Steve Newall: Flicks.co.nz editor with his picks for the New Zealand DocEdge festival

The DocEdge festival is set to capture the attention of film fans across New Zealand over the coming months.

In the 19th iteration of the event, audiences throughout the nation can check out the latest offerings in select theatres or online via the Virtual Cinema.

Flicks.co.nz editor Steve Newall shares his recommendations. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talk ZEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
Time Now and I'm joined by Steve Newill, editor at
flicks dot co dot m Z. And Hey, look, as
I just mentioned the Dockage Film Festival, it's going to
kick off on the nineteenth, Am I right, Yes, that's
what I said July, which is really exciting. Juane.

Speaker 3 (00:28):
Sorry, we're in June, almost.

Speaker 2 (00:32):
Nineteenth of June this coming week. And look, we took
a look at one film, but there's just I mean,
there really is something for everybody. There's forty three documentaries.
There's a whole lot of shorts in here, lots of
different subject.

Speaker 3 (00:43):
Matter, absolutely, and you know, it's such a in one sense,
it's kind of a narrow definition of a film festival
having documentaries, but of course that genre just spans all
sorts of different stuff. It's in christ Church, Orklon and
Wellington from the nineteenth and then the titles are also
available to watch online nationwide from July fifteen to thirty one,
so if you're not in one of the main centers,

(01:05):
sort at the chance to see the stuff. I just
thought i'd spotlight a couple of these today. Something I
haven't seen yet but I'm really really keen to at
its world premiere is Sharco. This is Rugby League by
a biography of one of the hardest men to ever
play the game. Mark Graham, probably one of the first
sort of high profile New Zealanders to play rugby league

(01:26):
in Australia. Feared by his opponents, really brutal player, but
as his son will recount in this film, he's as
tough and brutal off the field as he was on it.
So looking at his dad's career and sort of what
it takes and what the cost of being that kind

(01:46):
of athlete is to him personally and to his family
really quite interesting.

Speaker 2 (01:51):
Yeah, I really enjoyed this documentary. I've taken a look
at it, and Mark actually is a bit of a
gentle giant. He doesn't really want to talk about himself.
And the great thing is that every other big league
name comes on board and tells some fantastic story. If
you love league, the footage is fantastic. Although I was
saying to Jack Tame yesterday, you know you see a

(02:12):
little headknock now and you go, oh that look terrible.
It was nothing compared to what happened on a league
field in the eighties. These men are bloodied and bruised
and beaten, and.

Speaker 3 (02:23):
It's just the coat. Hager is like, he blows the
mind get.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
Ordren watching it. But as you say, also a really
beautiful story about sons trying to make their fathers proud
of them. So it appeals to a broader audience in
just a sports or a league.

Speaker 3 (02:40):
Absolutely now maybe with a bit more of a niche audience.
This next one and definitely a lot less masculine, is
The Teachers of Peaches, which I don't know if you're
not familiar with the genre electroclash. So back in the
early two thousands it was kind of a renewed sort
of dance movement. Very vocal led. Peatures was a performer

(03:04):
who probably would feature on any G or PG rated
TV shows, very sexually provocative. The outfit was a pair
of very ill fitting pink hotpants and song titles which
we can't say on the radio, including word redacted, the
pain away lover word redacted that gives you the kind

(03:28):
of just I think this album, The Teachers of Peaches,
came out in two thousand. I was born out of
the Berlin club scene. Although Peatures of South Is from
Canada really took the world by storm, there wasn't such
a kind of sex positive performer then, and this documentary
goes back and looks at the archival footage some of
the interview stuff from the time, realize how much culture

(03:49):
has changed in those twenty years, particularly the sexuality of
female performers. But it's also framed around peachures getting the
twentieth anniversary tour of this album together. I saw the
show two years ago at the Power Station and it
was remarkable at costuming, songs, performance taken quite almost a
one note idea that sexual empowerment for women through really

(04:12):
party party drench pop music and building a much more
creative space out of it. So it's a really great documentary. Yeah,
feminist music and pop performance hasn't seen anything like Peaches.
It's great to celebrate her. Look.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
I'm sure over the next couple of weeks you might
be able to fill us in on a few more goodies,
but if you would like to have a look at
the program here too, Doc edge dot Z. Thank you
so much, Steve.

Speaker 1 (04:35):
We'll catch up with you next week for more from
the Sunday Session with Francesca Rudken. Listen live to news
talks it'd be from nine am Sunday, or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio