Hacked Off

Hii! Loved your film so, so much. Topical story, with those rushed through cuts going on. Every part of it was funny - the monitor not being plugged in, the cringing at the light, the addressing the elephant in the room, trying to find the right cord haha. Seeing pinball felt nostalgic. Your editing was great, very "hacky," and all the lines were delivered and acted so well. Great script. Awesome job all around!

This film is a further improvement on last year, with a more sophisticated plot. I loved the collection of old computers, I think I've got that exact Apple Powerbook hiding in the back of my garage somewhere! And the piano keyboard appearing among the computer keyboards was great. Lots of humorous details in this one.

Very well shot and scripted! Plus an important message AND funny! Well done!

I am a super-fan of this team. They consistently deliver offbeat, batshit films that neatly fit into the world of Tim and Eric.

What this team does so well, year after year, is lean into a style of absurdist (often surreal) comedy that allows their large ensemble cast’s unique line delivery, expressions and comic timing to shape the films’ mood and pacing. Proving time and time again that tokenism has no place at Inclusive Performance Academy.

One might submit that being a micro-production team (consisting of a couple and their son), seemingly tasked with fairly distributing one-liners amongst 10 or so actors, could cause some headaches when trying to tell a tight story. If this is the case, then it’s always invisible in the result. The story barrels forward, with each line either carefully advancing the plot, or breaking for comic relief. Nothing ever feels wasted.

Lastly, it’s impressive to take such a serious topic, hammer it into our heads with cartoonish exposition, and somehow make that premise the joke while not undermining its importance. A rare skill.

Always LOVE your films guys!! So good!
Loved the anti gov, loss of funding vibe. Agree!!! 👍
Love the dead pan delivery of lines...so funny.
Love the way you guys work and act so well together!
Finals night for you please!!

Awesome film. Classic kiwi comedy and some great performances.

This film was so much fun to watch! You guys have been able to create such an entertaining film while at the same time presenting an important message without it ever feeling forced!
Hacker films can easily be quite cliché if you're not careful, and your film is absolutely not cliché. Having an entire mashup of different old devices made this feel so different from many hacker films and has cemented its place in my mind as a great and hilarious take on the hacker genre!
I've only been doing the comp for a few years but this is by far the best film I've seen from you guys! Really good work!

Excellent movie with a great, fast pace!
The camera work is expressive and engaging, bolstered by an emotive score, and great editing.
The audio is another real technical standout, and is welcome alongside consistent, confident performances.
Absolute joy, this one.

An early favourite of mine in this year's competition, what a joyous romp put together by Performance Inclusive Academy. If there is a prize for best ensemble performance, then it's in the bag!

Absolutely loved the bravado, the confidence, the screen presence radiating from each and every one of your performers with a fantastic send up and subversion of the hacker genre. That double entendre of striking back against Government cuts (hacks) was a genuine chef's kiss moment for me.

It's the little things that can elevate a film, and you made some really smart decisions in your use of colour play and lighting throughout. The group collective being in dressed in black (but not nicely mixed with hoodies, t-shirts and sweatshits) gave them immediate connection and meant that the contrast of the retro electronic devices as a counterpoint really popped comedically.

You also picked your moments really well with visual sight gags like the keyboards and the XP pinball pinball. For kids from the early 2000s you will be on the edge of your seat with this one waiting for the moment where the Space Cadet and high score display might come through. Perfection.

A spectacular script that I laughed out loud at several times and a deft hand with the direction. Tension was palpable as we headed towards the conclusion and I was genuinely on the edge of my seat rooting for the team's success.

Also inside locations with large groups are incredibly hard to pull off and yet you sold the impression of movement and activity of this determined social justice group throughout. A great cause I might add, and a fantastic film overall.

Love the theme of the film! Everyone on screen was charismatic and funny. It was a an exciting watch and a nail biting climax.

As others have mentioned the pinball game was so nostalgic!

There are so many things I love about your film, but here are some highlights:
The political message was en pointe and a great way to use the genre - change the numbers and make them more livable.

Performances were convincing and funny. EVERYONE in the cast should be extremely proud of themselves. Everyone had an important role and did it justice. You lean into comedy so well, I found myself constantly giggling.

On that, the comedy was genius. I genuinely belly-laughed at some of the jokes, but the elephant in the room was my favourite. There are so many little details that are so clever and silly.

This was a step up from last year, and an absolute pleasure to watch. The Inclusive Performance Academy have become such a competition standout for me and I'm so thrilled to see you developing in your craft! This is one of the films I'll definitely be sharing with others, and I really hope to see this on the big screen in the finals!

What I liked:
Good humour and performances. Classic hacker film with a quick set-up, montages, lots of whizz-bang tech flashing across the screen, conflict, an element of heist, and I genuinely hoped they succeeded in their mission!

Take it or leave it:
I dunno. You only used a couple of locations, but as someone who regularly does this, it’s no biggy. Perhaps an actual physical government villain somewhere we see looking to thwart plans?Final hot air:
The best film produced from this darling of the CHCH competition. Well done!

With their disability funding cut, a group of hackers decide to take matters into their own hands, taking on -dun-dun- The Government.

WOW Inclusive Performance Academy you have blown it out of the park, with what may be your best film yet!! I absolutely loved this concept, as many in the reviews have pointed out, your scathing attack on the government in and out-of-universe with this story is INSPIRED! I love seeing this kind of political commentary in the competition, and it was an absolute joy to watch!
Pulling off both a hacker AND a heist movie all in one, I loved seeing how you utilised all that old tech (and that y’all HAD access to all that stuff!), pulling off cartoon levels of hilarity while ALSO having that moment addressing the elephant in the room - I got chills!

One lil story thing I might just comment on is where the time pressure was coming from. There wasn’t any clear indication of why they’ve only got this one moment and one chance to hack in, which may have helped give more context to the stakes. A tiny thing though, in an otherwise absolute delight of a film!

Inclusive Performance Academy, you keep going from strength to strength, and you ATE with this film! I can’t wait to see how far this goes, no doubt in my mind we’ll be seeing this at the city finals!

This is one of the best hacker films of the comp so far, a huge improvement over your film last year, a tight script that shows off what the ensemble cast can do. Also I haven't seen another film this year with a political message. You should apply for film commission funding for a bigger project.

Loved it so much and made me laugh the whole time. Inclusive performance academy is amazing. As I am apart of the crew on a Thursday and a Tuesday afternoon. Great job guys

The dynamic cast of Inclusive Performance Academy is at it again! I love comedy with a purpose, and boy does this film deliver. The trick in 48Hours is to take the compulsory elements, along with the people, props, and places available to you, and build them into something super meaningful that will delight the audience.

The personality and passions of each actor in this film can't help but shine through. The lines are beautifully delivered and the writing is on point.

This is a fun tribute to Windows XP and all sorts of gadgets of decades past, full of nostalgic sound effects and pinball! I love the gentle dig at the guy in the team who has too many obsolete gadgets cluttering his garage. But the making of this film—and the story inside the film—both prove that one day those gadgets will come in handy!

Nothing about us with us. Our future starts now!