Mark Albiston
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Mark Albiston (born 19 March 1972) is a
New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
film, television and advertising director. He graduated from University of Canterbury in Christchurch in 1992 with a degree in Fine Arts.


Career

In 2000, Albiston started the production company Sticky Pictures. The company produced award-winning content across a wide range of genres including documentary, short films, music videos, and commercials. These projects offered Albiston the opportunity to refine his directing talent from a variety of angles writing, editing and shooting on various projects. Albiston won a number of Documentary and factual TV awards including best arts documentary for ''The Magical World of Misery'' and best factual entertainment TV show for ''The Living Room''. In 2007, Albiston received recognition in the Short Film Section at the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...
for his short film ''Run''. Created in collaboration with writer/actor
Louis Sutherland Louis Sutherland is a New Zealand film, television and advertising director and actor. He is of Samoan and Scottish descent, and based in Wellington. Sutherland studied at Toi Whakaari (The New Zealand Drama School, Wellington) where he wor ...
, the film won prizes at a number of other festivals. Albiston follow-up short film '' The Six Dollar Fifty Man''. won the same Jury award at the
2009 Cannes Film Festival The 62nd Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 May to 24 May 2009. French actress Isabelle Huppert was the President of the Jury. Twenty films from thirteen countries were selected to compete for the Palme d'Or. The awards were announced on 23 M ...
. Albiston was the first director to win twice in that category at Cannes. The film was a break-out hit on the festival circuit; its tally included winning the award for best international short at
The Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,660 ...
, a special mention in its section at Berlin, scooping three awards at the
2009 Qantas Film and Television Awards The 2009 Qantas Film and Television Awards were held on Saturday 5 September at the Civic Theatre in Auckland, New Zealand. The craft awards were presented in a separate awards lunch at the Civic Theatre Friday 4 September. Highlights from the ...
– including Best Short – and top prize at the 2010 Flickerfest festival in Australia. ''The Six Dollar Fifty Man'' made the 10-strong long-list for the
Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
, ultimately missing out on the final five. At the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, Albiston premiered ''
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'', his feature film co-directorial debut. Also created with Louis Sutherland, the film earned several awards including a Grand Prix at the
Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...
, and seven
New Zealand Film Awards New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
. including Best Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Director. In 2019, Albiston directed ''Billy and the Kids'', a 40-minute documentary that screened as part of the NZ International Film Festival. The film is about troubled kids that have been caught by the rock-iron mitts of boxing coach Billy Graham. Billy grew up rough but was saved by his boxing coach Dick Dunn. Now he has five boxing academies that are saving kids just like him. ''Billy and the Kids'' tells the story of an overstayer from Nauru, an extreme anxiety sufferer, an Afghani refugee, a young run away and truant teens who've all found a safe haven at Billy's gym. Albiston is currently developing his first solo-directed feature film together with New Zealand writer Paul Stanley Ward called ''Cat Burglar''. Albiston has continued to work independently as a commercials director, winning awards at every major advertising awards show around the globe.


Filmmaking style

Albiston has gained an international following by crafting a body of work that focuses on character and emotion, stripping away pretense to create authentic and raw emotional performances.


References


External links

*
Sticky Pictures

The Sweet Shop

New Zealand Film Commission
{{DEFAULTSORT:Albiston, Mark 1972 births Living people New Zealand film directors New Zealand television directors New Zealand screenwriters Male screenwriters University of Canterbury alumni People from Wellington City