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Trailer Unveiled For Aotearoa Music Documentary ‘Life In One Chord'

Trailer Unveiled For Aotearoa Music Documentary ‘Life In One Chord'

Scoop6 days ago
Press Release – 818.
Audiences in Aotearoa are invited to experience Life in One Chord, the highly anticipated documentary which puts the spotlight on indie music icon Shayne Carter (Straitjacket Fits, Dimmer), directed by Margaret Gordon (Into The Void). The film's official trailer debuts today, ahead of its World Premiere at Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival in Ōtepoti Dunedin on August 16 at the Regent Theatre.
Screenings then continue across the country as part of NZIFF with sessions already sold out in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The film has its theatrical release with a limited run from Father's Day weekend, September 4.
Life in One Chord charts Carter's odyssey from suburban Dunedin to international recognition as a punk pioneer, interweaving personal stories, archival footage, and reflections on the enduring Dunedin Sound. What emerges is an irreverent, heartfelt portrait of an artist who shaped New Zealand music and culture.
After watching the film in full recently, Shayne says; ' It was intense watching your life and your people flash before your eyes like that, but it was straight up and in a lot of places just made me laugh. So that's good.'
Director Margaret Gordon – who is no stranger to making film on Aotearoa music history – describes the film as a likeness to Shayne's music style;
'The film, like the music, often has a DIY flavour, and I think this lends it authenticity as well as a sense of whimsy and fun,' says director Margaret Gordon.
Bringing her distinctive voice to the documentary, the film is narrated by esteemed veteran broadcaster Carol Hirschfeld, the documentary features interviews and scenes from throughout Carter's formative years—including early gigs, community archives courtesy of Flying Nun Records, and a candid selfassessment of his legacy in rock history.
Distributed by Madman in New Zealand and Australia, produced by Rick Harvie (Maurice & I) with original music by Jackson Harry, Life in One Chord is a labour of passion — made over seven years from dedicated creatives and with support from the New Zealand Film Commission.
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Aloud and in full colour
Aloud and in full colour

