The sci-fi Western The Ballad of Maddog Quinn from Invercargill film-maker Matt Inns was selected to be shown on the big screen at the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, held in Spain this week.
The 15-minute short film tells the story of an unlikely outlaw who wreaks hell across the dusty dystopia of The State on a wild quest to save what is held most dear.
According to the synopsis, the lead character Quinn inhabits a desolate wasteland frontier "of dust, rust and blood", where problems are usually solved by a fast horse and a gun.
Although Mr Inns had a few of his previous films selected for international film festivals, including Cannes and Toronto, he said he was proud of having this work at Sitges as it was considered one of the most significant international festivals for fantasy and horror genres.
"We’re really honoured to be able to screen the film at Sitges, especially given the film-making heritage of Spain. The place where a number of classic westerns were shot, like A Fistful of Dollars.
"There’s a lot of that influence at the root of the film, so it’s a pretty cool place to screen it."
The film was shot in Tekapo, but with some studio work carried out in Invercargill. Included in the cast are, Wellington-based Jed Brophy, who is known for his role as Nori in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy and local talent Maggie Pirie.
Among his influences for this project were his dad’s home-taped VHS collection and classic old school sci-fi and adventure movies.
He said he had been evolving the concept of the film for a few years and his intention was to use the short film as a potential "proof-of-concept" for something larger like a long-form movie.
"That’s still part of the plan, but probably something for a little further down the track."
While they were looking at doing a screening in Southland early next year for some of the local people involved, he said there were no plans of a public screening.
However, if there was enough interest, it was something he could look at "at some point".
The work of Mr Inns has caught the attention of international festival organisers and critics.
He has even been compared with The Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson.
Despite feeling honoured by the comparison, he said he was probably no more the "next Peter Jackson" than the 500 other kids that were called that because they picked up a camera.
"Peter Jackson and The Lord of The Rings were one of the most significant influences in inspiring me to be a filmmaker, but ultimately you still want to be yourself and have your own voice.
"I just focus on getting better and hopefully making the best film I can."
