Waves of Ghosts

Renowned rapper, poet of the street, the stage and the page, novelist and educator Dominic Hoey takes a hallucinogenic walk through his life in Laingholm and surrounding west Auckland locations.

Co-directed by Jack Nicol and Andy Day of innovative production house Studio Butter and shot by Ian Powell in glorious 16mm Kodak, this dark journey is at once elegant and explosive, nostalgic and urgent.

Dominic Hoey is a novelist, publisher, youth worker, and a poet of both the page and the stage. His debut novel, Iceland, was released in 2017 by Steele Roberts and was long-listed for the Jann Medlicott Award for Fiction at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

Hoey's collection of poems, I Thought We'd Be Famous was released in 2019 with his own publishing company Dead Bird Books. In 2021, Hoey won the Sunday Star-Times Short Story Awards with 1986. The judge's award described the story as "a sharply observant social commentary on the Grey Lynn neighbourhood in the days before gentrification" and a "power-packed story of dread and sadness, as well as tenderness and retribution."

Hoey's second novel Poor People with Money was published by Penguin in 2022 to wide acclaim, with one reviewer saying as "Poor People With Money is so rich and madly entertaining that I'm just going to read it again, immediately, as should you" with the book being described as "the year's most exciting novel"[3] and "a sharp jab from the heart of life on the poverty line in Aotearoa."

Hoey described the experience of writing for many people as "If you’re poor, working class, neurodivergent, disabled or not formally educated, It really feels like you’re not part of the club.” Penguin is slated to release Hoey's next novel, Homesickness, in 2024 and he is working on a subsequent novel, called Port.

Studio Butter is a production collective in Tāmaki Makaurau, passionate about creating visually & thematically diverse work for brands, individuals and artists. Their work spans documentary, music, and commercial projects.

Dominic Hoey with his dog Chilli (left), Andy Day (middle), Jack Nicol (right)

Credits:

Produced by Andy Day
Music by Matt Short
Director of Photography – Ian Powell
Gaffer – Dawson Clutterbuck
1st Assistant Camera – Hugo Eaton
2nd Assistant Camera – Clara N’Diaye
Sound – Adam Scholz
Editor – Clara N’Diaye
Production Assistant – Matthew Bloxham
Title Design – Anus Fraser
Process and Scan – Reversal Cine

Commissioned by Going West Writers Festival with the support of Waitākere Ranges Local Board, Auckland Council and Creative New Zealand. Additional support from The Trusts Charitable Foundation, The Trusts, Foundation North and South Pacific Pictures.