Florian Habicht.
Woodenhead's Producer, Director, Writer and Camera Operator.

33 year old Florian Habicht is an innovative independent digital video/film maker. His films combine a unique sense of humour and odd-ball narratives with seductive and lush imagery. They celebrate the sad, strange and beautiful, and are a cross pollination of Kiwi and Germanic culture, echoing Florian's experience as an immigrant to Aotearoa, and giving him a unique cinematic voice.

'Being able to mix photography, music, humour, soft pornography, performance, storytelling and experimentation into one form of expression is what drew me to film making. Being able to create films with my family of friends. Making films has made me appreciate life more and thrown me into situations, places and that would otherwise be undiscovered.'

Florian's philosophy is that he would rather try something new (if only to create seeds towards his further development) than follow the safer footsteps of conventional film-making.

Since graduating from the Elam School of Fine Arts in 1998, his three digital video feature film projects have all been granted funding by the Creative New Zealand Screen Innovation Fund.

'Liebestraume' 1998 was the first funded digital video feature made in New Zealand. The film is an experimental semi-fictional documentary that follows Auckland Cult performer 'Killer Ray' to the streets of Bangkok, Thailand.

'Kaikohe Demolition' 53 mins, is an intimate and 'poetic' portrayal of the Kaikohe Car Club's 'Soul Surviving' Demolition Derby. A documentary portraying the innocence and beauty of a violent spectator sport. Kaikohe Demolition had a theatrical release throughout New Zealand and DVD release in New Zealand and Germany June 2005. Kaikohe Demolition

Last year, Florian won the SPADA New Zealand New Film Maker award, In 1985 Habicht won the 'best decorated bicycle award' at Paihia Primary School.

Florian is currently in Amsterdam at the Maurits Binger Institute, developing his new feature film project 'Permissive Paradise.' A fantastical true story of a photographer (Frank Habicht) realizing his dreams. Set in a magical place and time that evokes London in the sixties. The key Woodenhead team is already onboard!

Florian Habicht

Introducing Team Woodenhead..

Florian has a like-minded, talented and totally committed team without which - the projects would never evolve. Everybody feels at home on a Florian Habicht film set. It is a 'whanau' rather than a contest for ego's. There is a sense of harmony and everyone is working for the love of the project and not the paycheck at the end of the week. It is this atmosphere that allows performers to be totally free and often 'real' behind the camera. And it is this kind of film making that Habicht is trying to promote.

Marc Chesterman
Composer for Woodenhead. (and Sound designer with Florian.)

Marc has worked with Florian as composer and sound designer since 1997's 16mm short Liebestraume. This little gem sowed the seed for Woodenhead in terms of a sound and image relationship.
Music for Florian often takes on a jazzy flavour, with swinging rhythms, vibes, and trumpet. All inspired by 60's big-bands. Sampling of instruments turns the focus towards a music of sounds and atmospheres.
'Together with Florian we've created a dynamic relationship between image and sound that doesn't always dictate audience reaction. Sometimes image and sound are joined like a music video, sometimes the two work against each other. At other times there's space between image and sound for an audience to interpret their own feelings.'
Marc has also made soundtracks and live mixes for MAU, and performs with improvisational music group Audible 3. www.marcchesterman.net

Marc Chesterman

Teresa Peters.
Art Director and female lead 'Plum'

Since graduating from the Elam School of Fine Arts in 2001, Teresa Peters has been an active participant in the New Zealand Arts. Based in Auckland, her style has been described as free, gutsy and intuitive. Peters has never been dictated by the use of a single medium. In 1998 she was painting murals. In 1999 drawings and installations. In 2001 two of her paintings featured in the Waikato Contemporary Art award. Other exhibitions include 'G.L.O.R.I.A.' 2000 at Saint Agatha Gallery and 'All The Better To Eat You With' a collaboration with Florian Habicht in 2001. Teresa played 'Donna' in Florian's 16mm short 'Liebestraume.' 1997

Teresa was the art director for Helena Brook's short film 'Nothing Special' which is in Cannes Competition this year.

Teresa also designed Woodenhead's beautiful Circus Poster.


Nicholas Butler
Woodenhead's male lead 'Gert.' The luckiest man under the sun.

