Dark Tales - New Zealand Shortfilms

DVD Mailorder  |  DVD-9  |  PAL 4:3  |  english with german subs  |  Region: free  |  190 min.  |  2004  |  English  |  Subtitles: German (It is not possible to turn them off!).  |  Label: KurzFilmAgentur Hamburg e.V.

A collection of vaguely tinted stories that aren't so much from beyond the grave as they are from the low-income housing block just down the street from the grave.
After the big success of the VHS-Video Double Edition, now finally united on DVD: Irritating stories proof that this country has more to offer than Mountains, Kiwis and Hobbits.

Bonusfilm: "Two Cars, One Night" | Taika Waititi | New Zealand | 2003 | 11 Min. Two boys and a girl meet in a rural carpark. We learn that love can be found in the most unlikely places.

   

1.  "The Lounge Bar" |  Don McGlashan, Harry Sinclair | New Zealand 1989 | 12 Min.
In a seedy waterfront bar, sometime during the 70’s, a sideburned, bellbottomed singer begins his song. Sheltering from the rainy night, a man and a woman meet for the first time. Or is it? Who are they? What brought them here? What bizarre web of fate links them to the singer, his song, and his sideburns?

2.   "Avondale Dogs" | Gregor Nicholas | New Zealand | 1994 | 15 Min.
Avondale, New Zealand, 1965. A young boy grapples with something bigger than he realizes: the love within himself brought into focus through his relationship with his dying mother, and this love’s power of transcendence in times of pain and loss.

3.  "Lemming Aid" | Grant Lahood | New Zealand | 1994 | 12 Min.
A party of New Zealand animal rights activists assemble on a Norwegian clifftop to prevent the annual mass suicide of Lemmings. All is fine until their vigil is interrupted by a Norwegian woman intent on using the Lemmings as the furry opponents in a crude form of blood sport.
An offbeat comedy about people who take their motives too seriously.

4.  "Headlong" | Simon Raby | New Zealand | 1995 | 13 Min.
Athur is trying desperatly to stay awake driving across country late at night. He picks up a woman hitchhiker named Jude, and they quickly establish a hostile rapport. The scene is set for an all out battle of the sexes, culminating in a hair raising, gut wrenching finale that propels Arthur and Jude on an inexorable path toward mayhem and destruction.

5.  "La Vie En Rose" | Anna Reeves | New Zealand | 1994 | 7 Min.
A cautionary tale about seeing life through rose-coloured glasses. Audrey Foggin is a sultry, young Catholic woman living in the 1950’s. She tries to break free of her drab, conformist existence, dominated by religious guilt and fear, by idealising her postie, Barry. Realty, however, turns out to be rather more complex.

6.   "Snap" |  Stuart McKenzie | New Zealand | 1994 | 15 Min.
He hasn’t been the same since his wife died. He hasn’t shot a portrait for years. When two young lovers stumble into his studio the past comes back to life. Snap! They asked him to capture their happiness on film forever. So he did.

7.  "Lovelock" | David Robertson | New Zealand | 1993 | 15 Min.
The 1936 Berlin Olympics. In front of the Führer and 120,000 frenzied spectators the ran a race that carried him beyond perfection to despair.

8.   "A Game with No Rules" | Scott Reynolds | New Zealand | 1994 | 16:30 Min.
For Kane Harris and Vera Masden, what starts as an easy task of murder becomes a tangled web of deception and betrayal. Their target, Kane’s wife, is no easy victim. Allegiances shift, and a deadly game begins. The question is, who will be left standing...

9.  "The Beach" | Dorthe Scheffmann | New Zealand | 1995 | 8 Min.
Two families spend a day at the beach. The women’s friendship is confirmed by a revealing incident that has repercussions.

10.  "Eau de la vie" | Simon Baré | New Zealand | 1993 | 13 Min.
an opulent restaurant Catherine finds herself caught up in a bizarre and decadent society where pleasure prevails at any price. But that pursuit of pleasure becomes Catherine’s darkest fear. Will she have the courage to stand alone

11.   "I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry" | Michael Hurst | New Zealand | 1994 | 14 Min.
As their marital situation unfolds we realise that Bill and Jane are headed for a tragic reconcillation.

12.  "Funny Little Guy" | Chris Graves | New Zealand | 1994 | 14 Min.
Tallulah lives alone in a caravan in the middle of nowhere. The horizon stretches endlessly. Not a creature stirs. Not a voice is heard. Nothing much happens. And when a green man in a silver spacesuit crashes his flying saucer nearby, Tallulah finds herself falling in love with someone she can only describe as a funny little guy...

13.  "Dream-Makers" | Robert Sarkies | New Zealand | 1993 | 10 Min.
A toilet cleaner commercial inspires the Dream-Makers to create their most terrifying nightmare yet.

14.  "Walkshort" | William Toepfer | New Zealand | 1987 | 10 Min.
A series of chance encounters in a busy Auckland street.

Festivals & Awards

Press Ratings

"Dream-Makers": 1st prize Experimental Madrid

"Two Cars, One Night": several awards:2005 : Nominated for Live Action (Short Film Academy Awards);
2004: Short Award at the (AFI Film Festival),
Panorama Short Film Award (Berlin International Film Festival),
Hamburg Short Film Award (Hamburg International Short Film Festival),
Award of the Theatre Owners (Oberhausen International Short Film Festival),
Short Film Competition Award (Seattle International Film Festival),
Best Short Film Performance,
Best Short Film Screenplay,
Best Technical Contribution to Short Film (NZ Film and TV Awards), u. a.

Dark Tales - New Zealand Shortfilms was added to our catalog on Tuesday 08 May, 2007.