This is the best one. This is it. I don’t care that you didn’t win, this is the best film hahahaha.

It was so high on our first viewing, and then on second, third, fourth viewing it just got higher and higher, and before heats even began, we had this locked in as the one we wanted to see win. But alas, we weren’t judges, and even if we were, our picks wouldn’t have shifted the results in any dramatic way.

As much as I respect everyone above who may have indifference to this one (except for Breadwinner’s outrageous suggestion that you should lose the hair - that take is criminal), the fact is that in a sea of stories being too convoluted, over-ambitious, squished and squandered, here we have this earnest, humble, simple story. A moment in time where you see a man tormented by his ambition for something great rubbing up against his desire to just be happy no matter what. This is Paterson meets Merry Christmas Mr Bean, and it’s the best film in Christchurch hahahaha. I haven’t had a chance to watch any other regional entries yet, but I’m calling it now that this is the best film in Aotearoa, I’m willing to bet my Disney Infinity collection that it could not just make the Grand Finals - but maybe even surpass our Chch winners. Yep, I said it, that’s how much I love this film hahahaha. And I know many will think I’m dreaming here, but when one can dream, one must dream!!

If this was a full-length feature, this would be the most rewatched moment. Perhaps that’s part of why I love it so much - it feels so lived in. There was story for Charlie before this moment, and there will be story after. But even within these five minutes, despite it being only two shots, there is SO much going on inside Charlie. How dare it be suggested that it’s light on story when you have distinct moments of change in Charlie’s position about the train model: a confident start where he knows what he wants, followed by seeds of doubt that kick off as soon as he messes up the second call, and then a coming to terms with realising that it just doesn’t matter, and that it’s going to be great, whatever size the train is.

Obviously, a story like this does require a strong performance to pull it off, but I reject any suggestion that it’s a “shame they had to lean on that” - as if we’re not meant to be encouraging teams to lean into their biggest strengths! Charlie was amazing. The dialogue delivery is inspired, the voice is perfectly suited to this character, and the *physical comedy* (yeah I said it, fight me), while restrained to accommodate the calmness of the scene, is so incredibly intentional. Pair this with a beautiful production setup, a charming and proper use of the holiday genre, and you have yourself the best film in Christchurch hahahahaha GUYS I CAN’T STOP SAYING IT HELP ME.

I guess I should do a nitpick to offset all this love — a creative decision I would have cut if I was directing is the final call back at the end. While a fun gag, I felt it did the character a disservice as far as him really coming to terms with and accepting his model train–size fate. But hey, it worked for the crowd, so who really cares, I don’t care anymore, my manager role is complete and I’m feeling chaotic. Did I mention this is the best film in Christchurch?

I do really like that it’s divisive to be honest. A film that has half the crowd declaring it tedious and the other half calling it genius? These are the things that make a community like this really tick. When we come together to see how others see things, whether they make sense to us or not, the most important thing is we have opportunities like the one Olax has provided to engage in these debates, hear each other out, and go away from them hopefully learning something. We need films that have the risk this one took, films that make a choice so bold they stick forever. And that’s the thing — this film will stick. You’re another example of the kind of bold choice one can make that leaves a lasting imprint on the future of the competition (alongside Singularities set design, I MetaMans genre twist and Toot Toots 24 hour film comp method)

One can nitpick about story arcs or joke escalation or whatever else, but for me this is one of those rare pieces where the purity of the idea and the boldness of the execution outweigh everything else. This is why I watch 48Hours. This is why I will keep coming back forever.

THE BEST THING: hehehehebestfilminchristchurch2025factsarefactsgetoverit

THE NEXT THING: Can we have a series titled ‘Charlie Calls’ please? 10 phone calls all roughly 3-5 minutes long. Different seasons and events. Different people Charlie is leaving a message for. I have a draft for you already. Episode 1 you’ve already made and it’s perfect. Then we move to a call to the council to dispute a $3.17 fee over something Charlie was tracking himself, maybe his water usage. Then Episode 3 he’s calling his local airline to check if he can bring his own kettle or vacuum cleaner on board the plane. Episode 4 he can call a pizza shop to order his favourite garlic bread but he’s unsure if that’s allowed cause it’s not really a meal. Episode 5 he can call a vet to see if humans can get worming tables (inspired by me looking at a photo of my doggo just now). Episode 6 We could do maybe another festive one like the easter bunny asking about some sort of obscure egg delivery need or New Years day and he’s trying to get in touch with someone who oversees timezones to confirm some unusual detail idk I’m running out of ideas here. Episode 7 he leaves an order for the fish and chip shop with specifics about his fish needs that are more complex than his model train needs. Episode 8 he wants to leave feedback to a bus company about their bus drivers. Episode 9 he calls the EntX theatre in Christchurch to reserve an ice cream for his movie going experience annnnnddd finally for Episode 10 he’s leaving a message for his mum. I’m not kidding around here by the way, make this please. We’ll fund it somehow. I’m not joking.

