From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Robert Sarkies (born 1969) is a New Zealand film director and scriptwriter. Sarkies grew up in the South Island city of Dunedin, and his two feature films released to date have been set in Dunedin, or close by. He began making short films as a teenager with fellow filmmaker Simon Perkins. After winning an international award for his short Dream-makers, Sarkies began work on his most ambitious short to date: the adventure comedy Signing Off (1996), which won four international awards and helped attract funding for Scarfies(1999), Sarkies' feature film debut. Sarkies co-wrote the Scarfies script with his younger brother, playwright and performer Duncan Sarkies. Winner of seven awards including Best Picture and Best Director at the NZ Film Awards, the film is part comedy, part thriller, and partly a celebration of being a university student in Dunedin. Scarfies was later released on video in the United States under the title Crime 101. Sarkies' second feature is the true-life thriller Out of the Blue based on the 1990 Aramoana Massacre, in which a gunman killed thirteen people in a seaside town not far from Dunedin. The film emphasizes realism over melodrama, partly through handheld camerawork and a naturalistic acting style. Some of those living in Aromoana expressed opposition to the film being made; others who lost people in the tragedy agreed to do interviews with scriptwriters Sarkies and Graeme Tetley. In New Zealand, Out of the Blue went on to become the tenth most successful local film yet released theatrically (not accounting for inflation), and win six Qantas Film and Television Awards in September 2008, including "Best Picture - budget over $1 million". As of October 2008, Out of the Blue's rating on critics' website Rotten Tomatoes was 91 per cent. Before the making of Out of the Blue, the Sarkies brothers worked together on the script for a fantasy film called The Magnificent Magic Fingers. The budget for Magic Fingers was estimated to be at least NZ$20 million. It is not yet clear whether Magic Fingers will join Peter Jackson's unmade Blubberhead as one of the great fantasy films that never quite emerged from down under. In 2010, the TV series This Is Not My Life, directed by Sarkies, debuted on New Zealand Television. Hopefully Robert will be considering a major role for Andy Faulkner, who he directed to great comedic effect in a 2006 TVC for Ford Fairmont Ghia. Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Sarkies, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
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Biography from TMDB.
- Director, writer and producer
- 5 on MovieCove · 16 credits in all
What are Robert Sarkies' films like?
Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Self.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 2
Light 0 · Serious 1 · Dark 2
Grounded 3 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 0 · Intense 3
Steady 1 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 2
Resolved 3 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet2
- Ambiguous2
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Robert Sarkies' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Robert Sarkies' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
16 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page.
Pike River(2025)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
One Lane Bridge(2020)
Midcredits score: 38th percentile of all shows
The Gulf(2019)
Midcredits score: 41st percentile of all shows
Jean (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Wanted (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Two Little Boys (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Honk If You're Horny (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
43,000 Feet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Out of the Blue(2006)
Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films
Dark Stories 3: Tales from the Grave (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Dark Stories 2: Tales from Beneath (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)
Scarfies(1999)
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all filmsSigning Off (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Flames From The Heart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Dream-Makers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1992)
Career shape
A full career of 14 titles from 1992 to 2025.
Awards
Nominated for a Berlinale award in 2012, Generation 14plus - Best Film.
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Robert Sarkies' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 65th percentile, the median of all 3; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 70th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th2
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 5 titles are Mixed.
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the pacing 60/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 69, detractors 40. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Robert Sarkies work with?
People who share at least 2 of Robert Sarkies' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Alison Bruce shares the most, 2.
Actors
- Alison BruceShared titles: One Lane Bridge (2020), The Gulf (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Alison Bruce
Editors
- Annie CollinsShared titles: Out of the Blue (2006), Scarfies (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Annie Collins
Producers
- Timothy WhiteShared titles: Pike River (2025), Out of the Blue (2006)See all 2 shared titles with Timothy White
- Lisa ChatfieldShared titles: One Lane Bridge (2020), Scarfies (1999)See all 2 shared titles with Lisa Chatfield