Loading Docs presents: Homing

We are working with a group of innovative film makers, Loading Docs, to showcase great short Kiwi films. Watch Homing, one of 10 three-minute documentaries.

"Slow down and listen."

An unusual journey through a New Zealand home on a summer's day, this peaceful work initiates contemplation on what humans choose to have in their homes, and the natural and man-made symphony that surrounds us all.

Director bio: Andrew Scott

Having originally trained as an actor at Toi Whakaari, Andrew began his documentary work by making Kambala, a self-funded film examining the sport of buffalo racing in India. Kambala screened at numerous festivals in New Zealand winning both Judges and Culture/Environment awards at the inaugural Wet West Film Festival. He then became a trainee director on the first series of Takatupui - a gay, lesbian, transgender show for Maori Television. Homing marks a transition for Andrew's documentary work, by moving from a one-man-band to collaborating with others and working in a poetic mode.

"After hearing the call for challenging, innovative works based on the theme of home I asked myself a number of questions. How could I capture a New Zealand home in three minutes? Could I make a film without relying on standard documentary conventions of interview, cut-aways and narration?

"With an interest in slow(er) cinema I began to look at ways of taking the audience through a home. How about one long sustained shot - a challenge for both audience and filmmaker, and how might the sound accompany that? As the audience travels through each space what sounds might be heard and what might that tell us about the residents? How might this compare to other homes in New Zealand and around the globe? Seemingly mundane and unique sounds become apparent as ones awareness and consciousness increases.

"By travelling through the home visually with a suggestive soundscape to match, questions about perception arise. With these initial questions in mind I began to formulate the documentary Homing.

"The experience of working on the Loading Docs initiative has been like attending a boot camp in crowd funding, reward creation, marketing and publicity, pitching, not to mention social media. It's made me develop new skills very quickly, some better than others, and to explore alternative ways of funding a project whilst developing an audience along the way. The opportunity to work with an experienced director of photography, focus puller, production manager and sound mixer was a first, and one I wouldn't have been able to afford by myself. Donations given by family, friends and anonymous people who supported the project allowed me to raise money well beyond the target and this was both encouraging and humbling.

"The project was challenging on many accounts primarily being the length of shot, journey taken and treatment of sound. This chance to be included in a body of work about, and from, New Zealand that is available for the world to see is an exciting opportunity, and will hopefully become a permanent part of the global documentary landscape."

Click here to visit the Homing website.