Taika Waititi

Four vampires share a flat in Wellington and argue about the washing-up rota, filmed by a documentary crew who have been granted access, and What We Do in the Shadows plays the whole thing straight. Comedy and grief share the same scene, usually the same line. A foster kid and a bad-tempered old man go bush in Hunt for the Wilderpeople; Jojo Rabbit gives a Hitler Youth boy an imaginary Hitler and a Jewish girl hidden in his wall. Deadpan New Zealand delivery holds it in place.

Signature

• Deadpan delivery against absurd premises.
• Comedy and bereavement in the same breath.
• Improvisational looseness inside tight structure.
• Children and reluctant guardians thrown together.

Films here also carry Found Family, Coming of Age, Moral Ambiguity, