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Robert Sarkies | |
|---|---|
| Born | Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1996–present |
Robert Sarkies is a New Zealand film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his 2006 drama film Out of the Blue and the 2014 TV movie Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story.
Robert Sarkies grew up in the South Island city of Dunedin. He attended Kaikorai Valley College, [1] and the University of Otago.[ citation needed ]
Sarkies began making short films as a teenager with fellow filmmaker Simon Perkins and Lindsay Chalmers. After winning an international award for his short Dream-makers, Sarkies began work on his most ambitious short to date: adventure comedy Signing Off (1996), which won four international awards and helped attract funding for Scarfies (1999), his feature debut. Signing Off was produced by film and television producer Lisa Chatfield.[ citation needed ]
Sarkies co-wrote the Scarfies script with his younger brother, playwright and performer Duncan, and producer Lisa Chatfield. Winner of seven awards including Best Picture and Best Director at the NZ Film Awards,[ citation needed ] and a local hit, the film is part comedy, part thriller, and partly a celebration of being a university student in Dunedin. Scarfies was later released on video in the United States under the title Crime 101.[ citation needed ]
Sarkies followed Scarfies in 2006 with the drama film Out of the Blue , produced by New Zealand producer Tim White. [2] The film was based on the 1990 Aramoana Massacre, in which a gunman killed thirteen people in a seaside town close to Dunedin. The film emphasizes realism over melodrama, partly through handheld camerawork and a naturalistic acting style. Some of those living in Aramoana expressed opposition to the film being made; others who lost people in the tragedy agreed to do interviews with scriptwriters Sarkies and Graeme Tetley. [3] In New Zealand, Out of the Blue became the tenth most successful local film yet released theatrically (not accounting for inflation). It also won six Qantas Film and Television Awards in September 2008, including "Best Picture - budget over $1 million". [4] [5]
Sarkies' third feature was 2012 black comedy Two Little Boys , starring Bret McKenzie and Australian actor and comedian Hamish Blake. The film is based on a book by Duncan Sarkies, about two sometime friends trying to hide the body of a tourist whom one of them has accidentally killed.[ citation needed ]
In 2010, dystopian TV series This Is Not My Life debuted on New Zealand television.[ citation needed ] The series centres around a man (played by Charles Mesure) who wakes up with no knowledge of the woman he appears to be married to, his children or job. Directed by Sarkies and Peter Salmon, it won a 2011 New Zealand television award for best drama series.[ citation needed ]
Sarkies first telemovie, Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story, which he also co-wrote, was again produced by Tim White. The award-winning film, which went to air in 2014, [2] [6] is based on the true story of Louise Nicholas, who was raped by a group of police officers as a teenager and took them to court as an adult, securing convictions. [7]
In 2016 Sarkies directed another TV movie, Jean, and as of January 2025 [update] his film Pike River is in production.[ citation needed ]
Before making Out of the Blue, the Sarkies brothers collaborated on the script for a proposed fantasy film called The Magnificent Magic Fingers. The budget for Magic Fingers was estimated to be at least NZ$20 million.[ when? ][ citation needed ]
| Year | Title | Distribution | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Scarfies | Becker Entertainment | |
| 2006 | Out of the Blue | Condor Films, Dendy Films | |
| 2012 | Two Little Boys | eOne (formerly Hopscotch) | |
| 2014 | Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story | TV movie [6] | |
| 2016 | Jean | TV Movie | |
| TBA | Pike River | Madman Entertainment |
The Clyde Dam, New Zealand's second-largest hydroelectric dam, is built on the Clutha River / Mata-Au near the town of Clyde. It is owned and operated by Contact Energy.
Hone Papita Raukura "Ralph" Hotere was a New Zealand artist. He was born in Mitimiti, Northland and is widely regarded as one of New Zealand's most important artists. In 1994 he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Otago and in 2003 received an Icon Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand.