Otago Daily Times

time4 days ago

  • Otago Daily Times

Aloud and in full colour

It might sound like Carol Hirschfeld but it's Shayne Carter's story, film-maker Margaret Gordon tells Tom McKinlay. In the opening frames of a new documentary, Shayne Carter walks along the Aramoana mole as if it were a runway. He's coming in to land, returning to Ōtepoti, back from the world. There he immediately meets the rough acclaim of the mole's resident seagulls - and curses right back. But it's an uneven contest, even for as practised a crowd wrangler as the Dunedin musician. No problem though, because the film jumps straight to Carter unleashed, wringing rawk high in feedback's most seaside registers from his leftie six string. Take that, you gulls. It's emblematic. As Life in One Chord chronicles, Carter seems to have had an answer always, to circumstance, to distance, to tragedy, to success. Life in One Chord is the work of journalist and documentary-maker Margaret Gordon - formerly of Christchurch, now of Melbourne - its title taken from the first vinyl release of Carter's very nearly all-conquering band Straitjacket Fits, a squalling '80s four-track EP that carried the propulsive She Speeds. This past week Gordon was applying the final touches to her film - crucially, making sure the sound mix does the material justice - ahead of its New Zealand International Film Festival release. The film's a musical biography, tracing Carter's trajectory from the hard-knock playgrounds of 1970s Brockville to the world stage and back again. It charts a course of approximate parallel to Carter's Ockham-winning memoir Dead People I Have Known, but welcomes in the perspectives of others involved in the various milieu that set him on his way or who travelled with him. And indeed, the book was part of her motivation for the film, Gordon says. "It really spoke to me, and I was like, it really needs to be painted in with all the bright colours, so when he talks about the bands or the people or the places that you can hear it and you can see it." So, alongside weaving in essential servings of Carter's rich songwriting catalogue - including some rare live footage - the film makes room for voices from his early life, home and school, and an extended cast of Dunedin Sound musicians. "The key people there would be John Collie, the drummer from Straitjacket Fits ... and also Natasha, Shayne's sister, which is important, because, you know, Shayne talks a lot about family," Gordon says. The film-maker's rule was that the people included had to be directly related to the story. The film follows Gordon's well received 2014 documentary Into the Void as another entry in the musical history of Te Waipounamu - the earlier documentary focused on the Christchurch band of the title. Music, bands, people interest her. "I think being in a band, it's a really ephemeral thing, isn't it?" she muses. "Like, it's very hard to exactly pinpoint what it is that makes it so special, but there is a certain kind of magic there that happens within that group of people and it's really the transmission of that through to the audience ... just that spark, in that moment, when that happens, where this group of people is doing something and this other group of people is there and they witness it and they feel it and they get engaged." So, not a straightforward phenomenon to distill, to capture, away from a gig's pulsing cacophony, but in her film, Gordon has a great ally. "Shayne's such a good talker," she says. "That was one of the things that I was really drawn to about him in terms of a documentary subject, you know, he has really great reflections on everything, really, and he has a lot of really great things to say, so that's really important. "He's a performer, too, and so that's really good. Like, it's not necessary, but it helps when you're making a documentary to be working with someone who's not afraid of a camera, someone who's OK to gather themselves together and put on a little bit of a show, which is most certainly what he did." Carter's on foot, in his own footsteps, through much of the film, from the mole to Brockville Rd, from his old high school to tracking down Straitjacket Fits' original broom cupboard George St practice room. It's a story of making your own fun. And Carter's created a lot of it. Still is in new and reinventing ways - he's now composing for the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Gordon wasn't familiar with all of it when she started into the doco. She'd joined the Carter fandom from about the Straitjacket Fits, following it on to Dimmer, but was learning about his earlier output with Bored Games and Double Happys. The formative story of the former plays out at what was Kaikorai Valley High School, Carter trooping back despite some misgivings. But as Gordon tells it, his reception there also pushes out the margins of the story to include a community's pride in the boy who did good. "You know, he said before we went back, he was like, 'oh, I didn't really like high school that much. I don't know how this is going to go'. "We came in and then before we'd even got into the office, you know, the deputy principal, John Downes, came out ... and then a couple of other people came out and everybody came out welcoming Shayne - really loved to see him back there." That sort of slightly revisionist remembering - back in the day the school's then principal stormed out of Bored Games' abrasive punk-inspired school hall performances - is joined in conspiracy by a Dunedin caught at its blue sky best. There's no sense here of the cold, suffocating grey that those Dunedin bands of the 1980s were trying to mitigate. Gordon admits to being a little bit disappointed Dunedin didn't deliver on its meteorological reputation. "I was like, 'oh, OK, this is making it look really good. Is this true? Are we really telling a true story here with all the sunshine?'