This is fascinating. Truly fascinating. This is a film that feels like such a massive step up for An Evening With compared to last year’s Zero Mum Game - and yet it didn’t quite grab the absolute top spot this time around. That alone tells you something about the competition this year: the bar is sky-high, the judges are scrutinising over things that you don’t always expect, and even when a film improves in every measurable way, sometimes it still ends up fighting uphill for recognition.

For me, the “step up” comes from the literal journey this film takes you on. The variety of locations, the transitions from one beautiful space to another - it’s cinematic worldbuilding at a level we rarely get to see in this comp. The pacing flows beautifully, and the way we travel alongside the story keeps us engaged from start to finish. Watching this again at finals, I found myself thinking: yeah, this has been a bit snubbed.

Some obvious bullseyes: The performances are excellent. The leads carry the weight with charisma and vulnerability, while the supporting roles add colour and comic relief at just the right beats. This film looks expensive! Way more than last year. Whether in the Court Theatre space, on the street, or in intimate closeups, every frame hums with intent. And let’s not gloss over the sound design and editing either, well deserved awards and these guys make it look easy.

Now, of course, the elephant in the room is genre. As I told Chester in person, the judges were exhausted by the time we were talking I MetaMan, and I can hardly blame them. This really was the year the judging panel lost its collective mind over genre adherence, or maybe it always is like this and I just have a lot to learn about this side of the comp still.

Their comments about genre were basically: “not really Man vs Nature, but at least it’s absolutely gorgeous.” And honestly? Fair enough. But personally, I really enjoyed the choice of subversion. Not every audience member will read it that way - some have already exclaimed it to be much more Man vs Machine. To me, though, after watching it many times, I understood and respected that the point was the commodification of human connection, and that is a form of nature being resisted, reshaped, and packaged. Maybe that’s over-reading, but that’s the joy of a film that actually sparks conversation.

Also, I had feedback from more than one judge that was essentially ‘because An Evening With is at the top of the list alphabetically, it set the tone for my watching experience, and made everything else following it quite disappointing’ hahahahahaha, isn’t that a fun thing to be responsible for :P

THE BEST THING: A tour de force in every aspect that deserved more love than it got. I’d be shocked if it doesn’t make grand, but who knows, maybe the judges for grand will be even more butthurt over genre subversion.

THE NEXT THING: I think it’s time for a musical! No, seriously, that’s what you need to do!

Felix and Luke (and team) find themselves in a similar position to Rabid Aunty Jean in 2024 - the team with the most nominations of anyone, only to experience what I imagine must have been a fairly brutal awards night tally, before pulling off runner-up in Christchurch. That is no small achievement, and it’s awesome, and you should be super proud! Underdogs I say! A deserving reward for a team that pulled a massive creative hail mary and it worked, it freggin worked!

When we came to visit you over the weekend, walking onto that build was the closest I’ve felt to walking into Disneyland since the last time I went to Disneyland. It was remarkable. And knowing the heart behind it - the homages intended to previous competitors, the commitment you had to your location choice no matter what genre got drawn - it’s no exaggeration to say it was one of the most memorable things Christchurch 48 has seen in a long time.

Now, visiting the set was a treat. I wouldn’t trade that experience. But I do think it meant our expectations of the final film were skewed. As soon as we saw the world you’d built, we started imagining what it might become. Then the screening came, and while Singularity was obviously still a massive achievement, it didn’t line up with the version we’d built in our heads. That left us feeling flatter than we expected on first viewing. But that’s on us, not you, so don’t feel bad about that, the good news is none of the judges visited your set to suffer the same consequences hahaha

Speaking of judges though, unlike the majority of the reviews here singing your praises - the judges were polarised. As the scores came in, you were pendulum swinging the whole day. Some said “How on earth did they pull this off in 48 hours?” And then when given the full context of the mahi they went, “hmm, maybe not so excellent then.” But then others judges came to your defense very strongly - who actually cares? They cried. Teams overprepare all the time. There’s no penalty for loving this competition enough to pour your time and energy into it. I think that passion should be celebrated. The scale of what you pulled off here isn’t a trick; it’s a testament to loving this competition.

