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Drama about a trans activist’s return to the small New Zealand town he fled as a teenager is straightforwardly told, but with great warmth and optimism

This heartfelt, straightforwardish drama from New Zealand ends with a belting cover of Bronski Beat’s LGBTQ+ anthem Smalltown Boy: a song about a young man leaving home to find love and acceptance in the city. Rūrangi picks up a similar story a decade later, when a trans man goes back to the dairy farm where he grew up. It’s a film that thrums with warmth and gives the rest a lesson in how to get trans representation right: all the trans roles are played by trans actors (and for good measure some non-trans – or non-specific – roles too).

Elz Carrad gives a likably vulnerable performance as Caz, who ran away as a teenager to Auckland, where he has made a new family in the LGBTQ+ community,...

Libertine Pictures and Slim Film + Television’s family action-adventure series Mystic has been recommissioned for two more seasons by Cbbc and Tvnz.

The adaption of New Zealand author Stacy Gregg’s Pony Club Secrets book series will have writers Sam Shore (Filthy Rich), Martha Hardy-Ward (Ellen is Leaving), Hamish Bennett (Bellbird), and Briar Grace-Smith (Grace Beside Me) join creators Amy Shindler and Beth Chalmers (Horrible Histories) for its next phase.

British actor Macey Chipping (Vampire Academy) returns in the lead role of Issie Brown and is joined once again by New Zealanders Antonia Robinson, Max Crean, Jacqueline Joe (Top of the Lake), Josh Tan (Mulan) and Harriet Walton.

In the new seasons, Issie and her gang of horse-mad friends will not only have to tackle all the usual trials and tribulations of being a teenager – romance, identity, friendship, and conflict with parents – but will also have to battle against...

Exclusive: Libertine Pictures (Nz) and Slim Film + Television (UK)’s family action adventure series Mystic, has been recommissioned for two more seasons by Cbbc (UK) and Tvnz (Nz).

British actor Macey Chipping (Holby City) returns in the lead role of Issie Brown and is joined once again by New Zealanders Antonia Robinson, Max Crean, Jacqueline Joe (Top of the Lake), Josh Tan (Mulan) and Harriet Walton.

Production on the two new series, each comprising 8 x 30” episodes, is due to commence on May 31 in New Zealand.

In the new seasons, Issie and her gang of horse-mad friends will not only have to tackle all the usual trials and tribulations of being a teenager but will also have to battle against new and unexpected threats to their beloved stables and local environment. In season two, their lives will be thrown into turmoil by the arrival of a charismatic stranger and an...

Exclusive: Hulu has picked up U.S. rights to New Zealand transgender drama series Rurangi from The Yellow Affair.

Directed by Max Currie, the series has also been cut as a film and is currently on theatrical release in New Zealand. It recently won the Audience Award at Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival and played at the New Zealand International Film Festival. Hulu has picked up the series rights.

The drama follows transgender activist Caz Davis who returns to the remote, politically divided dairy community of Rūrangi after a decade away, hoping to reconnect with his estranged father, who hasn’t heard from him since before Caz transitioned.

Trans activist Cole Meyers is series writer and co-producer. Oliver Page is co-creator and writer. Cast includes trans actor Elz Carrad, Kirk Torrance, Āwhina Rose Henare Ashby, Arlo Green, Ramon Te Wake, Aroha Rawson, Renee Lyons, Renée Sheridan.

A second...

Caz (Elz Carrad) has spent a long time in the city, away from his family, away from his roots. He didn't go back even when his mother died. He wanted the funeral to be about her. How could it be if he scandalised everyone there by turning up and looking like a stranger when they all expected to see a girl? But he misses his dad - and so, ten years after he originally left, he returns in the hope of reconciliation.

There's a lot going on in Max Currie's film, which started life as a web series. As well as coming out to his dad (Kirk Torrance), who doesn't even recognise him at first, he has to go through the process with best friend Anahera (Awahina Rose Ashby), who is still angry at him for leaving, and with ex-boyfriend Jem (Arlo Green), who has always identified as straight.

