Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland: From Kāpiti to Cannes…

Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland have stacked up so many awards for their films, they must have run out of places to store them. The writer/directors have made hit short films and acclaimed 2013 feature Shopping — and worked on their own television projects besides their successful collaborations.

In this ScreenTalk, Albiston and Sutherland talk about:

• How they handle creative differences
• How the female character in their movie Shopping is partly inspired by someone from their childhood
• How they try to balance drama and real-life humour in their films
• Casting Kevin Paulo, the lead actor in Shopping, at a food hall
• Spotting Australian actor Jacek Koman in movie Moulin Rouge
• How both growing up on the Kāpiti Coast feeds into their work
• Crazy "rip, shit and bust" days working on a community television station
• The "incredible" Helayna Seiuli, who co-starred in their short film Run aged 11
• The courageous main character (played by Oscar Vandy-Connor) in The Six Dollar Fifty Man 
• Albiston on making The Living Room, an arts show that put artists front and centre 
• Albiston on the differences between The Living Room and follow-up The Gravy 
• Sutherland on being one of the only brown faces at his school, after moving to the Kāpiti Coast
• Sutherland on acting and being inspired by director Danny Mulheron on comedy Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby 
• Sutherland on playing the two-timing Marty in The Insiders Guide to Love

This video was first uploaded on 4 June 2013, and is available under this Creative Commons licence. This licence is limited to use of ScreenTalk interview footage only and does not apply to any video content and photographs from films, television, music videos, web series and commercials used in the interview.

Interview and Editing – Ian Pryor. Camera – Jess Charlton