Punch
Writer-director Welby Ings’ very personal feature debut tells the story of a seventeen-year-old boxer (Jordan Oosterhof) in a small town who prepares for a fight that will elevate him to an early professional status. But his father (Tim Roth) is a demanding coach and a notorious alcoholic.
As Jim begins to rethink why he is fighting, his life tangles with a razor-tongued, gay Maori boy (Conan Hayes), who spends his days in a beach shack cobbling together a fragile glamour and dreams of becoming a musician. Away from the rainbow flags and Pride parades, Jim and Whetu must navigate isolation, hypocrisy, the brutality of small-town boxing, and queer bashing that no one will talk about. As Jim stumbles towards discovering what it really is to be a gay man, he is forced to understand that strength has little to do with heroism.
“It’s a rough and raw morality, matched by Ing’s unfussy direction, which serves to focus on the main characters and their inner turmoil. Sure, there are a few boys-to-men and queer coming-of-age movie clichés at play, but these never overwhelm a narrative that remains, at heart, a tender love story between two outsiders in a community stuck firmly in its parochial, patriarchal past.” ~Adam Fresco, Flicks
Cast
Jordan Oosterhof, Conan Hayes, Tim Roth, John Watson, Calvin Tuteao, Abigail Laurent, Wesley Dowdell, Sage Klein, Tom Clarke, Wilson Downes, Connor Johnston
Director
Language
English
Country
New Zealand
Studio
Vendetta