Five new Aotearoa shorts examine the ways we connect with each other. From strangers uniting to stand up for what is right to fleeting moments of understanding between loved ones, these films deftly capture the bonds and binds between us.
Short Connections
Beneficiaries band together against a narrow-minded case worker; an anxious grandmother tries to protect her grandchild from the dangers of the world; a lonely teenager shares a moment of intimacy with a mysterious stranger; a young woman and her friends gather to honour the memory of a loved one; and an eighteenth century seal hunting gang is shaken when one of them is caught secretly trading with two Māori siblings. These short Aotearoa-made films capture the connections between all of us.
Payback 2024
When a welfare department’s insidious prejudice can no longer be tolerated, a group of unlikely heroes band together against a narrow-minded caseworker. Made in collaboration with Toi Whakaari, Mia Blake cleverly reflects the state of the nation in this punchy black comedy.
Earthlings 2023
A lonely teenager shares a moment of intimacy with a mysterious stranger in this surprising and sensitive film. Jamie Lawrence (Darryl Exists, NZIFF 2011) evokes a surreal world that tenderly explores identity, belonging and the desire for connection.
The Sea Inside Her 2024
Award-winning filmmaker and choreographer Alyx Duncan (The Tide Keeper, NZIFF 2015) builds on her unique movement-led films, depicting an anxious grandmother desperate to protect her grandchild from the dangers of the world. Using performance, puppetry and visual effects, Alyx Duncan paints a fantastical picture of fear and frustration for these fragile times.
Lost at Sea 2024
A young woman and her friends gather at a beach house one evening to honour the memory of a loved one. Made in collaboration with Toi Whakaari, Asuka Sylvie (Kainga, NZIFF 2022) conjures an evocative atmosphere in this poignant and lyrical portrait of grief.
The Lascar 2023
At the end of the 18th century, hundreds of Indian sailors, known as lascars, worked in brutal conditions among European seal-hunting gangs in Aotearoa. In Adi Parige’s striking coastal epic, one such crew is shaken when a lascar is caught trading with two Māori siblings behind the back of the gang’s tyrannical British leader.