." There is, though, plenty of shade in the story. Grim reality foreshadowed in the title of Carter's memoir. Gordon had some difficult material to cover, requiring sensitive handling. A striking element in the film is the tight knit nature of the community involved in Carter's shared story. Among the most prominent players is his Double Happys partner in crime, Wayne Elsey - another preternaturally talented friend from school, who was there for the pre-teen hijinks that became teenage kicks and rock and roll. The Carter-Elsey chemistry meant the Double Happys seemed destined for the sort of success Straitjacket Fits later achieved, but Elsey died in a touring accident. Gordon says they thought long and hard about how to handle that tragedy, integrate it into the story arc. "Because his passing was so tragic, it's still felt very strongly, it's still very raw within that Dunedin community. So, whatever we did, we had to be really careful about it and respectful." She knew Carter was not going to talk about it in an interview so that responsibility was picked up by Collie - drummer in both Double Happys and Straitjacket Fits - who grew up a stone's throw from Elsey's childhood home. And if anything more was needed from Carter, he'd addressed that responsibility already in his song Randolph's Going Home, a rawly heartfelt remembering that is afforded generous space in the film. For all Carter's showman inclinations, Gordon says she knew he was not going to be offering unlimited access to his inner workings. "He has a lot of self-protection, and I think that, you know, I always knew that he wasn't going to do a big interview where he would reveal all. "That's really not what he's like, and I did know that going in." That contributed to her decision to use passages from Dead People I Have Known in the film. "It's all there. All of that stuff is very, very real and very raw in Shayne's own words." However, in a genius twist, those words are read into the documentary by Carol Hirschfeld, the broadcaster's honeyed tones mixing equal measures of her straight-faced professionalism with the double-take comedy of delivering the punk rocker protagonist's own words in the first person. There's more pathos to come, beyond Elsey's passing, as of the original four members of Straitjacket Fits there's only two still standing, Carter and Collie. Bassist David Wood died in 2010, followed 10 years later by the band's other songwriter, Andrew Brough. Brough left the band abruptly in the early '90s just as they were about to go stratospheric and, while he found further critical success with his band Bike, had largely retreated from the world by the time he died. As a result, Gordon's interview with him is particularly affecting, as the bitterness previously reported about his departure from the band appeared to have receded. "It was interesting, because he was a lot warmer about his time in the band and a lot more circumspect about the band's demise than I thought he would be," Gordon says. "I feel like he'd come to a point where he still had a bit of grievance, but overall he was pretty much, you know, had accepted that it was what it was. "I wouldn't want to say that he'd moved on, but he wasn't fretting about it any more, that's for sure." As the documentary does at various other points, Brough's story acknowledges the well-observed tensions at the heart of the music industry and the price to be paid. "The music industry is always a strange one because it's got this unhappy marriage between creativity and money," Gordon says. "And those two things just don't really work well together." A lot of Dunedin bands would have been through the same grinder, she says, having been identified by the industry as bankable propositions. "And then, you know, all of that kind of influence starts creeping in and things become very difficult. And I actually think that's an underlying theme of the film." Adversity, character and resilience are foregrounded again in a chapter on Carter's role in supporting Dunedin Sound progenitor Chris Knox, following his debilitating stroke, in which the Enemy and Toy Love frontman delivers his own lesson in gritty defiance. Knox's determination seems to hold up another mirror to Carter's doggedness. Gordon confirms that was the story she found, but it was also the story she chose to tell. "You could have made a documentary and not talked about that, but for me one of the big things about Shayne that's really important and that is potentially unusual is that he really is resilient and that he just keeps getting back up and getting back to work again. And even though he's had to deal with some of the most difficult things that you could possibly imagine, including, being in a band and touring the world and then coming back to Dunedin - I mean, that's going to be tough. "It'd be tough for anyone. Especially because, you know, I don't think New Zealand is very good at having much empathy for people in that situation." The standard antipodean advice to such vicissitudes, absent of much empathy, would be to "get over it". Yep, true, Gordon says. "But, you know, that's exactly actually what he does. And so, yes, that theme of resilience, it really was something that we wanted to tell because I think it's very central to Shayne's story. "He's a resilient guy and amongst all of this difficulty and tragedy, he just continues on. He's an artist. He stays on the path." While Gordon's film will initially screen at the New Zealand International Film Festival, and perhaps beyond that in a conventional cinema format, she has other plans for it. "We're going to regroup and create, like, a different version of the film that has more music in it and that will have live incidental music and that will tour more like a band." Music documentaries aren't always huge box office draws at the cinema, she says, and, in a lot of ways, Life in One Chord is quite niche. It is, to a significant extent, one for New Zealand about New Zealanders. "So, we always wanted to have another plan so the film could have a second life where it could travel to, like, music festivals and arts festivals and things like that." It would be a longer show, incorporating live music. It would be doing things differently, appropriately enough. "One of the things about Shayne, he was, is and remains a punk and likes to do things his own way," Gordon says in summary. "And that was the way we did the film - 'this is how it is and we're going to do it the way that we want to do it, we are going to do it ourselves, we're going to do it our own way'. And that's how it ended up." Life in One Chord screens as part of the NZ International Film Festival at the Regent Theatre, Dunedin on August 16 and 19.