Rlje Films, a business unit of AMC Networks, has picked up select rights to The Dead Lands from Shudder, AMC Networks’ streaming service for horror. The Dead Lands will be released on Digital HD on June 8, 2020. Check out this terrifying trailer:

Co-Directed by Peter Meteherangi Tikao Burger and Michael Hurst (“Hercules: The Legendary Journeys”) from a script by Glenn Standring (Truth About Demons), the action/horror stars Te Kohe Tuhaka, Darneen Christian, Kirk Torrance, and Vicky Haughton.

In The Dead Lands, Waka, a murdered Māori warrior returned from the Afterlife, and Mehe, a determined young woman, embark on a quest to find who “broke the world” and how to close the breach between the living and the dead. AMC Networks’ Shudder and Tvnz present The Dead Lands, an epic supernatural fantasy series set in mythical New Zealand.

The post The Dead Lands starring Te Kohe Tuhaka and Darneen Christian Releasing...

Screen Ireland has revealed a further round of stimulus measures to support the sector during the pandemic. The new measures are designed to aid production companies and creative talent in developing slates that are ready to move into production once lockdown measures lift. The measures include a slate development fund valued up to €3M; an additional €1M in development support; financial planning support up to €150k total; and a funding scheme for skills development. As part of the investment, Screen Skills Ireland has repurposed two of its funding schemes. The Festivals and Events Funding Scheme has been repurposed as a Skills Development Events Funding Scheme and The International Bursary Award Scheme has been repurposed as a Bursary Award Scheme to support industry professionals to take online skills development courses. Screen Skills Ireland will also introduce two new funding schemes. Additionally, 90% of funding is being provided upfront on all development loans...

A warrior returns from death to make things right in the realm of the living in The Dead Lands. An original series from Shudder and New Zealand’s Tvnz, The Dead Lands will premiere January 23rd on Shudder and Tvnz OnDemand, and the official trailer has now been revealed, offering a look at the show's eerie, atmospheric action.

Press Release: December 5, 2019 — Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, announced today that its new original series The Dead Lands, a co-production with New Zealand’s Tvnz, will premiere with two episodes on Thursday, January 23, across all of Shudder’s territories. It will also air on Tvnz OnDemand in New Zealand immediately after its international debut. Subsequent episodes will premiere on both Shudder and Tvnz OnDemand weekly.

The Dead Lands features a supernatural adventure set in a mythic Māori past, with an aesthetic that’s part Ash...

BBC Three has announced the cast of upcoming eight-part drama series Tatau.

Joe Layton (New Worlds, Father Brown) will play Kyle Connor, and Theo Barklem-Biggs (The Inbetweeners Movie, Silk) has been cast as his friend Paul 'Budgie' Griffiths.

Written by Richard Zajdlic, Tatau is co-produced by Being Human creators Touchpaper TV in partnership with New Zealand's South Pacific Pictures.

Layton said: "I'm thrilled to be part of this original British drama. With such a talented production team behind it I can't wait to help bring Richard's fantastic scripts to life."

Barklem-Biggs added: "I'm so excited to be a part of this unique project. The script is based on real Maori mythology, it has everything in it - romance, comedy, smuggling, mystery.

"I'm also really looking forward to working with such a great team - everyone from the producers to the directors, right down to the cast are spot on. Not...

Lead by Cliff Curtis’ transformative performance this Kiwi drama is an affecting representation of mental illness in a rather singular context. His portrayal of real life chess virtuoso Genesis Potini struggling with bipolar disorder in a gang-ridden small town is inspiring but not without making a point of the darkness that lurks around.

Drifting away in between hospital stays and sporadic delusional episode, Genesis (Cliff Curtis) is a strong-built Maori man whose inner battles have prevented him from pursing his passion for the intellectual board game. Following one of his usual escapades into the outside world without supervision, Genesis is put in the care of his older brother Ariki (Wayne Hapi). But the latter doesn’t have much time to deal with his sibling’s affliction. He is a tough gang member whose main concern is to get his 14-year-old son Mana (James Rolleston) inducted into the violent organization as soon as he turns 15 – a life of crime is all they’ve ever known.

