FACELESS

“Faceless sings for the faceless majority.”

You may have arrived here from PEOPLES PICTURES Give A Little page, in which case kia ora and welcome, I hope to give you a little more background to this project.

A film portrait of the Dargaville-based performance artist James Puharich/FACELESS by Fred Renata and John Pain, the documentary short will explore the world of this musician/poet from Northland, Aotearoa. He is one of the few artists to regularly utilise the Dargaville band rotunda in its capacity as a community soapbox, and under the hard-bitten persona FACELESS he gives voice to the region’s dispossessed and abandoned community. Public performance, interview, and recording studio footage will be juxtaposed with stylised, dream-like sequences accompanying FACELESS’ songs, where his dream-persona roams the landscapes of the Kaipara like a lost giant. The film-makers will also follow James as he interacts with his people, socialising and providing support and care to those in need.

Some background on Fred and John:
Fred is a noted cinematographer working in shorts, features, and television. John’s moving image background is largely in animation, both indie and international studio-based production worlds. Both are composers and musicians who live in Kaipara/Northland.

Fred Renata, D.O.P.

2025 - Koka (feature film)

2022 - Muru (feature film)

2021 - Dawn Raid (documentary)

2019 - Herbs: Songs Of Freedom (documentary)

etc.

John Pain, director, animation specialist.

2026 - From Scratch: Songs For Unsung Heroes (performance film - director, producer, editor)

2011 - Franklin and Friends (animated series) director.

2007 - The Future is Wild (supervisor) animated series

2005 - Jane and the Dragon (supervisor) animated series