Hoihorse is a short documentary about the connection a person can have with a horse and how people can come to rely on them. It explores the perspectives of 4 individuals from the Gisborne area who have had varying experiences with horses. It shows that horses can be both a struggle and a stress reliever and how much love a person can have for their four-legged friends
The film was directed by Sile Sneddon, who has grown up with horses and has been riding her whole life and has a spirit for adventure and loves hanging out with animals. She worked with her crew mates Te Hira Horua and Tobias Horsfield to bring her interviewees stories to the screen. The team worked really well together and said they had heaps of fun while making this film.
“Sile was a great director, she had a great work ethic and made sure that her interviewees were comfortable.” says Te Hira who was a camera operator and a sound operator in Sile’s crew.
And the compliments go both ways, Sile says “Working with Te Hira and Tobias was great! They both had their own ideas and took initiative when it came to doing their roles. Shout out to them!”
Sile got the idea for Hoihorse from her sister Orla Sneddon who also rides horses. “I knew I wanted to make a documentary about some aspect of horses but I didn't know what, then someone asked me why I like being with them. I couldn’t put an answer to it so I asked my sister and she said she liked it because it’s nice having a connection with such a large animal and knowing you can trust them. So I went with that!” said Sile, as she thought about how the idea came to be. “I’m definitely very proud of it. It’s one of the biggest projects I’ve worked on and I’m really happy with how it came out. And it was a great opportunity to work with awesome people who I know, have learnt from and love being around.” Sile asked her friends and people she’s known for years to be in her film and they all helped her out happily.
Sile was awarded best director in the Rāngai end of term screening and awards and had a great response from the audience when screened. Rāngai director Shannon Dowsing said he really liked the film too. “Sile got some great shots in there and it was really cool.”