There’s also an argument to be made that preparing a set for three months means you end up mentally preparing for every possible outcome. How will we tell a Christmas story? How will we do a musical? How will we do the standard on a dessert island movie? (lol imagine if you got that, perhaps I nominate that as a genre next year to really mess with some people) The mental work that comes with building a set like this is impressive in its own right, but was it worth it? Now that you’re on the other side of it all, I wonder how it all feels. Will this set and the enormous effort required to make it happen haunt you like a kind of filmmaking PTSD, every blinking light and cardboard panel reminding you of sleep deprivation and looming deadlines? Or will you look back fondly, proud of the madness you pulled off and the legacy it leaves behind? Personally, I hope it’ll be the latter! Time will tell I suppose.

Honestly, Singularity so fascinating. On one hand, it’s full of absolutely jaw-dropping moments: miniatures, compositing, analogue effects, lighting that feels both claustrophobic and cinematic, an actor who holds the screen with poise and vulnerability, and an overall look that would be impressive even for a short shot over six months, let alone a weekend. On the other, it leaves just enough cracks — in story clarity, in pacing, in polish — that you can’t quite call it untouchable. Which is probably why, despite so many nominations, it wasn’t able to clean sweep.

Okay, I hate to do this, because I do love this film a lot, but it would be dishonest to leave out the gripes that appeared for me the more I watch it. To be clear, like we do with all the top tier films, I’m grading you on a curve here, and Singularity invites that level of scrutiny because of how great it is. There are just little things: a shot that lingers just a beat too long before “what are you, my therapist,” and other little moments that either seem to just slightly drag, or just slightly rush (Am I being that asshole from Whiplash right now? I think I am)

Speaking of rushed though…While the edit is mostly tight, and the score and sound mix was very well designed and impressive, I have an eagle eye and an eagle ear(?) and on first viewing I thought to myself...something's wrong with the lead’s movements, she's moving funny, is it just me or is she just pushing forward ever so slightly in the frames? and further to that, something is up with the sound export, did they crunch the high end frequencies intentionally? Was it a stylistic choice? And then, at a later date, it was confirmed that there was a little trickery to make sure it was a qualified film ;) and that may or may not have required some maintaining of the audio pitch, which then would have crunched the track in a way that made it sound the way it did. Most people maybe wouldn't notice that, but I did! - or at least I think I did, perhaps I'm wrong! Feel free to send me a copy of the first render before you did the thing you had to do, I'd be curious to know how if I did indeed catch that, or if I just didn't actually like the sound mix that much hahaha

For me, the little things add up, and it makes me feel like the set maybe is doing more heavy lifting here than we are all willing to admit. But it doesn’t diminish the achievement. This is one of the most ambitious, audacious, and technically impressive films ever to come out of Christchurch. It forces other teams to think big. And it puts Felix and Luke in a lineage of competitors whose love for this comp completely transforms what we think is possible.

THE BEST THING: The little robot hahaha. Actually I do want to call out a specific shot, the moment the escape ship leaves the mothership is possibly the best looking thing in the competition this year, absolutely outstanding.

THE NEXT THING: Whatever the hell you want. I know you love this comp more than most in Christchurch, and you made this film this way because it’s what you wanted to make. Next year, you can make whatever you want, make it good, make it bad, make it the national winner or make it a shitpost. Whatever you make, make it yours.

To Ian, Julian, and the whole RAJ team, I am so SO happy you won this year. I go back and I watch your 2024 film every couple of months. My review last year left me in pieces, I felt awful, I know it’s a me problem, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around what it was about this film that I didn’t understand. I kept going back to it, wanting to understand and feeling saddened that I could never write an updated review that said ‘hey! I understand now!’

But now, 2025 is here, and you’ve returned with a story that I absolutely, 100% understand hahahaha and I loved it. I really really loved it. Well, I loved a lot of it, there’s things I would have liked to see different versions of to figure out what might have been the best choice, we’ll get to those here soon.

Once again you’ve strolled into the competition and delivered a film that feels like it was made with a calm hand and complete confidence in your craft. This year, though, it’s not just another strong entry, it’s a straight-up masterclass. I’m happy to report that unlike pretty much every other film in the shortlist this year that was polarising for the judges, this was the film that had consistently confident feedback from every judge, and it’s unsurprising given we know what the judges were looking for - a strong use of genre, and a simple clear story with a character you could root for.

