Surgical Precision short film

A doctor researching the medical uses of telekinesis finds his Hippocratic Oath challenged when his home is invaded by those seeking to exploit his ability. He doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but when push comes to shove his intruders will discover that he can target their internal body parts with…surgical precision.

Please help us raise the last $3300 of our budget.

The Film

This is a blackly comic horror story about a man and his dog trying to resist their attackers, without hurting them too much. It’s a tongue-in-cheek yet tense film about how far our hero will go to save the life of someone who means him harm, even at the expense of his own health.

And there will be blood. Lots of blood.

The Team

We are an emerging group of filmmakers, predominantly from the Waikato, who are determined to make quality films in our region, that can stand proudly alongside films from the more production-heavy areas of New Zealand.

Adam Harvey - Writer/Director

Adam is a lapsed doctor and brings his love of gory things to writing and directing his short films, which have played at local and international film festivals. He is committed to creativity in the Waikato, with the long-term goal of producing a feature film in the region with local talent. His most recent short is Minimally Invasive, which has screened at over 20 film festivals so far, including the prestigious Fantastic Fest, in Austin, Texas.

Mary Rinaldi - Producer

Mary is a Hamilton-based award-winning producer and actor, most recently having worked with Adam Harvey on his short film Minimally Invasive. Her most notable achievement is winning Best Film and Best Actress at the Tropfest short film competition in 2017, for her film The Anniversary, which she produced, co-wrote, co-directed and acted in. Mary has been involved for many years in the filmmaking community in the Waikato and is committed to bringing high quality local work to fruition.

Kelly Fritz - Producer

Kelly Fritz is an American filmmaker who now lives and creates in the Waikato. Her academic background in film theory and gender studies supports her kaupapa of filmmaking through an intersectional feminist lens. Kelly has collaborated with a flourishing community of Waikato filmmakers as a producer, 1st assistant director, and production designer, and through her work as founder and coordinator for the Misty Flicks Film Festival and member of the Waikato Film Hub. Her keen interest in experimental, horror and sci-fi films has inspired her funky, whimsical and often comical visual content.

Mike Potton - Director of Photography

Mike Potton is a Wellington-based camera operator and DOP. He enjoys shooting a range of genres around the motu. He was the DOP for Mary’s award-winning Tropfest NZ film, The Anniversary, and has also been a part of multiple award winning 48 hour films.

Our Cast

Anthony (Ant) Towler - Ben

Ant started acting at 14 in Theatre Unlimited. In 1991 he performed at the Sydney Theatre festival. He has trained with Ilona Rodgers, Raymond Hawthorne and Elena Stejko. His biggest roles have been Robin Goodfellow in A Midsummer Night's Dream and a TV role on the show Havoc. He is passionate about disabled representation.

Sasha Rinaldi - Tyler

Sasha (Ngāti Tūwharetoa) is an award-winning professional actor, screenwriter and filmmaker, based in Kirikiriroa, and he has acted in both feature and short films for over more than a decade. Sasha won the Best Actor award at the 2011 San Diego Comic Con for his Star Wars Film Challenge short, Star Wars: Hunter, chosen by George Lucas himself.

Missy Mooney - Kayleigh

Missy is an actor, stage manager, and theatre maker who has worked with numerous Kirikiriroa-based theatre companies. She's currently halfway through a PhD focused on documentary theatre at the University of Waikato.

Reneel Singh - Hunter

Reneel is an actor and filmmaker with a passion to make the audience feel. He’s been acting in projects for the last 10 years, and his short film Oh Crap was the City Winner at this year’s Hamilton 48 Hours Competition, and it has also been selected by Sir Peter Jackson as one of the Wildcards in the Grand National Finals. His YouTube channel Ren and Raj regularly attracts thousands of views.

Chris Hanlon - Grant

Chris has produced several short films including Adam’s films Only Humane and Bloody Late Shift, and has appeared in short films, television ads, cable series and a feature film. He co-hosts The Chris and Sam Podcast, which recently celebrated its 400^th episode.

Mac Harvey - Mac the dog

Mac is a large Great Dane.

We have had some festival success with our previous short film, Minimally Invasive, which can be seen here, and hopefully proves our ability to deliver a professional quality film!

The Goal

We have managed to raise most of our funding already, from generous investors, the awesome Creative Communities Scheme, and the in-kind donation of some equipment and services, but we are now looking to raise NZ$3300 to meet the shortfall in our budget.

This will go towards:

1. 1. Visual FX - to show the effects of Ben’s telekinesis inside the bodies of his assailants.
   2. Post-production sound mix - to complete the sound to a professional level.
   3. Safeguarding our location and supporting the needs of our lead actor, Ant. It is very important to our film that the lead role is portrayed by an actor with the same mobility issues as the character, and so the location needs certain alterations to be accessible.
   4. Blood - many, many litres of it.

Please note that all donations qualify for tax credit (33%) if you pay tax in NZ.

Thank you so much

We can’t make this film without your support, and we’re grateful for every cent. We’re so excited to bring this film to life, and hopefully showcase a genre film on the world stage that features an actor with disabilities in a lead role.

Cheers!