Planet 13, directed by Wānaka-based Joe Murdie, offers a stark look at humanity’s self-destructive patterns, reimagined on a fictional planet in 2093. Joe, primarily a cinematographer, took on the roles of both writer and director for the short film, delving into themes of environmental complacency and survival. In this interview, Joe shares his journey of creating Planet 13, from using Central Otago’s landscapes to shape its setting to building a collaborative team that brought the ambitious sci-fi narrative to life on a limited budget.

I’m sure you’ve had to explain Planet 13 a million times by now, but for those who might not be familiar with it yet, first introduce yourself and then tell us how would you summarise the film in your own words?

Kia ora, my name is Joe and I was the writer & director of Planet 13, however, I’m generally a DOP or Camera op, based in Wānaka OTA.

Planet 13 is a short narrative sci-fi drama that originated from the question of; if humans moved to a new planet today - with the same technology and lifestyle comforts were used to - how long would it take to destroy that planet?

It follows a young couple who are from the first generation born on Planet 13 as they navigate the wasteland in search of a way to survive.

Planet 13 is set in 2093 on another planet, and a lot goes into defining and setting a world when creating something alien for an audience. Where did you start in building this world? Can you share some insights into the techniques and challenges involved in crafting the film’s storytelling style, from sound design and practical effects to digital effects and cinematography?

The diversity and uniqueness of Central Otago’s landscape plays a huge part in this film’s setting. Being a short film with a limited budget, we wanted to keep it very practical. We wanted to use the landscapes available to us as a character in the film, in a way. We chose to shoot at the end of summer when everything in Central is at its driest and filmed in locations that already have an ‘otherworldly’ feel about them.

We also built a custom-look LUT and used that on monitoring during principal photography so that we were always working ‘in that world,’ which helped keep things ‘Planet 13 accurate,’ if you will.

Sound-wise, Danny Fairley went to town on this film, and I think the score is one of the strongest parts of the world-building we did. Not only did he create a thematic score throughout, but he also created a ‘room tone’ of what the planet sounds like. He created sounds like wind and atmospheric tones to suit the world, and because we did ADR for the dialogue, he was able to completely craft the soundscape in each scene without influence from the Earth version of the location we were in.

Other than that, it was really just a lot of dust... We had Pete Bersani as our art department—yes, it was that small a production that one person was the whole department—but 90% of his job was covering everything in dust and making locations and props feel aged and abandoned.

You’ve mentioned, “It’s sci-fi because it’s on another planet, but it doesn’t have classical sci-fi tropes. It is a drama piece about two people.” How did you balance the visual spectacle with the more intimate storytelling between the characters?

Yeah, I really do see it that way. The whole film is focused on the two characters and their relationship as they try to find a way to survive on a dying planet. There are some quite long dialogue scenes, especially for a short, and it's really just a 36-hour snapshot of their life.

I think the casting was the key to it, and our cast Luna Blanco and Jordan Rivers were incredible. In fact, they both got Best Actor nominations at Top of The South for their performances. They brought a realness to the film that absolutely surpassed my expectations.

*Planet 13 Cast: Luna Blanco and Jordan Rivers*

Planet 13 feels reminiscent of red, dry, arid environments like those seen in Dune, The Martian, and Mad Max. What led you to choose this type of environment, and how did the location influence the feel of the world? Were there any specific limitations or advantages to shooting in those conditions?

For the look I leant into existing ‘dry, hot, foreign planet’ lore because I wanted audience recognition of those elements quickly and without too much exposition. I didn’t want to reinvent the wheel of alien planets, I wanted this film to sit in an existing world really. That way we could get right into story and tell quite a lot in a short time.

Sci-fi often explores philosophical ideas or societal commentary. So without watching it - but from reading about the premise, the trailer and what you've shared in other interviews, it's clear that Planet 13 reflects on humanity’s complacency toward the state of the Earth, touching on themes of climate change and, as you've said, the "misguided belief that there will always be a 'plan B'." Could you expand on how these ideas influenced the film's narrative and its approach to sci-fi? How do you see these ideas relating to our current relationship with technology, space exploration, and the environment?

Yeah.. Over the years, I’ve done quite a bit of factual content on environmental issues, and Planet 13 takes a pretty dark look at some of that in a fictional—yet based on my real-world observations—view of society’s approach to climate change.

It’s a bit of a dig at how we put out our weekly recycling and use reusable coffee cups, then tell ourselves we’re making a difference, while at the same time, we sit by and let huge corporations destroy forests and natural environments. Single companies emit more carbon in a year than entire countries' populations. Since 2016, a mere 57 companies have produced 80% of the total CO₂ emissions worldwide. Even here in Clean Green NZ, just 10 emitters still produce more than half the country's greenhouse gases. Yet, in general, we ignore that, because, well, we like our modern societal comforts.

Planet 13's people have chosen comfort over sustainability and destroyed a new planet in just one generation, all while telling themselves that they are doing their part.