Trailer Unveiled For Aotearoa Music Documentary ‘Life In One Chord'
Trailer Unveiled For Aotearoa Music Documentary ‘Life In One Chord'

Scoop

time6 days ago

  • Scoop

Trailer Unveiled For Aotearoa Music Documentary ‘Life In One Chord'

Press Release – 818. Audiences in Aotearoa are invited to experience Life in One Chord, the highly anticipated documentary which puts the spotlight on indie music icon Shayne Carter (Straitjacket Fits, Dimmer), directed by Margaret Gordon (Into The Void). The film's official trailer debuts today, ahead of its World Premiere at Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival in Ōtepoti Dunedin on August 16 at the Regent Theatre. Screenings then continue across the country as part of NZIFF with sessions already sold out in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The film has its theatrical release with a limited run from Father's Day weekend, September 4. Life in One Chord charts Carter's odyssey from suburban Dunedin to international recognition as a punk pioneer, interweaving personal stories, archival footage, and reflections on the enduring Dunedin Sound. What emerges is an irreverent, heartfelt portrait of an artist who shaped New Zealand music and culture. After watching the film in full recently, Shayne says; ' It was intense watching your life and your people flash before your eyes like that, but it was straight up and in a lot of places just made me laugh. So that's good.' Director Margaret Gordon – who is no stranger to making film on Aotearoa music history – describes the film as a likeness to Shayne's music style; 'The film, like the music, often has a DIY flavour, and I think this lends it authenticity as well as a sense of whimsy and fun,' says director Margaret Gordon. Bringing her distinctive voice to the documentary, the film is narrated by esteemed veteran broadcaster Carol Hirschfeld, the documentary features interviews and scenes from throughout Carter's formative years—including early gigs, community archives courtesy of Flying Nun Records, and a candid selfassessment of his legacy in rock history. Distributed by Madman in New Zealand and Australia, produced by Rick Harvie (Maurice & I) with original music by Jackson Harry, Life in One Chord is a labour of passion — made over seven years from dedicated creatives and with support from the New Zealand Film Commission.

What To See At The Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival
What To See At The Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival

