Ultimately Lacks Polish

Freya Daly Sadgrove is an emerging New Zealand poet, riding the success of her collection Head Girl — but acutely aware that something has to come next. With her multi-poet show Show Ponies, she’s determined to jam together poetry, punk, sex, sizzle and theatre, shaking poetry performance loose from its conventions. But not everyone is supportive of her unconventional ideas. 

Kathleen Winter’s documentary short, Ultimately Lacks Polish, juxtaposes the music, movement and confronting energy of Freya’s live performances with the poet’s more mindful reflections on her artistry, her self, and her attempts to secure funding for her next big thing. 

Credits:

Director: Kathleen Winter
Producer: Thomas Coppell
Editor: Amanda Mulderry

Starring: Freya Daly Sadgrove
Drummer: Thomas Friggens

**Sexy** Extras: Eamonn Marra, Jacob Elliott Brown, Jordan Hamel, Kyle Chapman, Owen Baxendale, Ox Lennon

Show Ponies:
Poets: Anahera Gildea, Chris Tse, Jackson Nieuwland, Joy Holley, Rebecca Hawkes, Sam Duckor-Jones, Sinead Overbye, Sudha Rao, Tayi Tibble
Dancers: Ata Bridge-Comer, Daniel Nodder, Lucy Everett, Reuben Nicolas
MCs: Eamonn Marra, Jordan Hamel
Show Ponies performance footage filmed by Ryan Gray-McCoy.

Sound Design: Oliver Devlin
Lighting Design:Marcus McShane
Director of Photography: Jess Charlton
Additional Camera Operators: Ingrid Saker, Kathleen Winter, Anna McIntosh, Ryan Gray-McCoy
Sound Recordists: Jessy McNamara, Lachlan Crane, Fraser Rudman, Trent Williams,
Sound Assist: Katie Chilton
Gaffer: Joel Strawbridge
LX Asst: Georgia Ah Kuoi
Production Designer: Sylvie McCreanor
Make-Up Artist: Jamie Rameka
Standby/Props: Stephanie Quennell
Health & Safety Rep: Aden Holmes
Production Assistant: Emma Cullen
Unit: Huihui (Chris) Chong

Animator: Shannon Singleton
Title Design: Sylvie McCreanor
Credits: Axel Olsthoorn
Online Editor: Mike Potton
Composer: Thomas Friggens
Sound Design & Mix: Phil Burton - Underground Sound

Artworks Featured:
Sam Duckor-Jones, ‘Devilry 2’, 2019, Jon Noorlander, ‘Exploding Heads Series 2019 – 20’, Emily Crooks, From the series ‘Plaything’, 2020, in Candy Coated, The Dowse Art Museum, 2021

Additional Poet Featured: Areez Katki

Avalon Studios, Lower Hutt