Massey film student scores NZ On Air funding for animated series

Photo / Jack Marlin

Massey’s own Charlie Faulks received big news last month that NZ On Air is funding almost $500,000 dollars to his animated series, set to hit screens across Aotearoa next year.  

Bloke of the Apocalypse, will follow a father and son as they combat a zombie apocalypse in rural Aotearoa. 

Faulks said the show is very close to his heart, “I took inspiration from my own life having grown up on a farm in Gisborne.”  

Charlie noted that the differences between him and his father inspired the comedy style woven throughout his show. 

“The father, Bloke, is based directly on my Dad – visually they’re exactly the same. Oliver, the son, is a mix between me and my nine-year-old brother Ollie.” 

Bloke of the Apocalypse started as a small side project throughout Charlie’s second year of university from the comfort of his small dorm room in Massey’s Cube Hall.  

“I began conceptualising an animated series set in Aotearoa with my flatmate Jack Marlin, I wanted to base it here so Jack and I could voice the characters using our natural accents.” 

With the show being based in Aotearoa, Charlie hopes his audiences can truly relate to the characters and its themes.  

“I want to illuminate very specific areas of our beautiful country and the familiar personas that exist within them.” 

“It was my utmost dream to have creative control over a project, and now I suddenly do — Crap, I need to find a new dream.” 

Along with his producers, Ben Powdrell and Francesca Carney, the three are now preparing to embark on this exciting journey.