Loading Docs 2016 - Bludgeon

"It’s more than just a sport: it’s honour, glory, victory." This 2016 Loading Doc follows knight-in-waiting Martainn Cuff as he and his Steel Thorns team prepare for battle in the "misunderstood sport" of full contact medieval combat. The Taranaki ex-soldier carries 33 kilograms of armour and the burden of a leadership role into the fray, at the national champs. The short documentary was made by Ryan Heron and Andy Deere, who were Whanganui school friends of Cuff’s. Heron and Deere direct commercials; they previously teamed up for award-winning short comedy Return.

When I left the Army I left behind not only a job and a career, but a release for physicality.

– Martainn

Key Cast & Crew

Ryan Heron

Producer, Camera, Editor, Co-Director

Jamie Linehan

Sound Design

Andy Deere

Co-Director, Producer, Camera, Editor

Anna Jackson

Executive Producer

Julia Parnell

Executive Producer

Tipene Rogers

Sound