Nicholas Butler is a B.F.A graduate (majoring in painting) from the Elam School of Fine Arts (Auckland University). His interests and passions include the environment and the arts. Following Woodenhead, he has spent two years in Michael Saccente's 'Meisner Technique' acting class. A lifetime highlight for him was spending time in Israel and Egypt exploring, discovering and visiting relatives. Nicholas featured in "Strange Man Celebrations" (1996) and is the male lead in "Der Fisch" (2001), both very odd films by Florian Habicht. In January 2004 he played a gangster in Steve Morrison's feature film "Stringer".
"Great moments are those in life (or art) when something magical, very beautiful happens. Enjoying and savouring those moments is what it is all about."-NB

Nicholas Butler

Georgie Hill
Costume Designer and Woodenhead's 'The Talented Anala.'

Georgie Hill is an Auckland based artist, she graduated from The Elam School of Fine Arts in 2002 (B.F.A).
Georgie worked as the Costume designer for Woodenhead, and also played the role of 'The Talented Anala'.

Georgie Hill

Warwick Broadhead
Woodenhead's 'Hugo.' Plums father and the dump boss.

Mr Warwick Broadhead was born in 1944 in the year of the Monkey. He has written, acted, directed and produced over sixty performances. He has performed throughout New Zealand in different venues including forests, parks, railway stations, warehouses and on the water. He is 'a master of non verbal shoe string theatre.'(Listener 2003)
Warwick has lived in Japan, Australia, Fiji, England, Africa, America, Mexico and Arctic. He has worked with many leading visual artists. He is currently doing solo performances of 'The Selfish Giant' and 'The Hunting of the Snark.'
In his early day's (mid twenties) Warwick performed in Sanfransisco. He was in a controversial theatre group called 'The Angels of Light.' 'They would dress up all over the place, try new things', and were famous for their 'fairytale gender-fuck.'

Warwick Broadhead

Tony Bishop
Woodenhead's manservant 'Goerdel.'

The fastest, most sly and cleverest man in Woodland. Tony Bishop is a decendant from English gypsies who migrated to New Zealand seeking a better life. He was raised on various farming areas in the north island, and attended twenty different schools. Enduring a love of nature, the land and people, incompassed with a shy personality led to recording from memory and observation.
Upon leaving school at the age of fifteen, Tony worked in farming, then attended the Elam School Fine Arts majoring in photography. Later working as a freelance magazine photographer before going overseas.
After studying clown in Australia, Tony returned to New Zealand to work in the film industries. Roles included acting & art directing for tvc's, dramas and features. Cult favourites were 'Lustrous Energies' (chicken thief role) and Habicht's 'Liebestraume' (Drunken Policeman role.)
Tony Bishop now lives in a small remote south island town and is a folk art painter. Recording his rural experiences for prosperity. His constant companion and spiritual guide is his dog Almo ,a small pitball terrier - a fearless killer of small vermin.

Tony Bishop

Christopher Pryor
Woodenhead's director of Photography.

Christopher Pryor has a background as a stills photographer. His work has been exhibited and appeared in numerous publications. He met Mr Habicht while studying engineering at the Auckland University. Since then they have collaborated extensively. Chris also co-edited Woodenhead. He has been involved in shooting for the on-going documentary project 'Kaikohe Demolition.' (From which the photo essay 'Rage Racers' was published in Pavement Magazine Oct/Nov 2001.)
Woodenhead saw Chris reunited with other friends and collaborators. In 1997, Chris composed the music for Jaqueline Wilson's (Woodenhead Performer) Cathonian Gift. Chris also shot the video component for Warwick Broadhead's The Sellfish Giant. (2001.)
Most recently he directed the photography for Prue Cunningham's short film Hole starring David Hornblow.
In 1988, Chris was the St Andrews Intermediate School Frisbee Champion. Woodenhead is his first grimm musical fairytale.

Christopher Pryor

Steve Abel
Performer/writer Hospice for Destitute Lovers and Gert's vocals..

