Gregory King

Colin Hodson is an axiom of Aro Valley no-budget cinema. The male half of the "Uncomfortable Comfortable" couple, and director/star of "Shifter", now adds a third closely observed portrait to his gallery of passive aggressives.

Initially rejected because of its taboo prodding outrageous content by NZIFF Shorts programmers, the film was however supported by Producer/Programmer/Filmmaker Ant Timpson who selected it to play in his Incredibly Strange section of the Festival. Thereafter Brave Donkey became an International Festival success incl. SXSW, BFI London, Locarno and Melbourne.

In this alarming early short from Gregory King a 13-year-old boy's shoplifting escapade is narrated brilliantly by actress Madeleine Sami who performs the teenage boy incarnation of the Adult Man whose account of domestic abuse this is, while adult actors play the kids in the remembered story. What starts out as teen shenanigans (a porn stash is accrued with the five-finger discount) turns unsettling as a beating is doled out by Dad as punishment. The contrast between the naive voice and what is seen on screen - shot in hand-held close ups - is something unforgettable.

In this alarming early short from Gregory King a 13-year-old boy's shoplifting escapade is narrated brilliantly by actress Madeleine Sami who performs the teenage boy incarnation of the Adult Man whose account of domestic abuse this is, while adult actors play the kids in the remembered story. What starts out as teen shenanigans (a porn stash is accrued with the five-finger discount) turns unsettling as a beating is doled out by Dad as punishment. The contrast between the naive voice and what is seen on screen - shot in hand-held close ups - is something unforgettable.

An experimental twist on the "fly on the wall" film. Here a handheld camera becomes the fly and the connection between three groups of modern city dwellers. Gregory King's first film won ‘Most Outstanding Achievement in a Video Production’ at the Melbourne International Film Festival. The festival hailed POP as ‘Possibly the most extraordinary film at MIFF this year…As we stand before the precipice of the next century, the film poignantly throws into question the definition of cinema itself.’

An experimental twist on the "fly on the wall" film. Here a handheld camera becomes the fly and the connection between three groups of modern city dwellers. Gregory King's first film won ‘Most Outstanding Achievement in a Video Production’ at the Melbourne International Film Festival. The festival hailed POP as ‘Possibly the most extraordinary film at MIFF this year…As we stand before the precipice of the next century, the film poignantly throws into question the definition of cinema itself.’

"This singular, bleakly funny, R-rated vision of Kiwi life clinches King's position as the most distinctive new voice in NZ film, as insistent and inescapable as The Warehouse jingle." - New Zealand International Film Festival director Bill Godsen. Made at the beginning of the digital revolution, this micro-budget feature went on to win several awards and be selected for major Fests incl. Toronto, Locarno, Edinburgh, and Melbourne.

"This singular, bleakly funny, R-rated vision of Kiwi life clinches King's position as the most distinctive new voice in NZ film, as insistent and inescapable as The Warehouse jingle." - New Zealand International Film Festival director Bill Godsen. Made at the beginning of the digital revolution, this micro-budget feature went on to win several awards and be selected for major Fests incl. Toronto, Locarno, Edinburgh, and Melbourne.