Eagle Vs Shark

From the Dominion Post

KIWI DIRECTOR’S FIRST-NIGHT NERVES Anna Chalmers
25 January 2007
Dominion Post
© 2007 Fairfax New Zealand Limited. All Rights Reserved.

WELLINGTON film-maker Taika Waititi says the premiere of his first feature film, Eagle vs Shark, at a United States film festival was nerve-racking, but went well. The Oscar-nominated Waititi said last night’s debut, in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section of the Sundance Film Festival, was made easier by having a contingent of New Zealanders at his side, including producer Ainsley Gardiner.
“I was coming in and out (of the screening) just to have a look and see how it was going as it played, and it seemed like a pretty good response.”
“I got a few people coming up afterwards and saying they really liked it.”
The premiere comes as 31-year-old Waititi is also featured in US entertainment magazine Variety’s “10 Directors to Watch”, as one of an exciting new crop of film-makers. Eagle vs Shark has been described a “deadpan” comedy telling the tale of two socially awkward misfits and the strange ways they try to find love. It stars Wellington actors Jemaine Clement and Loren Horsley, who also attended the premiere, and was shot around Porirua last year.
It was picked up by Miramax Films in Cannes last year to screen in the US. It will also be screened at the Berlin and Rotterdam film festivals.
Waititi said having had two short feature films screen at Sundance previously had eased his nerves.
His short film Two Cars, One Night was nominated for an Oscar in 2005 and is now being made into a feature-length film.
Kiwi films Whale Rider and No. 2 have won awards at Sundance, founded by actor Robert Redford.