Abel is an Auckland born musician and ecologist. He has spent his 33 years roving a ramshackle planet, writing and singing songs of longing and railing against those that wreck nature.
Abel welcomed the opportunity to contribute his song Hospice For Destitute Lovers to the brilliant soundtrack of Habicht's Woodenhead, and further, to be the voice of the films heroic dump hand on his journey through the mud, trash and despair of love in the Grim Northland fairytale.
Abel's acting background is in a decade of amateur theatre that begun as a ten year old child. Abel works fulltime at Greenpeace, performs music regularly in Auckland and is due to make his debut release of original songs recorded earlier this year with a composite band of all-stars including Geoff Maddock and Kirsten Morelle of Goldenhorse, Gareth Thomas of Goodshirt and members of other Auckland band Pluto.
Abel's songs have appeared in film soundtracks before including Morag Brownlie's short film in last years International Film Festival but Woodenhead represents his first contribution to a feature film.

Mardi Potter.
Voice for Plum & Waitress Cameo. Composer and peformer, Nothing Sensible.

Mardi Potter was born into a performance family: her mother a musician, conductor, and teacher, father a TV/film producer and organic farmer, and brother a musician and international entertainer. Mardi has been at the piano since her first steps, with a sense for music born of her parents influence.
Potter began her work in performance in Wellington, after the requisite drama school grind, acting several roles over four years with Wellington's BATS theatre, as well as roles in short films. As a singer/songwriter Mardi has performed to wide acclaim, billing with the likes of Fur Patrol, Pacifier, and Cinematic.
Moving to Auckland in 2001, Mardi has concentrated on her work composing and recording a music which has been described variously as '..beautiful..', '..haunting..', '..lyrical..', and '..deeply affecting..'.
In early 2001 she first met Florian Habicht, and soon conditions were set for their inevitable collaboration, culminating in Potter's breathing life into Woodenhead's female protagonist, Plum. The film also includes her a capella composition 'Nothing Sensible'.
Currently Mardi can be found working at her Epsom studio, composing and recording. On clear nights when not sweating over a hot stave, Mardi can be found freezing under a large telescope.

Mardi Potter

Jaqueline Wilson
Woodenhead Circus performer and choreography.

Jacqueline trained for thirteen years in highland dancing before actively following an interest in contemporary dance.
She went on to further study at The Performing Arts School, and in her second year, worked as understudy for Brian Carbee's Jump Giants in Bedrock, (1993), before being invited to the United Kingdom by Carol Brown to work on Brown's post-doctorate piece Bloodsongs, (1994).
After touring Surrey she developed an interest in time-based arts while working for Live Art Magazine in London and was stimulated to produce Phenylalanine, (1994), which she performed in London and reworked under a new title, Cathonian Gift, (1996), in New Zealand. Parts of this piece appear in Florian Habicht's feature film Liebestraume, (1999).
A course of circumstances led to two years retreat in the Hawkes Bay where she was fulltime caregiving for a tetraplegic and researching for automaton (winner Best Sound Design and nominee for Most Original Production 1999 Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards), which was performed for the 1999 STAB season at Bats Theatre in Wellington.
A move back to Auckland in 2001 has seen her working with Florian Habicht on his second feature film Woodenhead. She is now embarking on BOXER, a dance / video performance. (Art director Teresa Peters, Photography Florian Habicht.)

Jaqueline Wilson

Matthew Sunderland
Woodenhead's 'Gustov the Circus Strongman.'

Gustov escaped the circus to find himself a beautiful bride. Matt also performs the vocals for the tramp (played by David Hornblow.)
A graduate of Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School, Matthew has appeared in numerous roles on the Auckland stage, including 'Eddie Fool for Love', 'Begbie in Trainspotting', and 'Soldier' in Sarah Kanes controversial play 'Blasted.'
Matthew has appeared in three other feature films. 'Absent Without Leave', 'Desperate Remedies' and most recently 'Christmas' a digi feature by Gregory King.
He has also appeared in numerous short films, including Greg Kings 'Pop' winner of best video at the Melbourne International Film Festival.

Prue Cunningham
Woodenheads production manager.

Prue is a film-maker, art educator and art writer based in Auckland. Prue graduated from Elam School of Fine Arts in 2001. She has directed a number of short films including Conversation (2001), which has screened in various Auckland short film programmes. Prue has worked in film and video production in a variety of capacities, including a guest tutorship at Whitecliffe College of Arts and Design. Woodenhead was Prue's debut as Production Manager.

