| Woodenhead | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Florian Habicht |
| Written by | Florian Habicht |
| Produced by | Florian Habicht |
| Starring | Nicholas Butler (NZ) Teresa Peters Steve Abel Mardi Potter |
| Cinematography | Christopher Pryor |
| Music by | Marc Chesterman Steve Abel Mardi Potter |
| Distributed by | Olive Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Language | English |
Woodenhead is a 2003 New Zealand film directed by Florian Habicht.
The film is a dark fairy tale in the style of the Brothers Grimm, and recounts the story of a dump-hand called Gert escorting a princess called Plum to her wedding. The two wander into the forest with a donkey and mysterious things start to happen. The film explores the dark sexual material in this mythic context.
The film is unusual in that the sound and music were recorded before the film was shot, and does not match the visuals. It is in crisp black and white and was shot in the Northland Region. The voices of the main two characters are musicians Steve Abel and Mardi Potter and the actors are Nicholas Butler (NZ) and Teresa Peters.
The film was shown in the 2003 Auckland, Wellington and Melbourne international film festivals and has been released on DVD. Composer Marc Chesterman released the soundtrack on double vinyl in 2022. Woodenhead Reimagined contains the soundtrack on one album and a bonus album of Reimagined songs, inspired by the soundtrack and music of 'Woodenhead'. Contributing artists include Scott Mannion, Charlotte Yates, epsilon-blue, Mimi Gilbert, Demarnia Lloyd, Hermione Johnson, Chris Winter & Gram Antler, Ryan Smith, Jeff Holdaway, Somme, Jeremy Veal, Craig Sengelow, Sebastian Macaulay & Zoe Iannou, and Shaun D Wilson. Director Florian Habicht and Woodenhead Production Designer Teresa Peters made new and original artwork for the album cover and insert booklet.
Florian Habicht has also made a film called Kaikohe Demolition, a loving look at the demolition derby in his hometown Kaikohe, and Rubbings from a Live Man, an intimate documentary about New Zealand actor, writer and director Warwick Broadhead.