Punk Goes Down Under in Comedy Head South

Punk arrives in New Zealand, a little bit late, in Head South, the new dramedy from New Zealand director Jonathan Ogilvie (Lone Wolf, The Tender Hook) which opened this year’s International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) on 25 January, The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Roxborough writes.

Ogilvie took inspiration from his own life in sleepy Christchurch in the late 70s for the semi-autobiographical tale of Angus (Ed Oxenbould), a shy and slightly awkward teen who gets drawn into the underground post-punk music scene. Marton Csokas plays Angus’ world-weary father Gordon. Stella Bennet, better known as New Zealand singer/songwriter Benee, plays Angus’ musically talented friend Kristen.

“This is very much how I felt in 1979,” says Ogilvie, who calls the period a “liminal time of great do-it-yourself creativity and energy that I felt deserved to be celebrated in a screen story.”

Original article by Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, January 23, 2024.