Ow What!
A rugby story...with horses.
- Filmmaker(s)
- Michael Jonathan
- Grant Mckinnon
- Category
- Short Film
- Subject Matter
- Sports, Families
- Featured In
- Pacific Pulse
Like many 12-year-old boys living in small rural communities around New Zealand, Te Mauri has dreams of one day representing his country in the national sport of rugby and following in his father’s footsteps. But unlike most kids, Te Mauri is charged with looking after his two younger siblings while his papa is abroad playing footy. Te Mauri is an old soul – rather than joining his mates on the field after school, he sets about ensuring his little brother and sister are fed, clean and up to date with their homework. Te Mauri’s world is transformed when he makes a discovery one fateful night that will change his life forever.
What Ow What! on the Pacific Heartbeat YouTube channel here.
Michael Jonathan - Writer/Director
Mike is a freelance producer/director and DOP based in Rotorua, New Zealand. He is heavily involved with making TV shows and documentaries as a day job and after hours he is helping to produce films for colleagues and friends around the country and abroad. Coming up for Jonathan in 2014, he is one of nine Directors selected to make the mammoth feature film project, “The Stories of Maui.”
In 2009 Jonathan released Ngā Taumaru/Shadows, an independent short film is based on true events. It shows a young Maori man, Tommy, a paranoid schizophrenic retelling his life story to a video camera. His world is haunted by his demons. This won praise from filmmakers in the US and won the Silver Lei Award for Excellence at the Honolulu Film Festival 2010.
Jonathan directed the heartwarming short film, Hawaikii that has screened in over 30 countries. Hawaikii won best short film at ImagineNATIVE 2006 and best film and best overall film at Magma Film Festival and was also a finalist at New Zealand's Screen Awards 2007.Grant Mckinnon - Cinematographer
Grant is a drama DOP with a passion for storytelling through the camera. I believe the mov-ing picture medium is a powerful yet underdeveloped means of telling dramatic stories. He is interested in expanding visual ideas to enhance the storytelling process of film. I enjoy the collaborative process between director and DOP and believe my strength is my understanding of the camera as “ the unseen actor." He has worked on a number of important New Zealand and International drama productions in recent years.
