2025 national 48 hours winner

The wind howls like a stray cat through the orange oaks; blue in the moonlight.
Rain again...
A homely glow flashes in my pupils as I light a cigarette.
"Four long heats."
I sigh as the room is engulfed in extremely cinematic, yet safety conscious smoke.
As I toss open my laptop, the room is engulfed in the aggressive florescent glow of the 48 hours website.
I blink, hard... The message is unchanged.
Like a skittering bug, my hand runs across the keyboard... CONTROL R!!!

A FLASH!

The message remains unchanged.
VIDEO UNAVAILABLE. VIDEO PRIVATE.

I toss myself back. I cry into the night...
"HOW LONG MUST I WAIT TO WATCH THE 2025 NATIONAL 48 HOURS WINNER???"

It was worth the wait.

Toot Toot does Meta comedy so well Ryan Reynolds probably has night terrors about them.

What an excellent way to end 3 nights of back to back short films. It's gotta my favourite punchline of the whole week. Thanks for the movie guys

Toot Toot has the greatest interpretations of the elements every single year and they always give the audience an amazing laugh! Toot Toot is a staple to the 48H Christchurch scene!

This KILLED me. Such a fun and hilarious little film! I loved the use of the elements and the cinematography was so on point for this vibe.

Mark is hilarious and plays this character so well. I love the use of profanity when it’s done well and this was done perfectly!!

Oh so so so so SO GOOD!! I don't know what to call the Toot toot style of humor, because it feels dry, but also fast and choppy? It's perfect, and it's a perfect encapsulation of the competition. You killed it, and the audience loved it! A cherry on top of a beautifully run event! Such a sick space to hold the heats, and I'm SO SO grateful that we get to watch these films in the coolest little bar in town, compared to sticky ol Wellington watching the heats at the university lecture rooms! Give me beer, chicken, chips, and some of the best worst short films you have ever seen! I bow down to you, king Toot Toot

A documentarian battles against nature... and his interns!

What a hilarious concept, and my god what a way to round out the heats this year! Toot Toot's brand of comedy is so unique, absurdist, and always feels so very 48Hours!

I loved the performances here, so dry, deadpan and yet also just delightfully ridiculous! I loved that this film played so much with breaking the fourth wall, it was a delight to see the AI camera + interns wreck our documentarian's sensibilities, all while drawing attention to the fact that this was a 48Hours film!

My suggestions for next year would be to structure your film a wee bit more on the technical side - Toot Toot's wonderfully absurdist humour with a bit more technical flare and polish I think would enable Toot Toot-City-Final-Domination!

Also what a shot to end three days of heats on. Y'all knew you were gonna be last and my GOD you aimed high, and delivered!

What got my attention:
Great performance from the lead – an annoying, self-righteous character amusingly on full beam in the first scene (It did look cold mind you). The clever activations of the camera were really good and no one does meta like Toot-Toot.

Take it or Leave it:
My it’s own admission there’s no story here and next to nothing going on apart from walking and characters berating each other. The final punchline is funny but of course, totally non-sensical.

Final thoughts:
Speaking with Michael at the Wrap-party on the Sunday it was interesting to hear that a sloshed Friday night gave them the joke for this film which they then casually filmed on the Saturday, edited and said “I think we’re done”, so they handed it in. Love that – no faffing around. Made the CHCH final and just might be a surprise pick at the pointy end of the awards.

The 'accident' was when I pissed myself laughing.

Love Toot Toot's commitment to the 4D experience.

Yes yes yes and more YES.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you all proof that it doesn’t matter whether you spend months prepping, or barrrreeelllyyy use the 48 hours, sometimes a sharp, simple story and a unique voice will land beautifully. And land it did!

It still blows my mind that this film was shot in about an hour on Saturday, handed in that evening, and still cruised straight into the finals with like literally no opposition.

The absurdist meta-comedy is exactly what we’ve come to expect from Toot Toot — quick, dry, a little chaotic, and perfectly tailored to both audience and judge alike this year. The lead’s commitment to the absurd delivery paired with the ridiculous fourth-wall breaks and use of elements had the audience in stitches.

By self admission it’s not a film that expects to be taken very seriously in this competition - but I think that makes this feat all the more impressive. I want to say it again - this film was VERY comfortably in the finals, it’s not a case of like 1 or 2 judges just really liked it, but it was an across the board agreement, and that makes it all the more special. They were literally like ‘Yeah I mean, it’s not really a film is it, but I really enjoyed it!!’ hahahahah

Maybe it’s really is as simple as they thought you used the genre well! You were one of the only teams they thought did genre well. Despite it being a silly Man vs Nature, it was built around the idea of a silly man trying to do a class Man vs Nature trope, and it was enough for judges and audience alike to respect it!

THE BEST THING: It’s a Toot Toot film! Your humour is distinct, absurd, and consistently crowd-pleasing. In the same way nobody does a Herms film like Herms, or a Carmen Road Academy Films film like Carmen Road Academy Films - nobody can put in an entry like Toot Toot, and it will forever be respected. What a perfect way to wrap up Chch.

THE NEXT THING: lol it feels offensive to even try to think of something, so I won’t bother.