The biggest chunk of Dirty Dishes is a conversation between Max and his father (Ben Pryor). The pair are seated, the lens is close-up, the dialogue and facial expressions are king. Collins does a stellar job of showing naïvety, expectation, and anger in his face.
Pryor was also impressive, bringing to the screen the arrogance of a father who thinks a sudden gesture will make everything okay, and the dawning realisation that he stuffed up big time - vet student or not.
The weaving of online gaming and Max's supportive friends into the storyline is clever, as is using washing (and clearing) dirty dishes as a sign of love.
The credits were too fast and too small to be meaningful.
I'd like to see Dirty Dishes again, but this time on its own and without a lengthy build-up.
It was the second time I'd seen Distancing, Gupta's second film, and I liked it better this time.
Both films, which Gupta wrote, directed and produced, have a moral at the heart of them.
Gupta didn't even own a camcorder until he came to Palmy and his chemistry PhD supervisor Professor David Harding loaned him the money to buy one. A brilliant welcome to our fine city.
I went home thinking - wouldn't it be great if men and women could both get pregnant? That would really put us on the map.
This is a Public Interest Journalism funded role through NZ On Air