The Boosted campaign highlighted the collaborative nature of the project. Can you talk about some of the key collaborators who helped bring Planet 13 to life, and how their contributions shaped the final film?

The whole crew were collaborators really, everyone had input and really got involved and made it what it is.

After the script was written and the general concepts and EPK created then the team started to grow. Ben Wallbank was involved from the very early stages, he read the script in draft and helped with some casting sessions etc, before being my 1st AC on set.

Erin had a bunch of input at different stages throughout obv and she enlisted Steph a local body language expert to help us with some scripted body language etc. Danny Fairley joined in pre-prod and guided the project sound wise. The rest of the crew joined in for production and were all people we had worked with on other productions.

The whole crew were epic too, they are all super talented and I think the fact that we all chose to be there for the right reasons made it one of the most enjoyable sets we’ve been on for many of us

Crowdfunding and short filmmaking often come with the challenge of working within limited budgets. How did you navigate these constraints while making Planet 13, and were there any creative solutions you discovered along the way?

So Planet 13 is one of three scripts I wrote at the same time that all share a similar storytelling style. By design, they were written to get more complicated to make as we worked through each one, and Planet 13 is the middle one of those. So I guess I intentionally limited the writing of the film to be achievable for the budget I thought we might be able to raise. That said, it did sort of take its own shape and become a bit bigger than I had originally planned, and as with all projects, once you have a budget set, you just start coming up with ways to make it go further because the aim is always to produce the best work you can.

I think the key thing that made Planet 13 achievable for the budget is that the crew went above and beyond. None of us were there to get paid; we were there because we were passionate about making this film.

The biggest challenge was the 3.5-day shoot. I would have loved 5 or 6 days to film this, but that wasn’t realistic, and with the distance to some of the locations, that made it even harder.

Short films are often a stepping stone to larger projects. What have you learned from making Planet 13, and how do you see this project influencing your future work as a cinematographer, writer or director?

On a simple level, Planet 13’s success so far has already opened more doors in terms of funding we can apply for, and I do plan to pursue more shorts and features as a writer and director in the coming years. But cinematography has always been my main driver, and in that space, I’m more interested in shooting projects that I didn’t write or direct, haha.

I think Planet 13 taught me a lot in areas I didn’t expect it to. For example, just being a small team meant I was doing things like making props and building sets more than ever before. I compiled costumes, cast actors, and worked in some capacity on every part of the film. Doing some of those things firsthand helps enormously when it comes to explaining your vision to others. I think as a director, I learned the most—it was the most complicated thing I had directed at the time, for sure, and in a narrative space where most of my directing has been factual, unscripted, or TVC.

Can you share any memorable or unexpected moments from the production? Sometimes the most unplanned moments on set create the most magic—were there any such moments during Planet 13?

The whole production was so epic. It’s often said that you become like a family on a film set, and that has never been truer for me than with Planet 13. We still have a crew group chat that we actively use, and I talk to most of the team almost weekly. We all just had the best time making it, and even though some of the crew were meeting for the first time, they’ve since worked together on other projects and kept in touch, and that’s the magic for me. I always want my sets to be a fun and relaxed space, and it can be hard at times, especially when you’re working long hours and are behind schedule, but I make a conscious effort to keep it fun and, ideally, stress-free because that’s when the most creative work comes out.

And finally, congrats! Planet 13 has had great success so far in the festival circuit, being a semi-finalist at the Flickers' Fest in Rhode Island and officially selected for the ITFF and Top of the South Film Fest, with Seven nominations including Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Actor (Male), Best Actor (Female), and winning both Best Director and Best Film. What’s next for Planet 13? And when will audiences like myself or anyone reading this interview be able to watch it?

Cheers! As I’ve been sitting here answering these questions, we just picked up 3 nominations at Vision Feast too, so that’s cool haha. There is still a heap of festivals we are waiting on, and so can’t do a public release until they finish which is roughly mid 2025. But once it’s done with all of those, we will get it out in the world for everyone to see.

With Planet 13 gaining traction on the festival circuit and more screenings still ahead, it’s clear this film has struck a chord. We’ll be watching closely as it continues to make its way through festivals — and looking forward to when it’s ready to reach a wider audience.

Director: Joe Murdie
Producer: Erin Murdie
1st AD: Emily Menzies
DOP: Joe Murdie
Sound Recordist, Composition & Mix: Danny Fairley
1st AC: Ben Wallbank
Gaffer: Ash Walton
Art / Props Master: Pete Bersani
Unit Production Manager: Kirsty Marshall
H/MU Artist: Emilie Plowman
Body Language Consultant: Steph Holloway
Specialist Wardrobe: Emma Edwards
EPK: Ned Brannigan
Stills Photographer: Jordan Siobhan
Locations Assistant (Intern): Xaden Stringer
Production Assistant: Susannah West
Production Assistant: Tasmin Murphy
Talent Assist: Chelsea Tobey

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