Stephen Papps
2021
The Piano
Jane Campion
Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel
After a long voyage from Scotland, pianist Ada McGrath and her young daughter, Flora, are left with all their belongings, including a piano, on a New Zealand beach. Ada, who has been mute since childhood, has been sold into marriage to a local man named Alisdair Stewart. Making little attempt to warm up to Alisdair, Ada soon becomes intrigued by his Maori-friendly acquaintance, George Baines, leading to tense, life-altering conflicts.
The Piano
Russian Snark
Stephen Sinclair
Stephen Papps, Elena Stejko
Misha (Stephen Papps), a once celebrated filmmaker who has fallen on hard times, resolves to leave his homeland in search of a film-friendly country where he can pursue his career. With his wife Nadia (Elena Stejko) in tow he sets sail from Russia in a tiny lifeboat, drifting cross the Pacific to finally arrive in New Zealand. Before long Misha realises that New Zealand is no more receptive to his ideas and aesthetic than Russia. Yet he perseveres with his experimental film, ignoring his wife’s pleas to find work. Misha increasingly withdraws into himself, and his relationship with Nadia collapses. Alone, his obsessions take hold and he steadily descends into madness. Only a chance encounter with a young Polynesian woman saves him from the ultimate act of self-destruction. His friendship with Roseanna (Stephanie Tauevihi) inspires a re-awakening, as he begins to reconnect with the world around him.
Russian Snark
Possum
Brad McGann
Martin Taylor, Stephen Papps
In a backwoods cabin, a boy called Little Man lives with his dad (a trapper), his older sister Missy, and his younger sister Kid, who is feral, spends most of her time under the table, and can imitate the sound of any animal. Their mother is dead. One day, while dad's in town selling skins, Missy teases Kid and gets bitten. There's Hell to pay when dad gets home, and Kid runs off into the night to spend it with her animal friends. Little Man, who narrates much of the story as well as his reflections in a whisper, must sort out loss and emptiness.
Possum
The End of the Golden Weather
Ian Mune
Stephen Fulford, Stephen Papps
Family drama set in New Zealand about Geoff Crome, a young boy (Fulford) who immerses himself in his own private fantasy world where he meets Firpo (Papps), a strange being who dreams of being an Olympic athlete. Together, the two begin a close friendship as Geoff attempts to help Firpo realise his dream. However, it is not long until the adult world begins to impinge on his fantasy.
The End of the Golden Weather
Bonjour Timothy
Wayne Tourell
Dean O'Gorman, Sabine Karsenti
Timothy and his family is expecting a French-Canadian male exchange student, that turns out to be an attractive girl, to which Timothy proceeds to make a fool of himself, trying to impress. When Michelle becomes ill from drinking spiked punch at a party, Timothy notices a tattoo while helping her to bed. He foolishly tells a friend about the tattoo, who proceeds to tell the whole school, which does not go down well with Michelle.
Bonjour Timothy
One of Them!
Stewart Main
Ciaran Pennington, Cameron J. Watt
One of Them! was one of two dramas (alongside Niki Caro movie Memory and Desire) inspired by short stories collected in Peter Wells' 1991 book Dangerous Desires. It was made for TV One as a Montana Sunday drama. Set in Auckland, 1965, One of Them! follows Lemmy and Jamie, two teenage boys coming to terms with their sexuality. In the dark days before gay liberation, bullying and intimidation was rife, and while the boys flaunt their sissyness, their internalized homophobia wreaks havoc on their emotional lives — until they can admit to being "one of them".
One of Them!
Eruption
Danny Mulheron
Ben Barrington, Jade Daniels
Clive de Roo scientist discovers a new source of seismic activity beneath the Gulf of Waitemata. Provides that a new volcanic eruption could occur within the next few days. But it's hard to convince skeptical colleagues, undertook efforts to minimize the effects of this disaster. When the talks on the radio about the threat, we all think he's a harmless lunatic. An ambitious wife of Clive fears, however, that the discovery of her husband may deter investors, which would win for the company, in which he works.
Eruption
We're Here to Help
Jonothan Cullinane
Эрик Томпсон, Miriama Smith
A Kafkaesque docudrama of an actual case involving a Christchurch small businessman and the New Zealand Inland Revenue Department. Most people can relate to running up against a bureaucrat (especially the tax man), who knows he can cause you trouble if you say something he doesn't like and then proceeds to use his power to hurt you. In this case, the businessman, Dave Henderson refuses to give in and, for the most part, kept his sense of humour.
We're Here to Help
