A fourteen-year-old boy, whose Mum plans on selling his deceased Dad’s Datsun, decides to take his best friend and little brother on one last joyride.
Year of production 2021 Length 15min Country New Zealand Shooting Format 24FPS ALEXA Aspect Ratio 16:9 Dialogue English Director Mark Albiston Producers Sharlene George, Gal Greenspan, Andrew Mauger Production Sweetshop & Green Writer Mark Albiston, J. Patrick McElroy Cinematographer Marty Williams Editor Luke Haigh, Mark Albiston Sound Design Nick Buckton Production Design Joseph Leary Music Arli Liberman Cast Mickey Reddish, Billy R. McCarthy, Tate Harrow, Ashley Harnett, Marion Prebble, Eryn Wilson Sales Premium Films
Festival selections New Zealand International Film Festival 2021 - World Premiere, Audience Award Berlinale, Berlin International Film Festival 2022 Germany - International Premiere SXSW - South by Southwest Film Festival 2022, USA Mo&Friese Junges Kurzfilm Festival Hamburg 2022, Germany International Film Festival Kino Otok - Isola Cinema, Slovenia Figari Film Fest 2022, Italy ShorTS - International Film Festival 2022, Italy Curtas Vila do Conde - International Film Festival 2022, Portugal Guanajuato International Film Festival 2022, Mexico - Best International Short Film Fiction Award Adriatic Film Festival 2022, Italy Motovun Film Festival 2022, Croatia DokuFest, International Documentary and Short Film Festival 2022, Kosovo ANONIMUL - International Independent Film Festival 2022, Romania São Paulo International Short Film Festival 2022, Brazil - Audience Favourite Kinemastik International Short Film Festival 2022, Malta Open-Air Filmfest Weiterstadt 2022, Germany Vicoli Corti 2022, Italy - Best Director Award HollyShorts Film Festival 2022, USA Concorto Film Festival 2022, Italy TIFF ODA - Tetova International Film Festival 2022, Republic of North Macedonia Elba Film Festival 2022, Italy Visioni Corte Film Festival 2022, Italy - Best Film Award (Kiddos Section) Show Me Shorts Film Festival 2022, New Zealand - Best Cinematographer Award, Best New Zealand Film Award Festival du nouveau cinéma de Montreal 2022, Canada Tallgrass Film Festival 2022, USA Reykjavik International Film Festival 2022, Iceland Filmoramax 2022, France Cinemagic Film Festival 2022, Northern Ireland - Best Short Film Award, Young Adult Jury Short Days 2022, Italy - Best Short Film Award Bolton International Film Festival 2022, UK BRNO16, International Short Film Festival 2022 - Czech Republic SESIFF - Seoul Yeongdeungpo International Extreme-Short Image & Film Festival 2022, South Korea FestiFreak - La Plata International Independent Film Festival 2022, Argentina Seminci - Semana Internacional de Cine de Valladolid 2022, Spain Lobo Fest - Festival Internacional de Filmes 2022, Brazil Film Front - International Short Film 2022, Serbia 24fps International Short Film Festival 2022, USA - Silver Medal, Best Production Design Award Cinema South Festival 2022, Israel Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur 2022, Switzerland - Best Film Award, Sparks Competition KUKI - Young Short Film Festival Berlin 2022, Germany INTERFILM - International Short Film Festival Berlin 2022, Germany IKUSKA, Pasaia Bay International Short Film Festival 2022, Spain - Best Director Award Magma – Mostra di cinema breve 2022, Italy Lublin Film Festival 2022, Poland - Best Short Film Award, Focus: Emotions 20minmax International Short Film Festival Ingolstadt 2022, Germany - Best Short Film Award Festival Internacional de Cine de Almería 2022, Spain Castellinaria Film Festival 2022, Switzerland - "Oltre le sbarre" Award Festival Internacional de Cine de Rengo 2022, Chile Planos Film Festival 2022, Portugal - Special Mention for Mickey Reddish Beirut Shorts International Film Festival 2022, Lebanon Festival International Séquence Court-Métrage 2022, France Zubroffka Short Film Festival 2022, Poland - Best Short Film Award, WHOLE WIDE WORLD International Competition Ningbo Short Film Festival 2022, China Flickerfest International Short Film Festival 2023, Australia Sanfici - Santander Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente 2023, Colombia Landshut Short Film Festival 2023, Germany Filmfest Dresden 2023, Germany Lisboeta International Short Film Festival 2023, Portugal - Best Child Actor Award for Tate Harrow, Audience Award for the Best Film Close-Up International Film Festival 2023, Canada Fastnet Film Festival 2023, Ireland IFSAK Short Film Festival 2023, Turkey FILMAY Short Film Festival Kumanovo 2023, North Macedonia - Best Director Award Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2023, Japan Website Mark Albiston Sweetshop & Green
Director's Statement This film will be a rollicking ride full of near misses, elation, bravery, fear, devastation and empowerment.
I identify with this film because I have teenage boys who are going through the same rite of passage - I can see them hitting the same speed bumps and kinks in the road that I faced not that long ago…ok maybe a wee while ago. In their world they are trail blazers as we once were, parents don’t understand and are not as important as your closest friends.
My 13 year old son Oli told me in the car last year, that this year everything was going to change, he’s seen his brother Jude go through his first year of college get mixed up in a world that he nearly didn’t come out of, drugs alcohol and kids, some with a death wish all leading each other to the edge…
When I watch my own kids go through the teenage gauntlet, I remember my own time of change…I think films like this ring true to many of us - that is why this film is a universal story and one that will resonate with a broad audience.
This film is about young teenagers 13/14- year olds trying to find their way in the world on the cusp of becoming adults, but they are still very much kids. Every day I spend with my kids reminds me of moments that I had at the same age - its brought it all back. This film explores the pressures of becoming a man and meeting expectations. We chose to explore the idea in a house where his father disappears from the young teens life.
