Robert Sarkies
Encyclopedia
Robert Sarkies is a New Zealand
film director and scriptwriter.
Sarkies grew up in the South Island city of Dunedin, and his two feature films released to date have been set in Dunedin, or close by. He began making short films as a teenager with fellow filmmaker Simon Perkins
. After winning an international award for his short Dream-makers, Sarkies began work on his most ambitious short to date: the adventure comedy Signing Off (1996), which won four international awards and helped attract funding for Scarfies
(1999), Sarkies' feature film debut.
Sarkies co-wrote the Scarfies script with his younger brother, playwright and performer Duncan Sarkies
. Winner of seven awards including Best Picture and Best Director at the NZ Film Awards, the film is part comedy, part thriller, and partly a celebration of being a university student in Dunedin. Scarfies was later released on video in the United States under the title Crime 101.
Sarkies' second feature is the true-life thriller Out of the Blue
based on the 1990 Aramoana Massacre
, in which a gunman killed thirteen people in a seaside town not far from Dunedin. The film emphasizes realism over melodrama, partly through handheld camerawork and a naturalistic acting style. Some of those living in Aramoana expressed opposition to the film being made; others who lost people in the tragedy agreed to do interviews with scriptwriters Sarkies and Graeme Tetley.
In New Zealand, Out of the Blue went on to become the tenth most successful local film yet released theatrically (not accounting for inflation), and win six Qantas Film and Television Awards in September 2008, including "Best Picture - budget over $1 million". As of October 2008, Out of the Blue's rating on critics' website Rotten Tomatoes was 91 per cent.
Before the making of Out of the Blue, the Sarkies brothers worked together on the script for a fantasy film called The Magnificent Magic Fingers. The budget for Magic Fingers was estimated to be at least NZ$20 million. It is not yet clear whether Magic Fingers will join Peter Jackson
's unmade Blubberhead as one of the great fantasy films that never quite emerged from down under.
In 2010, the TV series This Is Not My Life
, directed by Sarkies, debuted on New Zealand Television.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
film director and scriptwriter.
Sarkies grew up in the South Island city of Dunedin, and his two feature films released to date have been set in Dunedin, or close by. He began making short films as a teenager with fellow filmmaker Simon Perkins
A Little Death: A Modern Day Fairytale
A Little Death is a 16mm short film made by Simon Perkins and Paul Swadel in 1994. The project evolved from an earlier idea called Into The Void, involving a male character walking in on his lover in bed with another...
. After winning an international award for his short Dream-makers, Sarkies began work on his most ambitious short to date: the adventure comedy Signing Off (1996), which won four international awards and helped attract funding for Scarfies
Scarfies
Scarfies is a low-budget 1999 New Zealand film set in the southern university city of Dunedin. The film's original title comes from the local nickname for university students, scarfie, so called because of the traditional blue and gold scarves worn by students during the city's cool winters in...
(1999), Sarkies' feature film debut.
Sarkies co-wrote the Scarfies script with his younger brother, playwright and performer Duncan Sarkies
Duncan Sarkies
Duncan Sarkies is a New Zealand screenwriter, playwright, novelist, stand-up comic and short story writer.Sarkies grew up in the South Island city of Dunedin and is the brother of Robert Sarkies a New Zealand film director who is also a scriptwriter...
. Winner of seven awards including Best Picture and Best Director at the NZ Film Awards, the film is part comedy, part thriller, and partly a celebration of being a university student in Dunedin. Scarfies was later released on video in the United States under the title Crime 101.
Sarkies' second feature is the true-life thriller Out of the Blue
Out of the Blue (2006 film)
Out of the Blue is a 2006 New Zealand film directed by Robert Sarkies and starring Karl Urban. The film premiered at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival in Canada and was released in New Zealand on 12 October 2006 to minor controversy...
based on the 1990 Aramoana Massacre
Aramoana massacre
The Aramoana massacre was a mass murder that occurred on 13 November 1990 in the small seaside township of Aramoana, New Zealand. Resident David Gray, a 33-year-old unemployed man, began indiscriminately shooting people in the township with a scoped semi-automatic rifle, after a verbal dispute with...
, in which a gunman killed thirteen people in a seaside town not far from Dunedin. The film emphasizes realism over melodrama, partly through handheld camerawork and a naturalistic acting style. Some of those living in Aramoana expressed opposition to the film being made; others who lost people in the tragedy agreed to do interviews with scriptwriters Sarkies and Graeme Tetley.
In New Zealand, Out of the Blue went on to become the tenth most successful local film yet released theatrically (not accounting for inflation), and win six Qantas Film and Television Awards in September 2008, including "Best Picture - budget over $1 million". As of October 2008, Out of the Blue's rating on critics' website Rotten Tomatoes was 91 per cent.
Before the making of Out of the Blue, the Sarkies brothers worked together on the script for a fantasy film called The Magnificent Magic Fingers. The budget for Magic Fingers was estimated to be at least NZ$20 million. It is not yet clear whether Magic Fingers will join Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson
Sir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
's unmade Blubberhead as one of the great fantasy films that never quite emerged from down under.
In 2010, the TV series This Is Not My Life
This Is Not My Life
This Is Not My Life is a 2010 New Zealand television mystery thriller which originally aired on Television New Zealand's TV ONE channel on Thursday nights....
, directed by Sarkies, debuted on New Zealand Television.