Fantail

I have just watched three of Sophie Henderson's films, and I while I enjoyed all three, I think that this is her most poetic one. She tends to show the non-tourist's perspective of New Zealand and focuses on the side effects of poverty: economic stagnation and magical thinking. She also casts many indigenous actors in her films, which is very refreshing and adds authenticity to her story telling.

In this film, she plays the protagonist, Tania - a young white woman who shares caretaking duties for her ill mother with her Maori-looking brother. Tania waxes nostalgia about her deceased father, who her mother says was a pilot. She works the overnight shift at a gas station and spends much of her time calling her younger brother to check on him. Most of story revolves around interactions at the gas station and her phone calls. In spite of the static setting, the film is quite moving. I hope that more people get a chance to see Henderson shine in this gem.