David Hornblow
The tramp.

David is and actor and writer based in Auckland. His film credits include Topless Women Talk About their Lives (NZ 1995, dir. Harry Sinclair) and Bradman (NZ 1993, dir. Peter Tait). David plays the lead role in NZ New Filmmaker of the Year Gregory King's first feature film, Christmas, due for Festival screening in New Zealand in July.

David is also an internationally published poet, featuring in the contemporary anthology of poetry Short Fuse (2002, Ratapallax Press, NY). He has performed his poetry in venues around Australasia, including scripting and performing a one man show, Expat, at the Sydney and Melbourne Fringe Festivals in 1998.

David Hornblow

Kerryn McMurdo
Woodenhead Circus dancer

Kerryn graduated from Aucklandâs School of Performing & Screen Arts at Unitec in 2000 with a BPSA in Contemporary Dance and from Wellington Performing Arts Centre in 1997, with a Certificate of Contemporary Dance. In 2001 Kerryn also obtained a Certificate of Proficiency for Cunningham Technique at the School of Creative and Performing Arts, University of Auckland. Since then Kerryn has choreographed, performed and screened work in theatres, galleries and cafes for arts and cultural festivals and independent shows in Auckland, Hamilton and Wellington. Kerryn is an emerging intercultural and experimental dance/ performance, video and installation artist and works with the concepts of cultural identity and dislocation. Solo performances include - Absent Torna/Seed of Desireâ What Is Seen What Is Unseen what is to be revealedâ and most recently Skeletal Precipice. Video works include - Voy, Private Slide

Killer Ray
Killer Rays music features in Woodenhead. He also has a cameo role in the Grimm Brothers Circus opening credits.

They call him Killer Ray, the Jazz Cowboy of Auckland, mixing it up with Jazz, Rap, blues, bebop, and scat vocals.
Since becoming Killer Ray, he has been performing at some of the best known night clubs and wearing a variety of costumes to go with his masked persona and his beautiful Marilyn Monroe look-alike models.
Killer Ray is a solo act scatting and rapping over his keyboard improvisations and mixing in modern stuff like hip hop, rap, techno, house, jungle and drum and bass dance music.
Killer Ray has been a guest on Nightline and Max TV Chat Show, was the subject of Florian Habichts film 'Liebestraume- the Absurd Dreams of Killer Ray.' He performed at the Big Day Out and has sent his music video to the Late Night David Letterman Show in NYC.
Check out the Godfather of hip and cool music soon. Killer Ray is seventy four years of age and is a graduate of the Elam School of Fine Arts.

Killer Ray

Margaret-Mary Hollins
Woodenhead's narrator.

Margaret-Mary is a professional actor of 18 years, who started her training with Sydney Acting School - Dip. Acting. Later wanting a broader theatre spectrum she studied with Ecole Philippe Gaulier - Melodrama, Clowning, Shakespeare, Chekhov, Writing & Directing in London and City & Guilds of London and most recently trained with Estill Voice Training Systems. She works in theatre as an actor, writer, producer, director and tutor. Margaret-Mary co-founded Pandemonium - theatre that moves in 2002. She recently directed the critically acclaimed 'Beautiful Losers' and will be directing 'Macbeth' in August of 2003. This is her second involvement in a Florian Habicht film and loves working with a film director "who can make a potato look and feel astounding."

Alexa Wilson
Woodenhead Circus Performer.

Alexa Wilson is an Auckland based freelance exhibitionist of ideas delivered through performance which is interdisciplinary, though movement based. She has been a puppet in the dance works of Douglas Wright, Malia Johnston, Curve, Mark Harvey and danced collaboratively with difficult company in 'kill/dance' in N.Z and Australia since 2000, when unleashed from Unitec's Performing and Screen arts school. Her experimental works 'save/dance', 'Lab', 'Noah's Artifice' and 'N/A: epoch' have been performed in theatres, galleries, studios, cafes, bars throughout Auckland and some in Wellington and Melbourne, with minimal funding or sponsorship. She has a B.A in Film and Women's Studies and teaches film theory at M.I.T. She likes to write and is inspired by text, film, art and dance from the heart and mind and has yet to engage with the spirit in an integrated way. For now paradox is an uneasy friend and her work a shadow to the world.