Unfortunately, their case is not an exception to the rule but the norm. Most children in this marginalized community – prominently populated by people of indigenous descent - have no role models to speak of. In their isolation is hard for them to imagine brighter horizons where they can avoid addiction, abuse, and illegal activity. Partially motivated by his own need to be part of something and by a genuine interest to be of help, Genesis joins a local kids’ chess club. Initially, Noble, (Kirk Torrance) who runs the makeshift group out of his garage, perceives Genesis’ overly cheerful demeanor as dangerous. He wants to shield these children from probable disappointed caused by the fallen champion’s erratic behavior. Eventually, Genesis’ undeniable talent and boyish optimism connect with the young players. He has been given a purpose that allows him to live vicariously through his pupils: The Eastern Knights.

Aiming to take the team to the national championship in Auckland, Noble and Genesis have no time to waste. But the unpredictable nature of bipolar disorder is a constant reminder that full normalcy is almost unattainable for the valiant warrior. As if his fight wasn’t already tumultuous enough, Genesis fears for his nephew's safety given the brutally with which his brother’s gang operates. He wants to give Mana the chance to see beyond the disheartening and hyper-masculine environment around him. On the chessboard, they both find a place where strategy reigns above brute force. The precise numeric rules and calculative quality of the game give them a glimpse of what it means to be in control.

Within this Maori community, a symbolic value is added to cerebral game. Honor plays a pivotal, almost ritualistic, role in the way Genesis thinks of himself while playing. He is not only a warrior, but also a righteous king that doesn’t leave anyone behind and who is willing to endure painful sacrifices for the common welfare. Curtis let’s himself be overwhelmed by such conflicting feelings of failure and greatness in extreme forms inhabiting a single body. Exceptional skills eclipsed by misfortune. But through it all, the imposing actor remains heartbreakingly truthful. There is no euphemisms or sugarcoated false hopes, his character is an ill person stranded in a place with no tolerance for weakness. Still, this perpetual vulnerability is what enhances his warm humanity.

Genesis is a gentle giant that illuminates the lives of those around him regardless of the despairing conditions. His astonishingly welcoming demeanor as Mana's surrogate father and as a heroic figure for the rest of the kids is delightfully capture by the actor. This is certainly a turning point in Curtis eclectic career. He is nearly unrecognizable after gaining over 60 lbs to play the role and embedding his performance with a powerfully quiet inner turmoil. Young Rolleston's work as a boy on the cusp of manhood is equally noteworthy for it's subtle anger and childlike need for affection and acceptance.

Written and directed by James Napier Robertson, “The Dark Horse” definitely hits familiar notes as a biopic and an inspirational film. But these never feel as it forcefully trying to generate an emotional reaction, and that is definitely the product of a screenplay that doesn’t shy away from the unflattering aspects of the story. Besides the personal conflicts, undertones of social and political indifference are visible particularly when Genesis’ team competes against the affluent city kids who looked at them with disdain. “The Dark Horse” offers an underdog premise with highlighted nuances pertinent to this specific part of the world, but with the added bonus of being relevant anywhere there is a group of people living in the outskirts of mainstream society. Moving and incredibly humanistic, “The Dark Horse” utilizes well-known tropes and strategically places them on the winning side of the board.

"The Dark Horse" recently premiered at Tiff. International sales are being handled by Seville International.

eOne’s boutique sales arm Seville International takes New Zealand hit drama.

Entertainment One’s boutique sales arm Séville International has acquired international rights to New Zealand drama The Dark Horse from Four Knights Film.

Writer/director James Napier Robertson’s drama charts the journey of a man facing adversity who passes on lessons to the children in his community.

The deal was negotiated by Tom Hern for Four Knights Film with eOne Films International President Harold van Lier for Séville International. The film was previously with Celluloid Dreams.

Cliff Curtis (Whale Rider, Training Day, Sunshine) stars alongside James Rolleston (Boy), Kirk Torrance and newcomer, Wayne Hapi.

Tom Hern produced the film for Four Knights Film with funding coming from the New Zealand Film Commission, Nz On Air and Arama Pictures, and financing from Fulcrum Finances. Timothy White and Cliff Curtis served as executive producers on the film, while James Napier Robertson and Jim Marbrook co-produced the film...