strength of Award entrants and nominees confirms the creativity, passion and vitality of Australia’s film and television industry, and we thank all entrants, and congratulate all nominees in what was an exceptionally competitive year.

Winners of the inaugural Samsung AACTA Awards will be announced at two major events in Sydney – the Samsung AACTA Awards Luncheon, presented by Digital Pictures (Sunday 15 January) and the inaugural Samsung AACTA Awards Ceremony (Tuesday 31 January).

New Zealand documentary feature The Last Dogs of Winter debuted in Toronto yesterday. Director/producer Costa Botes and film subjects Brian Ladoon and Caleb Ross received a standing ovation when they took the stage for the film’s post-screening Q&A session.

The films was selected to screen in the highly regarded ‘Real to Reel’ programme of the Festival, a programme renowned for its selection of the most insightful and fascinating documentaries of the year, screening alongside the latest offerings by documentary film makers such as Werner Herzog, Morgan Spurlock, Alex Gibney and Jonathan Demme.

Directed and produced by Costa Botes (Forgotten Silver, Candyman, Struggle No More, Daytime Tiger), The Last Dogs of Winter explores Brian Ladoon’s little-known struggle to preserve the Canadian Eskimo dog, the rarest registered breed of dog in the world, from extinction.

For the last three years young New Zealand actor Caleb Ross (The Tribe) has been working alongside Ladoon, committed to the dogs and Ladoon’s self-imposed task of preserving and breeding the dogs.

Jane Schoettle, a programme selector for Real to Reel said of the film: “Botes captures the remorseless northern landscape – as well as the political, financial and meteorological struggles that Ladoon and Ross face in preserving the Qimmiq – with a raw energy and relentless honestly. Captivating and compelling, The Last Dogs of Winter is a film about wildlife – and one wild life.”

Variety magazine described the film as an wilderness lover’s delight and said it was an “intimate, gorgeously rendered documentary.”

The Last Dogs of Winter has been financed by Lone Pine Films Ltd and the New Zealand Film Commission. NZ Film, the sales arm of the NZFC, is handling world sales of the film.

And the winners are…

Best Actor – Short Film (Aotearoa Audience Award)

HARLEN HOANI THOMPSON IN “KORO’S MEDAL” DIRECTED BY JAMES BARR

Best Male Actor – Feature Film (2011 Aotearoa Drama)

RANGIMOANA TAYLOR IN “HOOK LINE AND SINKER” DIRECTED BY ANDREA BOSSHARD & SHANE LOADER

Best Female Actor – Feature Film (2011 Aotearoa Drama)

MABEL WHAREKAWA-BURT IN “MATARIKI” DIRECTED BY MICHAEL BENNETT

Best Short Film (2011 Aotearoa Audience Award)

“TAKU RAKU E” DIRECTOR KARARAINA RANGIHAU PRODUCER MERATA MITA

Best International Indigenous Entry (2011 Festival)

“LANI’S STORY” DIRECTOR GENEVIEVE GRIEVES (AUSTRALIA)

Best Aotearoa Feature Drama or Documentary (2011 Festival)

“MATARIKI” DIRECTOR MICHAEL BENNETT

Mana Wairoa Festival Prize (Best Overall Entry Festival 2011)

“OCTOBER 15″ DIRECTOR KIM WEBBY PRODUCER PIETRA BRETKELLY

WIFT Mana Wahine Award 2011

KATIE WOLFE

Katie Wolfe (Ngati Tama, Ngati Mutunga, Pakeha) is a film maker, actor and director, having completed two short films (“THIS IS HER” and “REDEMPTION”) and most recently directed her first feature “NIGHTS IN THE GARDEN OF SPAIN” which is screening next month at Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco.

International Indigenous Entry

“LANI’S STORY” is the true story of a young woman surviving abuse and addiction. Lani Brennan, the subject of the film, is of both Aboriginal and Maori descent.

Mana Wairoa Festival Prize

“OCTOBER 15.” The film profiles the day, October 15, 2007, that New Zealand Police launched anti-terrorism raids on the people of Tuhoe, in Ruatoki Valley and beyond. The Mana Wairoa Festival Prize recognises the most outstanding entry to the year’s festival and also has a kaupapa of supporting film makers whose work contributes to the advancement of the human rights of indigenous peoples.