Jeffrey Holdaway
Woodenheads Audio Recordist / Engineer

Jeffrey is a filmmaker and audio engineer based in Auckland, New Zealand. He has been making films for over ten years and during that time has made a gradual transition from shooting the visuals to recording, inventing and mixing the sounds.He trained at AUT in Visual Arts (filmmaking) graduating in 1996, later going on to study Audio Engineering and Sound Design at MAINZ and Auckland University.
He is a member of the electronic art pop group Dr Peril and also records and produces for other Auckland bands. Jeffrey has been working with Florian since recording and mixing the sound for Liebestraume in 1998.
"Woodenhead gave me freedom I never had before when recording sound for film. Usually I'm compromising between unwanted location sounds and camera noise, restricted with microphones designed to filter out these extra sounds. Recording the audio before we began shooting allowed me to concentrate solely on capturing the actor's performance with a much higher quality than I would be able to achieve on set."
Jeffrey is currently working with a variety of directors recording and producing audio for documentaries, and short films. The documentary "Kaikohe Demolition" he has worked on with Florian is due for release later this year.
www.drperil.com

Jeffrey Holdaway

Frank Habicht
Woodenhead's Stills Photographer

Frank Habicht, a Hamburg born photographer of international repute, spent several decades working in London, Paris and Berlin as well as exhibiting worldwide.
His photography has featured in many magazines and journals including "Die Welt", "Twen", "US Camera:, Esquire" and the "Guardian".
He has worked as a stills photographer for various film directors/producers including Roman Polanski, Jules Dassin and Bryan Forbes.
His book "Young London", a social document on on London's youth, was published in the late sixties.
Another photographic book, "In The Sixties" (Tandem Press & Axis Publishing London 1997), juxtaposed those who achieved international fame with the unnamed, not recorded in history books.
After extensive traveling he and his family made their permanent home in New Zealand where he is fascinated by the combination of light and what he sees as a unique natural environment.

His recent work includes an acclaimed satrical pictorial on New Zealand's Bay of Islands: "Where The Sunday Grass is Greener". Another pictorial on the Bay of Islands: "A Paradise found" was published in 2000.

Last year Frank exhibited his 'Karma Sixties' collection at Gallery Collette in Paris. Florian's new film is looslely based on Frank's experiences as a photographer in London during the sixties!

Frank says his main concern in photography is the process of communication to attempt to keep a situation alive by fusing observer and observed.

www.frankhabicht.com


Christine Habicht
Woodenhead's caterer

Austrian born Christine is Florian's and Sebastian's proud mother. She thoroughly enjoyed to be with and spoil the entire dedicated and hardworking crew with sumptuous and innovative food. Once reborn Christine will run her own travelling catering business for filmmakers on a shoestring.

William Stanners
Woodenhead evil child vandal...

Mischief personified! William likes to live on the edge - from the day of his birth when he squirmed out of the midwife's hands to fall into the bath to smashing his father's brand new quad bike into the back of his mother's car at the age of two and a half. When William was asked to be in a movie and trash a car he jumped at the chance and enjoyed every moment of his days 'on-set'. Today William loves numbers, computers, his go-cart and football. He say's he's going to be an All Black. And who knows? Because with William - anything's possible!

Lutz Halbhubner
Radio Woodland Announcer, Goerdels voice and performer in 'Hospice for Destitute Lovers' music video.

This is Lutz. He was born in Germany and came to NZ nearly 20 years ago. Apart from being an actor and voice over artist, Lutz worked as a Dental Technician, Scuba Dive Instructor and Business Manager. His hobbies are Cats (he has twenty!), Music (he plays harmonica, guitar & keyboard), Movies and Travel. Lutz first Movie was 'Das Boot' shot in Germany. In NZ he played a lot in Xena & Hercules as well as other American Series, several local Movies and Theater. He did a lot of voiceover work for Documentaries and Ads. Lutz met Florian a few years ago on a common assignment and happily agreed to lend his voice to Woodenhead. Lutz will be performing on the keyboard on opening night Friday 13 !!