25 April

The first animated feature made and originated in New Zealand, 25 April tells the story of the country's involvement in an ill-fated mission to take a piece of Turkish coastline during World War I. 2700 Kiwis died and ‘ANZAC’ became a symbol of national identity. Director Leanne Pooley mines archive war diaries, and uses graphic novel style recreations from Flux Animation to evoke the the perspective of six participants. 25 April debuted at the 2015 Toronto Film Festival. Alongside the excerpt, a short making of video shows how facial motion capture fed into the film's distinctive look. 

Animation gives us the opportunity to bring the men and women who were at Gallipoli back to life. It allows us to really experience what they went through from an entirely new perspective. There are no limitations to how the story can be illustrated.

– Director Leanne Pooley in a May 2014 press release for 25 April

Key Cast & Crew

Tim Woodhouse

Writer, Editor

Gareth Reeves

As: Ormond Burton

Tainui Tukiwaho

As: Thomas 'Hami' Grace

Matthew Metcalfe

Producer, Original Concept

Brent Chambers

Animation Producer

Leanne Pooley

Director, Writer