The Wairoa Maori Film Festival is a non-political not-for-profit community event presented annually by Te Roopu Whakaata Maori Inc. Parts of the programme are travelling on to screenings in Auckland, Invercargill and Raglan.

Go to www.manawairoa.com for more information.

THREE NEW ZEALAND FILMS PREMIERE AT SHANGHAI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Desert, Love Birds and Tracker have all been selected to screen in the Panorama section of the Shanghai International Film Festival this year.

International Panorama is one of four major sections at the festival and showcases a wide selection of films from around the world.

Desert, the debut feature film from writer/director Stephen Kang, follows the story of Jenny, a young pregnant Asian girl living in Auckland who is left to fend for herself when she is abandoned by her Kiwi boyfriend just before they are about to get married. Rejected by her Asian community for getting pregnant to a westerner out of wed-lock and after unsuccessfully searching for her boyfriend, Jenny is forced to look inside herself to find a positive solution for her and her unborn baby.

Desert premièred at the Pusan International Film Festival in October 2010 and is currently in release in New Zealand. Kang’s debut short Blue was last week awarded the Grand Prix at Critics Week which is a sidebar alongside the Cannes Film Festival.  Stephen and producers will attend Shanghai where they will be doing preliminary casting for their upcoming feature ‘Summer Rhapsody’ which stars a female Chinese lead.

Love Birds is the second feature film collaboration for director Paul Murphy and writer Nick Ward (Second-Hand Wedding). A hilarious romantic comedy that tells the story of a regular Kiwi bloke who finds himself on a quest to find true love – all with the help of a native New Zealand Shelduck – Love Birds stars Golden Globe winner Sally Hawkins (Happy Go Lucky, Made in Daggenheim)and NZ stand-up comedian and actor Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords). The film has just completed its theatrical release in NZ.

Tense chase movie Tracker completes the line-up of NZ films selected. Starring Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast, The Edge of Darkness) and Temuera Morrison (The Green Lantern, Once Were Warriors) Tracker tells the tale of a guerrilla survivor of the South African Boer War who lands in colonial New Zealand and is promised a huge bounty to capture Kereama, a Maori seafarer accused of killing a British soldier. A UK/NZ co-production Tracker was written by Nicholas van Pallandt and directed by Ian Sharp.

The Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), founded in 1993, is China’s only A-category international film festival accredited by the FIAPF. It is an excellent platform to promote widely and communicate with media.  For more information on the festival: http://www.siff.com

Its now or never – Native Vision are on their last print cycle of the Crazy Horses Range of clothing.

Which means if you don’t get in quick you might not have another chance to get your patch and represent Crazy Horses in your area.

There are some specials on certain ranges, sizing and styles are limited.

Please follow this link to the Native Vision website, and a list of Crazy Horses BOY Merchandise available.

Pollywood Pasifica Short film Festival is now into its ninth successful year, this is an event to watch out for. With each year growing bigger and better, Pollywood has largely become a launching pad for Pasifika Film and multimedia art for the past 9 years. The core focus of Pollywood is to showcase and celebrate Pacific Island writers, Directors and Actors.  Pollywood is the leading Pacific Island short film festival in New Zealand.

Each screening will be introduced by curator Craig Fasi, and promises to please audiences from across Auckland. “I am hubled by the status of films that have been sourced  for this years festival, in light of so much that has changed over the years. I am thankful that Pollywood is still delivering quality Pacific Island art for the community”says Mr Fasi.

There is seven films which will be screened in total with just over 80 mins of heartfelt stories to be showcased. With such a varied mix of short films there is bound to be something for everyone, so get your tickets now. All are welcome.

The premiere of Pollywood Nine2011 is set for Wednesday the 16th of March At Galatos, Galatos Street, Newton 7:30pm.

For more information on this event and ticket bookings please follow this link

Sam Peacock director of award winning film "Manurewa"

Manurewa, directed by Sam Peacocke, was awarded a Crystal Bear in the Generation 14plus Youth Section of the competition.

The jury awarded the film the prize with these comments on the strength of the project: In a very short time this film synthesises and skilfully compresses independent story lines and characters, merging them together into a single irrevocable, ever-changing moment. Our winning film is not only about perpetrators and victims, but also about human beings.

