Screentalk (2)
Film, 2013 (Trailer)
Shopping marks the feature debut of Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland, who were acclaimed for their short films. Set on the Kapiti Coast, the 80s-set drama follows half-Samoan teenager Willie (Kevin Paulo), who is seduced into a world of petty crime. Adrift in muscle cars and boozy lawn parties, he finds stirrings of love, and escape from his volatile Pākehā father. Little brother Solomon (Julian Dennison) must fend for himself. Selected for the Berlin and Sundance Film Festivals, Shopping went on a winning spree at the 2013 NZ Film Awards (including Best Film and Screenplay).
Curated by NZ On Screen team
From the icons (Sky Tower, Otara Market, Rangitoto, The Bridge), celebs, clans and stereotypes (Jafas), to the streets (Queen St, K Road), and Super City suburbs (Ferndale, Mt Raskill, Morningside), this collection celebrates Auckland onscreen. Reel through the moods and the multicultural, metro, muggy charms of New Zealand's largest city. In this backgrounder, No. 2 director Toa Fraser writes about Auckland as a place of myth, diversity and broken jaws.
Loading Docs 2017 - East Meets East
Web, 2017 (Full Length)
Director Julie Zhu's love letter to a Chinese East Auckland community follows her grandmother as she carries out what may seem a mundane task — grocery shopping. But to Fang Ruzhen, her daily ritual of buying food is what connects her to several other aged Chinese grandparents, who hop on buses in large groups to head to the supermarket. Ruzhen moved to New Zealand nearly 20 years ago to help look after her grandson. Now she is 79 and can barely speak any English. "Going shopping every day…well, that's our strength. Without this, what would we do?"
The Tribe - Episode Two
Television, 1999 (Full Length Episode)
Set in a future where teen gangs control the streets, The Tribe became a global hit at the turn of the millenium. In this second episode, the group have to decide whether they trust Lex enough to let him into the safety of the shopping mall. Lex appears out to prove that he is the resident alpha male, especially after the arrival of Bray (Dwayne Cameron), who has a surprise to spring. For the first season, a group of young people read each script in order to check that The Tribe provided what creator Raymond Thompson called "an accurate interpretation of children's ideas".
Popstars - First Episode
Television, 1999 (Full Length)
The search for a New Zealand Spice Girls is underway in the first episode of this pioneering reality series. Manager Peter Urlich (formerly of Th' Dudes) and record company executive Mark Tierney (ex-Strawpeople) hold public auditions to find an all-female pop group for their record deal and TV series. The good, the bad and the unfortunate are out in full force. After an exhaustive selection process, Urlich and Tierney whittle down the talent to 15 hopefuls. The format for the show sold to multiple countries.
New Zealand Grand Prix
Short Film, 1961 (Full Length)
A stylish title sequence sets the tone for this NFU short on motor racing in the early 60s. Shot during the golden age of the sport, it begins with amateurs competing in Dunedin's 'round the town' race (won by future Formula One champ Denis Hulme), then shifts north to Auckland for the New Zealand International Grand Prix. 60,000 spectators watch world champ Jack Brabham and local hero Bruce McLaren battle for the title. Also included are classic summer shots of the world's top drivers relaxing on the beach, and Australian racer Arnold Glass teaching McLaren to waterski.
Pioneer House - Episode Two
Planning and preparing dinner becomes a sweaty ordeal in the second episode of reality show/'social experiment', Pioneer House. The family have moved into 2 Elgin St and are dealing with the hands-on chores involved in running a typical lower middle class household in 1900. The summer heat makes a trip to the shops clad in corsets and petticoats "like running a marathon", and 17 year old Anneke feels stifled by the restrictions placed on young women of the day. On the plus side, Michael appreciates the extra 'family time' this new/old life is giving him.
Pictorial Parade No. 79
The Wellington region is the focus of this 1958 edition in the long-running NFU series. The newsreel shows the rapidly developing town of Porirua, where farmland is being converted into state housing. Meanwhile in Taita the Hutt Valley Youth club provides entertainment for bored young people on Sunday afternoons. Highland dancing vies with skiffle and rock and roll, and Elvis-style quiffs date the teen spirit. Such clubs were set up after the 1954 Mazengarb inquiry into juvenile delinquency. And at Athletic Park a classic All Black line-up wallops the Wallabies 25-3.
K' Road Stories - $cratch
K' Rd Stories was a 2015 series of shorts celebrating one of Auckland's most colourful strips. In this entry, Dan and Dwayne are "two lovable hustlers with an entrepreneurial spirit trying to scratch a living on the fringes of K Road". $cratch documents the pair's efforts to gain entry to the Las Vegas strip club, set up a pop-up tinny shop, and find a girlfriend ("a lot of girlfriends I had in the past gave me nothing but children!"). Dwayne is played by Dwayne Sisson, who co-starred with $cratch director Clint Rarm in Zoe McIntosh's 2013 rogue-life tale The Deadly Ponies Gang.
Real Lives - Ponsonby Road
This 1988 TVNZ documentary looks at Ponsonby through the eyes of some of its oldest identities. It's a pivotal time in the Auckland suburb's evolution from working class preserve to upmarket retail destination and residential area. Gentrification is taking hold, as older residents move on or are forced out by rising property prices. But there are still traces of the old Ponsonby to be seen in the fabled Gluepot tavern, op shops, drop-in centres and a dizzying array of eateries — and there are memories of when Michael Joseph Savage was the local MP.