Creepy sheep

NZ horror film Black Sheep has impressed international critics with its blend of low-budget gore and on-the-nose humour. Since its premiere at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival, Black Sheep has won the Audience and Special Jury prizes at France’s Gérardmer Film Festival and two Silver Ravens at the Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film. The film took writer/director Jonathan King three years to make and cost well under NZ $10 million. “It just popped into my head,” he says of the storyline, which involves angry, genetically-modified sheep. “There is no story of childhood trauma on a farm. I should make one up.” King has previously made short films, music videos and commercials, but Black Sheep is his first feature-length production. He will release a second film, The attooist, later this year and is currently working on a sci-fi film for young adults.