NZ FILM SOCIETY
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Snakeskin

Gillian Ashurst  •   New Zealand  • ​  2001
90 minutes • HD • R16 violence, offensive language, drug use & sex scenes 
​
Alice and Johnny hit the South Island back roads in their convertible, looking for adventure just like in the movies.

​“Bold, funny, sexy and macabre, Gillian Ashurst’s juicily cinematic first feature boots the cinema of unease into the new century.” – Bill Gosden, NZIFF 2001
DIRECTOR/SCREENPLAY: Gillian Ashurst
PRODUCER: Vanessa Sheldrick
PRODUCTION CO: Cowgirl Productions, NZFC, Portman Productions
PHOTOGRAPHY: Donald Duncan
EDITORS: Marcus D'Arcy, Cushla Dillon
MUSIC: Joost Langeveld
WITH: Melanie Lynskey (Alice), Boyd Kestner (Seth), Dean O'Gorman (Johnny), Oliver Driver (Speed), Paul Glover (Terry), Charlie Bleakley (Owen), Gordon Hatfield (Tama), Taika Waititi (Nelson), Jodie Rimmer (Daisy)

FESTIVALS: AFI, Los Angeles

REVIEW

“Openly eyeing Thelma & Louise and Kalifornia, Snakeskin looks like a love letter from the director to the films that influenced her, and to some extent, underlines the impact of American culture on New Zealand and of the recurrent American dream. Her film embraces the clichés of the genre with a parodied but always respectful approach. The screenwriting roads don’t go through uncharted territories here, which doesn’t really matter since it's the characters, rather than the situations that bring life to the odyssey. Colorful, sometimes caricatured characters that bring energy to Snakeskin surround the charming and radiant Alice, the core of the film. Rave-goers, drug traffickers, locals, skinheads and a Nick Cave incarnation cross each other's paths, forming some kind of exotic gumbo that's fun to watch….

Ashurst’s direction is kinetic and inventive, focusing on the characters rather than showing off some picturesque postcard shots. The cast composed of young faces is fresh and lively. Lynskey makes the movie work with her ingenuity and charisma while O’Gorman and Kestner successfully get into the skin of the love interest and tough guy..”

– Fred Thom, Plume Noire


FILM SOCIETY SCREENINGS

Dunedin   
Wednesday, 31 August, 7:30pm

Auckland   
Monday, 26 September, 6:15pm

Timaru
​Monday, 14 November, 6.00pm



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Film Societies of Aotearoa New Zealand

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New Zealand Federation of Film Societies  |  PO Box 9544, Te Aro, Wellington, NZ  
Phone: +64 4 385 0162  |  Fax: +64 4 801 7304  |  Email: 
michael@nziff.co.nz
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • SOCIETIES
    • AUCKLAND
    • HAMILTON
    • TAURANGA
    • NEW PLYMOUTH
    • WHANGANUI
    • PALMERSTON NORTH
    • CARTERTON
    • WELLINGTON
    • NELSON
    • CANTERBURY
    • TIMARU
    • QUEENSTOWN
    • DUNEDIN
    • WESTPORT
  • 2022 SEASON
    • ROBERT ALTMAN
    • SCANDINAVIA
    • BREAKING THROUGH
    • CONTEMPORARY WORLD
    • CLASSIC & CULT
    • NZ FILM
    • FRENCH CONNECTIONS
    • AFRICAN CINEMA
    • GERMAN CINEMA