Manurewa explores the tragic murder of Manurewa liquor store owner Navtej Singh and is acclaimed music video director Sam Peacocke’s debut short film. Produced by Kristian Eek, the film is a multi-stranded narrative impression of the real life robbery and fatal shooting that took place in South Auckland, New Zealand. The film premiered at the Melbourne International Film Festival in July 2010.

The Generation programme receives over 6000 submissions each year and the selection comprises 32 short films and 27 feature length films from 32 countries.

Manurewa was self-funded by the filmmakers and relied on the generous support of sponsors Fuji Film New Zealand, Panavision New Zealand and Park Road Post.

The film was shot on 35mm with a skeleton crew, utilizing available light as much as possible. It was shot on location in South Auckland and features mostly non actors. The film was made with the blessing of the Sikh community and the family of the victim.

Manurewa received post production funding from the NZ Film Commission who also supported Sam Peacocke to attend the festival. International sales for the film are handled by NZ Film, which is the sales arm of the NZFC.

The 61st Berlin International Film Festival ran from the 10th – 20th February 2011. For more information about the Berlin International Film Festival please follow this link

Once again Lee Tamahori has made a Sundance worthy independent film. Lee Tamahori has shot two independent films in his nearly two-decade career as a director, and both have taken him to Sundance: He made his first trip in 1995 with his feature directorial debut, “Once Were Warriors,” a violent tale of domestic abuse in a Maori family in his native New Zealand.

Since then, he’s directed mainstream fare such as “Die Another Day,” “Along Came a Spider” and “The Edge.” This year, Tamahori was back at Sundance with “The Devil’s Double,” which tells the story of the body double of Uday Hussein — the brutal son of Saddam Hussein. The film is based on the life of Latif Yahia; English actor Dominic Cooper (“Mamma Mia!”) plays both the disgusted Yahia and the nefarious Uday.

Do you have any fond memories of your first trip to the festival?

Tamahori: The funniest moment I remember is I had no idea (what was going on) because it was my first film festival ever. I was sitting there not knowing what was going on and kind of getting carried away, and I thought, “I need a drink, I need to get out of this.” I went to this bar and I was the only person in this bar at Sundance because everybody else was on the streets and hustling and everything else. Then a guy comes into the bar and sits right next me and says the same thing, “Quick, I need a drink.” I look at this guy and I go, “You’re Tim Roth, aren’t you?” He goes, “Yeah,” and I go, “Hi, I’m pleased to meet you.” So I meet Tim Roth because both of us were both exhausted by the process and badly in need of a drink and we were the only two in the bar and struck up a conversation. It was very funny at the time.

Let’s talk about Dominic Cooper’s performance in this film.

Tamahori: It’s a breakout performance if I do say myself. From the beginning I always said this film stands or falls on the credibility of the actor that plays both these parts. The whole story is irrelevant if this guy does not have both the talent to pull it off with the two characters, or make the audience believe that we are watching two different characters rather than one actor playing two roles. There have been versions of this before, but not a lot.

How were you and Cooper able to make it work?

Tamahori: We went into the business of creating two different characters, which meant slight adaptations to the screenplay and everything. One is basically psychotic and has an Oedipal complex and is a rapist, killer, murderer and thug, but there is something weirdly attractive about him like Tony Montana. He is a charismatic villain. I stripped (the Yahia) character back to what is essentially a character from an American Western and stripped his morality down to an absolutely clean slate of pure moral principles: (He’s) an upright guy, he’s going to go into the family business with his father because that’s what he’s supposed to do. He has a strong moral code; he will not do things that go against his moral center.

Luckily, once we figured these characters out, and Dominic knew what he was doing with both of him, he was able to switch in and out of them quite remarkably. We didn’t know if we could psychologically put that pressure on him on a daily basis. He loved it. Being a young technical actor and being very good instinctive actor with good dramatic training behind him, he was able to pull off some marvelous stuff.

What was it like getting back in the indie saddle after so many years of doing big studio films?

Tamahori: In doing this movie I wanted to remind myself that I hadn’t lost the ability to jump back into independent film and (that I hadn’t) become a dull studio hack of some sort. You got to remind yourself, can I still do it? It’s up to others to judge, but it was interesting getting into the editing room. We had some problems and I’d say I know what to do here. It all came from doing American studio films.

Did this experience with The Devil’s Double wet your appetite for another indie feature?

Tamahori: I’m going to make another feature in New Zealand very much along the lines of my first.

Kia ora to TangataWhenua.com for this interview