Actors Wanted For Short Film

"Justin Stripling" is a digital short being made as a final project for the BA Honours year at the University of Auckland. Three of the films from last year's batch were accepted into the New Zealand International Film Festival, so the calibre of talent is high.

The film follows the story of Justin Stripling and his friends over the course of one night. They hang out in a suburban supermarket parking lot, as they do every night, doing what they do best - knife fighting. The night begins as nearly any other - Justin beats Keith King in a ritualistic, bored fashion. Suddenly the relative of an old nemesis of Justin's arrives with one goal in mind - to strip Justin of his territory and his pride.

The following roles need to be cast - 

Justin Stripling: The lead. Justin is the decision-maker, the fighter, the brawn and the brash. He is 17. Him and his best friend Winch have owned the parking lot for a year, and since then every night has been bliss. If someone needs fighting, he'll fight them. If someone needs looking after, he look after them. Things are simple for Justin: He rules. He can't imagine things any other way.

Winch: At 18, Winch is Justin's best friend. More the brains of the pair, but hardly the tactician - there's no way to get Justin to do anything Justin doesn't want to. Justin would listen to him, however, mainly because they've been friends since they were 3. He is Justin's second and his confidante. His right hand man. If anything, he's probably a little tired of the rigmarole of fighting.

Leo Wells: 22-years old. A year ago, Justin beat Leo's cousin Hugo in a fight to win ownership of the parking lot. Leo was out of the country at the time, but he heard. He heard everything he needed to hear. Since then he hasn't had a single thought that doesn't involve beating Justin. It's not just about territory for Leo. It's about family.

Keith King: Keith, 18, is the only real contender to take the parking lot from Justin, but they fight nearly every week, and Justin easily beats him every time. A bit of a sucker for punishment, but a determined one at that.

I will happily cast around the ages of all roles listed, and in most cases I would prefer to cast older.