Archive of films Song of Good / A Song of Good

New Zealand
2007, 84 min

Section: Another View
Year: 2008

A raw drama in which social criticism is injected with a fair dose of black humour. Young Gary is trying to change his life as a junkie from the bottom up. But the barren Auckland suburb, where violence circulates just as impersonally as money and drugs, doesn’t offer much hope of redemption.

Synopsis

A Song of Good is a raw drama in which director Gregory King fully avails himself of elements familiar from his previous work – social criticism mixed with a fair dose of black humour. 28-year-old Gary’s life has long been defined by periodic swings between alcohol binges, ever-larger doses of heroin and more or less coincidental interludes of sweaty sex with nearly comatose partners. The turning point paradoxically only comes when Gary finally hits rock bottom and commits a crime. This prompts him to the decision to become a better man, and to this end, he intends to do a good deed. It’s never easy to change your life – especially if one is surrounded on all sides by a dysfunctional family and a band of homeless cronies. The attempt at redemption, however, looks hopeless from the start in a barren Auckland suburb, where violence circulates just as impersonally as money and drugs...

About the director

Gregory King is a man of many trades – in addition to acting and production work, he also made his living for several years educating juvenile delinquents, among other things. He has been making his own films since 1999. His first three shorts (Pop, ...Teach You A Lesson and Junk) were awarded at international film festivals in Melbourne and Locarno. In 2002 King was declared New Filmmaker of the Year by the Screen Producers and Directors Guild of New Zealand; a year later his low-budget feature film debut Christmas earned him a number of national film prizes. This success brought with it the opportunity for King to complete his film studies in Europe at the Maurits Binger Film Institute in Amsterdam. He is currently living in Berlin.

Contacts

New Zealand Film Commission
, , Wellington
New Zealand
Tel: +64 438 276 80
Fax: +64 438 497 19
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.nzfilm.co.nz

+ 1

About the film

Color, DIGIBETA

Section:	Another View

Director:	Gregory King
Screenplay:	Gregory King
Dir. of Photography:	Virginia Loane
Music:	Dylan Wood
Editor:	Jonathan Venz
Producer:	Mark Foster
Production:	Robber’s Dog Film
Cast:	Gareth Reeves, Ian Mune, Danielle Cormack, Matthew Sunderland
Contact:	New Zealand Film Commission

www:	www.asongofgood.com