Grubber

Meek Convenience Store Worker Anna fantasies of escaping her mundane life for the luxurious one of successful yet out of touch business woman Lisa. Anna’s interest in Lisa turns to obsession, and when she finds a job as Lisa’s house-sitter she is finally able to live out her dreams. However, these seemingly harmless desires quickly spiral into something much more sinister...

Kia Ora! ‘Grubber’ is a 14 minute Psychological Thriller short film created by Ātae productions, a female led film group in our final year of Screen Arts at Massey University. 

Purpose:

Grubber explores the universal struggle of being stuck in minimum wage, customer service jobs. It’s a film made for anyone who's ever fantasised about murdering the particularly rude customer at the end of a hellish, exhausting, soul-crushing 10 hour shift. Grubber puts these fantasies into reality, being somewhat of a cathartic release for those who relate, and a wake up call for those who do not. 

Grubber is a thrilling and satirical commentary on how dehumanising it feels to be seen and treated as “less than” by customers and society alike. Our film portrays how being constantly mistreated and being told that you are not equal can build up resentment, turning a once good person to violent extremes in pursuit of being seen. It expresses the frustrations of this experience in an absurd and dark way, making fun of the ignorance of those who do not experience this shared trauma.

Our Boosted Goal:

We massively appreciate any donation, big or small, that will go towards bringing Grubber to life. We are aiming to raise $3000 for Grubber which will cover the scope and cost for the film.

The funding we make from this boosted campaign will go towards: Making tons of fake blood, paying actors, feeding the cast and crew, costumes, and props, travel expenses, and location fees.

Follow us at @grubberfilm on Instagram to support our dream of making this film come to life!

Our Manifesto and Filmmaking Environment:

At Ātae Productions we embrace collaborative and creative working environments. 

Inclusivity: As women in film, we have noticed that certain voices are often patronised and disrespected, which can feel incredibly frustrating and tends to go unnoticed by others. We really cherish having a female-led production group where every person feels seen and celebrated.

This inclusivity creates a positive working environment as well as enriching and strengthening the stories we make. 

Collaboration: Rather than running our film set like a dictatorship we value creating a collaborative and open-minded environment, where people can share ideas and opinions without the fear of being shut down. Although we stay respectful of our specialised roles on set and to our specific vision, we foster a supportive environment where every person on our team is appreciated.

This supports a fun environment where everybody feels passionate and motivated towards a project. 

Creativity and authenticity: Above all, we are doing this out of pure passion and love for filmmaking. It is so important that we put the creativity and authenticity of our work above any other expectations or standards of what our stories should be. This allows for unique voices and fresh perspectives to shine through. It gives team members freedom to take creative risks, allowing new ideas to thrive, and therefore creating more authentic and bold storytelling. 

Our Team:

Producer - Tasmin du Mez
Co-Producer - Jake Stapleton
Director and Writer - Annika Peterson
1st AD - Daisy Din
DOP - Alex Shirtcliffe

1st AC - Louis Nixon
2nd AC - Eva Juriss
Gaffer - Cassius Snow
Best Boy - Matt Crawford-Teagle
Data Wrangler - Max Woolf

Sound Designer - Jack Marlin
Sound Recordist - Daniel Charter
Sound Mixer - Hamish Mickinley
Composer - Charlie Morton

Production Designer- Emma Parkinson
Props Designer - Eva Juriss 
Set Designer - Isla Crawford-Whitaker
Art Department Assistant - Alex Litherland
SFX Makeup Artists - Maggie Shore and Libby Shearer

Editor - James Hollamby
BTS - Lenuasi Tamapeau Su’a
Storyboard Illustrator - Emily Mahoney