A projector overlays artworks on to the contours of Hank Bilous’ face. Images, shapes and colours blend as his voice cuts through the moody background music: "A psychedelic swirl of authenticity and vulnerability". Bilous is speaking about self-expression, in its many forms — but the same words could be used to describe his new film, The War on Style.
Hank Bilous is an Otago local, Freeride World Tour skier, passionate surfer and recently qualified nurse. A man of many talents, Bilous has spent the past two years directing, scripting and refining his debut short film, The War on Style.
The film’s title comes from its premise: the claim that society has waged a War on Style, prioritising the acquisition of taught technical skill over the experience of personal discovery and self-expression.
Bilous claims that this system forces us to "suppress and smother our uniqueness to be like one another".
The War on Style premiered at the NZ Mountain Film Festival last month, and is now touring the country.
The film’s next stops are in Queenstown and Wānaka.
There is more depth than your typical ski film. Stunning shots are punctuated by a poetic script written by Bilous, exploring the relationship between technique and style.
He hopes viewers "will interpret the ideas in the film in a way they can apply to their own world".
"I think, in our society, we definitely value technical skills more than self-expression," Bilous says.
"My ultimate goal for this film would be to move the needle slightly towards valuing self-expression more highly."
Part of the thesis of The War on Style is that if you work hard at something and acquire the skills, space will open up for you to express yourself and add flair in that pursuit — no matter the task.
Creating the film was proof of concept for the idea, Bilous says.
"I wanted to be involved the whole way through. As it suggests in the film, I figured if I just put in my hours and did the time, I would be able to learn the technical skills of film and then be able to apply my self-expression to that."
Self expression is undeniably at the forefront of the film. Seamlessly moving between black-and-white and colour video, the images have clearly been intentionally selected to illustrate the spoken-word poem.
Bilous’ voice guides us through the pictures, ebbing and flowing like the waves or mountain tops on screen. Peppered throughout the clever rhymes are philosophical one-liners, beckoning the listener to think deeply about the ideas discussed.
Part of what makes his film so notable, and the poetry so revealing, is Bilous’ tendency to embrace the unique and personal.
"I think it would be cool if people recognised their own uniqueness a bit more, and tried to apply it to what they do best," he says.
Despite travelling the world to ski, Bilous is adamant Dunedin stands out as a nursery for expression and the embrace of uniqueness.
"Studying in Dunedin was really conducive to me finding my own voice and being who I am, and celebrating that rather than trying to amalgamate into anything else.
"There’s a lot of diverse subcultures and expressions in Dunedin. I found most people to be very accepting of others’ uniqueness, and refreshingly unfazed by trying to be better than, or identical to, one another."
Bilous is not the only local name in the film’s credits.
Shot, edited and co-produced by Dunedin’s Chris Maunsell, with a soundtrack by Arrowtown musician Sam Wave (Sam Mehrtens), the film is truly a product of Otago.
Most of the film was shot in Dunedin and Wānaka. Bilous notes that, aside from the practical benefits that endear the region to filming, it is also "the best place ever".
"The diversity and proximity of different landscapes is amazing.
"Within that southern triangle between Dunedin, Wānaka and Southland you have a world’s worth of playgrounds".
Teasing at the possibility of future film projects, Bilous says he is keen to further explore the boundaries of ski-film-making.
"In the past, a flash camera pointed at me has always meant it is time to try something really technically good," Bilous says.
"In our filming, we were, and will continue to, try to break that mould of technique and skill over self-expression".
The film
• The War on Style screens in Queenstown on August 20th, and in Wānaka on the 21st.
