Press Release

It features Shane Hollands (pictured), a prominent Auckland performance poet and member of the touring troupe ‘The Literatti’. Shane plays Clark Duke, a frustrated insurance agent searching for self respect and a new way of life.

He’s created an internet religion called Virtology.

Virtology attracts a fair amount of interest and ‘followers’ online and Clark’s spirits are buoyed. A combination of work pressure, psychological unrest and fate causes him to take the bold step of leaving his small city roots and stepping out on to the road to spread his word.

A fish out of water, on a road trip of preaching fervour and redemption.

Where does he end up ? Probably not where he was expecting . . .

“The story of Clark Duke is a common one - people who stay in the same place / situation too long and the resulting frustration - becoming stale and feeling insignificant. When one’s life is not balanced, and the soul is not honoured, an internal crisis can result, leading to drastic change. Anxiety. Burnout. Delusion. Depression.”

Godspell is a character-driven story, following the activities and emotions of a man on an outlandish mission to attract followers and ‘communicate with Elephants’ - his animal symbol of choice.

The absurdity of the premise lends itself to comedy and we are aiming at a healthy blend of humour, emotional stress and issue-raising storytelling. The style of filmmaking is a blend of conventional pictorial representation blended with documentary and faux documentary modes.

Godspell raises questions about religion and freedom of speech - How do cults or religions form ? What is the distinction ? At what point does a religion gain acceptance ? When does one’s ‘speech’ become injurous to the public and require censorship? Through Clark’s endeavours he must come to terms with the good and the bad of what he has created.

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The first 25 minutes of the film has been made already. There will be public screenings of this first act throughout New Zealand in September / October ‘08 , to create further interest and raise much-needed funds.

Actors of all levels, performance artists and real life characters are sought for various roles and encouraged to visit the website for more information. A producer is also sought.

Crew are local filmmakers all giving their time and resources freely to this film project. Music composer is Wellington-based Rosie Langabeer.

The film is aimed at international film festival audiences, with a view to release late 2009.

Director Darcy Gladwin has a long history in the arts, having exhibited photography and screened films extensively
throughout New Zealand and more recently Australia. He is also a musician who regularly performs and releases material.

A video teaser can be found at
http://www.blueamp.net.nz/godspell