NZ Herald

time27-07-2025

  • NZ Herald

What To See At The Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival

The Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival returns from this August, bringing international and local stories to the screen. It's a magical time of year when The Civic opens its door to moviegoers for the Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival, which begins in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland on July 31. That grand corner theatre will celebrate opening night with a screening of Palme d'Or winner It Was Just An Accident. This film, directed by Jafar Panahi, is a revenge thriller that contemplates the rewards of such a quest. Another centrepiece of the festival is the much-anticipated documentary Prime Minister, which catalogues the six years Jacinda Ardern spent in office (from the perspective of those closest to her). On Auckland's closing night, there's another genre shift: Sentimental Value directed by Joachim Trier – a comedy-drama with acclaimed performances from a sparkling cast (think Renate Reinsve, Elle Fanning and Stellan Skarsgård). The 2025 programme goes far beyond features too – you'll find lots to love among the short films and director discussions slated for the schedule. After its Auckland schedule, the festival heads to centres around New Zealand, from Kirikiriroa Hamilton to Ōtepoti Dunedin. From local stories that wander Auckland's inner city streets to impactful international films, these are a few of the films to add to your watchlist now. The Weed Eaters In this absurd local horror-comedy, a mellow New Year's holiday in the rolling plains of North Canterbury devolves into a nightmarish trip. The celebration, marked with the sharing of a joint, is suddenly troubled with accidental killing, cannibalistic munchies and high-stakes friendship fallouts. Callum Devlin (of indie-rock band Hans Pucket) and Annabel Kean comprise the film-making duo Sports Team who have brought this feature to life, collaborating with a constellation of other stars from our creative scenes. You'll spot singer-songwriter Delaney Davidson, The Bats' Paul Kean and comedian David Correos among the tight cast. Will likely give new meaning to the phrase 'nightmare blunt rotation'. Cactus Pears A wistful romance shot in inland Maharashtra, India, explores a budding romance between two childhood friends. Dealing with the grief of losing his father, Anand travels from Mumbai to the countryside, where he reunites with Balya, who has become a farmer. Both are facing pressure as unmarried men in their 30s. Their history of affection unravels as they spend time together in the natural surroundings and they begin to imagine what a future together could look like. Director Rohan Parashuram Kanawade has been congratulated for his tender and precise debut: Cactus Pears won the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Workmates Performance fans who frequent the inner-city streets of Tāmaki Makaurau for gigs, shows and pageantry will find affectionate representations of its greatest creative venues in this sweet rom-com. Largely shot in the Basement Theatre, the film follows two theatre managers working tirelessly to keep the lights on while managing the tensions developing in their outlooks on the creative arts. Luminaries of our local scene make up a delightful cast too, including Chris Parker, Zoë Robins, Matt Whelan and Arlo Green. The film is written by Sophie Henderson (who also plays the lead) and directed by Curtis Vowell – the duo previously worked on the Rose Matafeo comedy Baby Done. Workmates promises to deliver the same amount of heart. This souring and silly satire amplifies and degrades the shock humour (and ethics) of new-generation media companies by dropping an insensitive video crew in rural Argentina. The incompetent creators fumble their hot lead and instead search the surrounding town for other content that might fulfil their click-hungry quotas. Chloë Sevigny plays an increasingly disillusioned host, while Alex Wolff assumes the role of producer. It's said to be a colourful and messy exploration of exploitative productions, from Argentine-Spanish director Amalia Ulman. Magellan Director Lav Diaz tackles the myth of the great explorer in this epic historical drama (it's two and a half hours long), which follows the journey of Portuguese coloniser Ferdinand Magellan and his exploits in Southeast Asia. Filipino auteur Lav Diaz has been making feature films for more than 25 years, and this chronicle will likely showcase the best of his long-honed lens. It should make a compelling watch when considered alongside the history of Aotearoa New Zealand. Put Your Soul On Your Hand & Walk This documentary sees director Sepideh Farsi piece together news footage, photographs and video call interviews with Palestinian 25-year-old photojournalist Fatma 'Fatem' Hassona, to capture life on the ground in Gaza under Israeli military attack. In the production of the film, Sepideh travelled to Cairo to meet Palestinian refugees, where someone suggested she connect with Fatma. The two women connected on a daily basis and these video calls are the throughline of Put Your Hand On Your Soul And Walk. Sepideh has expressed that this film became 'my personal way not to lose my sanity.' In April, an Israeli airstrike killed Fatma along with ten other members of her family. Sepideh says this has 'forever changed its meaning.' The Whānau Mārama: New Zealand International Film Festival opens in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland on July 31, before touring the motu until September 10. More on film Zendaya's method dressing to a costume designer in local cinema. From 'Dune' To 'Challengers': Zendaya Says Goodbye To Sandworms, Hello To Skorts. Zendaya is known for thematic dressing to promote her movies. After her Dune desert epic comes a tennis love triangle, Challengers. The Costume Designer Behind Netflix's Bingeable Love Story 'One Day' On The Power Of 90s Style. Designer Emma Rees shares the nostalgic fashion trends she revived for the Netflix romcom One Day, from scrunchies to Levi's 501s. Kate Sylvester Reviews The Fashion Of 'Feud: Capote Vs. The Swans'. 'Hats, gloves, and effete homosexuals' is the name of one episode in Feud: Capote vs. the Swans. Fashion designer Kate Sylvester unpacks them all. 'Killers Of The Flower Moon' & Martin Scorsese's Bride Like No Other. Martin Scorsese's epic drama about killings in Osage territory in the 1920s showcases the unparalleled wedding wear and culture of the tribe. . Bookworm has charmed audiences with its sweet and mythical father-daughter tale.

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