Head South

Directed by Jonathan Ogilvie
New Zealand
2024
99 mins

Synopsis

Set in the upstart postpunk scene of late ‘70s Christchurch – director Jonathan Ogilvie's hometown – this bittersweet semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale features a killer soundtrack and opened Rotterdam 2024.

Ed Oxenbould (The Visit) is wonderfully vulnerable as Angus, a middle-class schoolboy desperate to be one of the cool kids on the local music scene in thrall to the sounds of London bands like PiL and Siouxsie and the Banshees. Cutting off his long hair, finagling a bass, and scoring a gig before he even learns to play, Angus stumbles into a thrilling new world with sweet charm and mortifying awkwardness. Márton Csókás (Cuckoo, also screening at the Festival) is stellar as Angus's embittered but understanding dad who is suddenly too bourgeois and establishment for his newly class-conscious son. Filled with warmth and nostalgic detail, Ogilvie has crafted an achingly emotional tribute to an epochal moment in music.

Limited seats are available for patrons requiring access for wheelchairs, low vision and hearing loop. Please contact our ticketing team directly on 1300 733 733 or tickets@sff.org.au to complete your booking.

A nostalgiafest romance from the 70s post-punk era about a kid in New Zealand mooching around in his uncool school uniform, hanging out in the local record shop (which still has its prog-era name of Middle Earth Records) and dreaming of starting a punk band called the Daleks u2013 though wondering if just Daleks sounds cooler u2013 and obsessing about an unattainably sexy girl who sneers at him
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Tickets

Thu 6 June 2024, 10:20am
Event Cinemas George Street - Cinema 9
Assisted ListeningWheelchairSubtitled
Sun 9 June 2024, 6am
Dendy Newtown - Cinema 1
Assisted ListeningWheelchairSubtitledClose Captioned
  • Year
    2024
  • Country
    New Zealand
  • Language
    In English
  • Director
    Jonathan Ogilvie
  • Producer
    Jonathan Ogilvie, Antje Kulpe
  • Cast
    Ed Oxenbould, Márton Csókás, Stella Bennett
  • Screenwriter
    Jonathan Ogilvie
  • Cinematographer
    John Crisstoffels
  • Editor
    Julie-Anne De Ruvo
  • Genre
    Comedies, Music
  • Premiere
    Australian Premiere
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Sydney Film festival acknowledges Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF is based.

We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.

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