Gloriavale

Runtime: 95'

Expected release: September, 2022

Production stage: Production

Budget: €677,035 (100% in place)

1st feature: No

Looking for: Festivals, sales agents/distributors, buyers, & strategic guidance

Synopsis:

When widespread abuse is uncovered at a New Zealand cult, a family must turn to the legal system in an effort to save themselves and their community from the all powerful leaders.

Director’s profile:

Noel Smyth is an Australian based documentary writer, director, producer, cinematographer and editor. Having worked in the industry for 17 years, he started as an editor and cinematographer before moving into directing and producing. This experience across all stages of production has greatly informed his creative practice that centres around intimate stories of the human condition told through a verite lens. His debut feature documentary Camino Skies (co-directed with Fergus Grady) won the Doc Edge Film Festival awards for ‘Best NZ Directors’ and ‘Best NZ Emerging Filmmakers’ and was nominated for ‘Best NZ Feature’, ‘Best NZ Editing’ and ‘Best NZ Cinematography’. His nuanced and empathetic approach to following real life stories comes from a place of curiosity and it is this approach to storytelling that makes him an exciting new voice in the Australian cinema landscape.

Co-Director’s profile:

Fergus Grady is a producer, sales & distribution consultant who has over fifteen years experience in the film industry. His debut feature documentary Camino Skies was the second highest grossing NZ documentary of 2019 and won the Doc Edge Film Festival awards for ‘Best NZ Directors’ and ‘Best NZ Emerging Filmmakers’. He also associate produced West of Sunshine which competed for the Orizzonti section at the Venice Film Festival in 2017.

Producers’s profile:

Noel Smyth & Fergus Grady’s debut feature documentary Camino Skies was the second highest grossing NZ documentary of 2019 and won the Doc Edge Film Festival awards for ‘Best NZ Directors’ and ‘Best NZ Emerging Filmmakers’. Gloriavale: New Zealand’s secret cult is their second feature.