HEAD SOUTH to WORLD PREMIERE as OPENING NIGHT FILM AT 2024 ROTTERDAM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL !

New Zealand- born, Australian-based filmmaker Jonathan Ogilvie’s semi-autobiographical music drama Head South, featuring Ed Oxenbould, Márton Csókás, and Kiwi singer-songwriter Stella Bennett (Benee), will open the 53rd edition of the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) on January 25th 2024.

Written and directed by Ogilvie, Head South is produced by Antje Kulpe and Ogilvie with Emma Slade, Lee Hubber, Gary Phillips, Mark Vennis, and Mat Govoni as executive producers.

Set in 1979, the underground post-punk music scene of Christchurch draws in Angus, a schoolboy fantasist, who must confront self-doubt, the derision of his friends and a family tragedy to acquire an appreciation of true character.

The film features music from the period including Toy Love, The Slits, Public Image Ltd, Magazine, The Scavengers, Wire and Lou Reed. Shayne Carter (Straitjacket Fits, Dimmer) is the film’s music composer.

Ogilvie’s filmography includes Cannes Film Festival selection’s Despondent Divorcee and This Film Is a Dog along with features The Tender Hook and Lone Wolf.

Ogilvie said “I am very excited about bringing this small world to the larger world. Head South is an authentic local story with truly international reach, and I can’t wait to share it with audiences. It’s a return to the world of music and ideas - and indeed the place, Ōtautahi Christchurch - that first inspired me to become a screenwriter and director.

HEAD SOUTH is funded by the New Zealand Film Commission in association with Head South Cohort, Black Frame and I&G; with the assistance of the New Zealand Government’s Screen Production rebate and the Screen Canterbury NZ Production grant. Moviehouse Entertainment handle International Sales. LABEL plan a mid-2024 release for HEAD SOUTH in New Zealand and Australia