Tiaki Teremoana in Stranger, Brother.

Stranger, Brother, the new short film from Naarm-based filmmaker Annelise Hickey, is an intimate story about family, distance and the quiet need for connection.

The film follows Adam, a millennial drifting through a carefree life, whose world is disrupted when his 10-year-old half-brother Mose unexpectedly appears at his door. 

The two are strangers in every sense. As Adam tries to track down their elusive father, he is met with silence. Meanwhile, Mose begins to sense that his older brother may be ashamed of him. When the truth comes out, that Mose’s mother is dying, the tension between them erupts, forcing both brothers to confront what they mean to one another.

For Hickey, the story is deeply personal. 

“After re-uniting with my own half-brother after a 12 year gap, I was inspired to make a film about two siblings coming together and realising how much they need one another,” Hickey tells Cinema Australia. 

“I had always wanted to work with my friend and artist Tiaki Teremoana (who plays Adam) and after bringing the idea to them, I wrote the piece especially for Tiaki. My intention was to create a hybrid doco/narrative style script with two non-actors in key roles and collaborate with them in shaping the script and characters.”

Samson Uili Stranger, Brother.

The result is a naturalistic, emotionally honest work that blurs the line between performance and lived experience.

Hickey’s previous short, Hafekasi, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2023, earning an Honourable Jury Mention, and later screened at the BFI London Film Festival. She was also named Australian Emerging Director at the Melbourne International Film Festival in 2023. Her work consistently explores belonging and identity with emotional and visual authenticity,  themes that continue in Stranger, Brother.

Tiaki Teremoana brings a quiet complexity to Adam. Known in Naarm’s underground music scene for their distinct sound and storytelling, Tiaki has recently stepped into acting. Opposite them is 10-year-old Samson Uili as Mose. Born in Wellington and proudly representing his Samoan heritage, Samson has already appeared in screen projects including Hafekasi.

Stranger, Brother will screen at the upcoming Stellar Short Film Festival. Details here.

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