The Aramoana massacre was a mass shooting that occurred on 13 November 1990 in the small seaside township of Aramoana, northeast of Dunedin, New Zealand. Resident David Gray killed 13 people, including local police Sergeant Stewart Guthrie, one of the first responders to the reports of a shooting, after a verbal dispute between Gray and his next-door neighbour. After a careful house-to-house search the next day, police officers led by the Anti-Terrorist Squad located Gray, and shot and injured him as he came out of a house firing from the hip. He died in an ambulance while being transported to hospital.
Aramoana is a small coastal settlement 27 kilometres (17 mi) north of Dunedin on the South Island of New Zealand. The settlement's permanent population in the 2001 Census was 261. Supplementing this are seasonal visitors from the city who occupy cribs. The name Aramoana is Māori for "pathway of the sea".
Dunedin Airport, officially Dunedin International Airport, also known as Momona Airport, is an international airport in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand, serving Dunedin city and the Otago and Southland regions. Dunedin Airport is one of two international airports in Otago, the other being Queenstown International Airport. It is located adjacent to the village of Momona on the Taieri Plains approximately 22 kilometres south west of Dunedin CBD. It is the fifth busiest airport in New Zealand by passengers.
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Louise Nicholas is a New Zealand campaigner for the rights of women who have been victims of sexual violence. She has made rape allegations against at least nine men, including at least seven police officers. Although none of these allegations have been proven in court, they have resulted in several high-profile trials and an investigation into a possible police cover-up.
thedownlowconcept is a production company and creative collective based in Auckland, New Zealand, specializing in producing comedy for film, radio and television. It was formed in 2002 by Jarrod Holt, Ryan Hutchings and Nigel McCulloch, and have since frequently collaborated with actor and comedian Josh Thomson. They are notable for their quirky, irreverent, and sometimes controversial comedic style.
Out of the Blue is a 2006 New Zealand crime drama film directed by Robert Sarkies and starring Karl Urban. The film premiered at Toronto International Film Festival in Canada and was released in New Zealand on 12 October 2006. The film grossed over $1 million at the New Zealand box-office, taking it into the top ten highest grossing local films.
Kaikorai Valley College is a large co-educational secondary school in Dunedin, New Zealand. Initially starting as Kaikorai Valley High School in 1958, the school combined with Kenmure Intermediate School in 1996 to become Kaikorai Valley College,. It celebrated its 50th jubilee in 2008.
Duncan Sarkies is a New Zealand screenwriter, playwright, novelist, stand-up comic and short story writer.
Martin van Beynen is a New Zealand writer, print journalist, and former columnist for The Press in Christchurch.
Stephen Sinclair is a New Zealand playwright, screenwriter and novelist. He is the co-author of stage comedy Ladies Night. In 2001, the French version won the Molière Award for stage comedy of the year. Other plays include The Bellbird and The Bach, both of which are prescribed texts for Drama Studies in New Zealand secondary schools.
The 2000 Nokia New Zealand Film Awards were held on Saturday 1 July 2000 at the St James Theatre in Wellington, New Zealand. The awards were presented by the New Zealand Academy of Film and Television Arts and sponsored by Nokia New Zealand. This year saw the introduction of the $5000 Nokia New Zealand Film Awards Scholarship.
Paula Boock is a New Zealand writer and editor.
Louise Durant Petherbridge, was a New Zealand actress, director, deviser, producer and lecturer.
Timothy White, usually credited as Tim White, is a New Zealand-born film producer who has produced and executive produced many films in both Australia and New Zealand. He produced his first film in the late 1970s, while still at film school, and later became known in Australia for his collaborations with husband-and-wife filmmakers Nadia Tass and David Parker, beginning with Malcolm in 1986. He went on to produce and executive produce many Australian, New Zealand, and international productions, mostly theatrically-released feature films but also telemovies and TV series. Recent work includes The Furnace (2020) and Gracie Otto's the musical comedy Seriously Red (2022).