It’s one of the cleanest, most satisfying Cat and Mouse stories we’ve seen in the competition ever. The premise is instantly funny and relatable. You take that simple idea and build it into a beautifully absurd, deadpan escalation. The lead performance anchors everything with just the right mix of charm, menace, and obsessive focus. The apple motif is sooooo much fun: somehow both sinister and hilarious, a detail that makes the character linger in your memory long after the credits roll. I also want to shout out those binoculars, no reason in particular, binoculars!

Cinematography? Gorgeous. Editing? Tight and purposeful. Sound design? Punchy and alive, always in service of the story. You take simple Christchurch locations and, once again, transform them into something fresh and threatening.

Now - let’s not pretend it didn’t have some gripes here and there, depending on who you talked to. Judges did bring up questions about the choice of ending, for example. And I did ponder this myself. In my head I can see many different avenues and ways it could have gone, did you guys pick the strongest? Perhaps that’s up for the grand finalist judges to decide. Personally? I wonder how this might have looked if Shay did get his chance to spoil the ending, and then Emma just goes ‘Oh yeah, I know, I see it coming a mile away, still, good read’. And that’s that! I dunno, maybe that ends the chase and therefore the genre isn’t as strong.

The way she does get spoiled though, it was puzzling, was the booked really successful enough that other bookworms were picking it up? Was he making money off of his efforts!? That would have been an interesting thing to see now that I think about it, he becomes a world class author but doesn’t give a shit about that because all he wants to do is spoil the ending for this one woman? Oof, there’s something there I can feel it hahaha, but that’s the rip focus energy in me wanting to make a simple story too ambitious.

We could go on and on about particular moments and whether the right decision was made, heck if I had the energy to do this for every film I’d be writing 20 page reviews for the next 3 years before I was done. At the end of the day, it’s welcoming, it’s funny, it’s tense, it’s entertaining, and above all else, it’s confident.

THE BEST THING: The city winner needs no introduction! Congratulations. You didn’t just win Christchurch. You cemented your place, once again, as one of the most consistently excellent teams in Aotearoa. We look forward to seeing you in Wellington and hearing more about how the hell you pull this off year after year, we want to know!

THE NEXT THING: You guys wanna make a musical too?

Nice work team! I really enjoyed this- you had a good variety of different shots that were cut together well- I especially liked the whip-pans. With the sped up footage, I found this quite fitting for the cat and mouse chase, which fits the genre well. Actually takes me back to films like "The God's Must Be Crazy' which had a lot of experimental sped up footage, and also for comic relief, like Benny Hill.
Keep up the great work- you managed to tell a story about an egg that included suspense and elements of danger. Well done for making a film in 48Hours.

Wow that funny with the egg drop at the end.

The chase was great

I am sure I saw a light stand in shot near the end.

We got to watch this for the first time on the grand finals stream last night, and I know you said it maybe wasn't a comedy, but we laughed the whole way through, it was so funny.

There's that saying that 'love will move mountains' but I've always thought actually it should be petty revenge haha. The things humans can achieve while driven by pettiness!

I just found the whole film super relatable. And I love that it ended with him writing #2 partly because it spoiled the end again, but also it drove home the extent of his feelings. It's so frustrating to have something spoiled! It's rude, and he deserves his revenge! And wild author success along the way!

Congrats on your win :) I can't wait for this to become available so I can make everyone I know watch it.

PlanetFox! I've been a big fan of your films for a very long time. I may not have always reviewed them but trust me I watched them, and your zany storylines, incredible makeup and fantastic technical skill has always seen me view you as a team with massive potential.

I take my hat off to you for this well deserved grand finalist film; one of the best scripts of the year and it rightly brought the house down at the Embassy.

There's a genuine knack to shooting an outdoor film in 48Hours and the key aspect rather than just getting a nice looking cinematic location is knowing how to frame for natural lighting. Here you got everything so absolutely bang on with your desolate landscape that I truly believed we were in the midst of the wild west gold rush era with bandits and most wanted signs aplenty. Costuming was pitch perfect too.

A horse allergic to an apple and replaced with a pantomime goggle eyed filly costume with the killers inside? Yeah the setup was absolutely gold, and the jokes hit throughout.

I honestly didn't see the ending coming and felt that it was pitch perfect classic kiwi humour which I'm all about in this competition.

Fuck the haters, you don't need to change a thing to make a more serious toned film for this competition to 'do better'. Guerilla incredibly strange film making at its finest.

I saw this at the Grand Finals and was impressed.
To stand out at that level is tough, but this was classy in every aspect.
Strong story, well-acted, well-shot, and hit all the marks it set out to.
I thoroughly enjoyed it and want to congratulate the team behind it. Superb.