Frank and the Warriors is a feature film, in development, about the life and work of Frank Varsanyi; the archetypal outsider artist.

Creating the world’s largest collection of tribal warriors is paradoxically one of the more mainstream interests that Frank has pursued. Outside of hacking through jungles in Borneo and riding horses on the Mongolian steppe, he was there right at the beginning of New Zealand’s wildlife tourism boom, turned a old mental asylum into a backpackers and collected 50 classic cars along the way.

But the clock is ticking and Frank wants to make the most of what remains. And so the film follows him as he faces a major turning point in his life.

Will he realise his dreams or will his brave choices haunt him?

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Featuring….

Director: Chris Gillman Gable

Chris has a long interest in social documentary and has pursued this both in the form of photography and short film. In the former medium he received national attention as a result of a major exhibition at Dunedin’s Settlers’ Museum (now Toitu), Shopkeeping. You can find an interview he did for RNZ’s Arts on Sunday here.

After a stint of working for NHNZ in Dunedin, he made the short film Being Santa. This was accepted to the Documentary Edge Festival in 2005 (then known as DOCNZ). You can find this, and other work, at his website. 

 

Producer: Sue Marshall

Initially a newspaper photographer, Sue went on to use those skills in scientific and general photography. A move to audio visual and film production followed, shifting through business development and administration and back to photography via a BFA, then back to film production via a Digital Film Diploma.

FILMOGRAPHY:

• Producer: The Finding, Minerva Productions 2021
• Producer/Director: Dealin with the Devil, Roza Media 2018
• First AD: The Other Side of the World, Roza Media 2018
• Producer/Director/Writer: Famous, Steep Street Film 2016