Ultimately Lacks Polish

Freya Daly Sadgrove is an emerging New Zealand poet, riding the success of her collection Head Girl — but acutely aware that something has to come next. With her multi-poet show Show Ponies, she’s determined to jam together poetry, punk, sex, sizzle and theatre, shaking poetry performance loose from its conventions. But not everyone is supportive of her unconventional ideas. 

Kathleen Winter’s documentary short, Ultimately Lacks Polish, juxtaposes the music, movement and confronting energy of Freya’s live performances with the poet’s more mindful reflections on her artistry, her self, and her attempts to secure funding for her next big thing. 

Released April 2022 for the Going West Writers Festival.

“As much as the film is a profile of Daly Sadgrove, it’s also a look at what it’s like for an artist navigating the bureaucratic hellscape that is arts funding” - Chris Tse