This surreal Slamdance-winning doco captures two years in the lives of a passionate amateur filmmaker, his supportive girlfriend and their outrageous cast – all trying to realise his dream of martial arts stardom.
Elliot is an incredibly entertaining and ultimately bizarre documentary about a man chasing a simple dream of becoming the next Chuck Norris.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2014
Kung Fu Elliot 2014
Anyone who’s ever walked out of a Chuck Norris movie and imagined suddenly spin-kicking five make-believe muggers can probably empathise with the dream of stardom chronicled in this offbeat Canadian charmer. Meet one Elliot ‘White Lightning’ Scott. Sheltered from the real world – and the necessity of paid employment – Elliot dreams of being the next Van Damme, after his home movies (They Killed My Cat, Blood Fight) are unleashed upon the world. He relies upon the unwavering support of a motley mob of enablers, all of whom regard his talents with awe. This laugh-out-loud doco follows Blood Fight’s production over two years, recording for posterity Elliot’s blossoming ego as his fame spreads and he uses, abuses and loses a friend or two along the way. But is he the real deal? Does he have the skills to pay the bills? When the doco takes a shift to crazytown in its final third, audiences may not just question Elliot’s sanity but their own perception of Elliot’s reality. A natural successor to American Movie and chock-full of small city Canuck charm, Kung Fu Elliot is a hilarious testament to the ‘never say cut!’ ethos of big dreams shot in lo-fi.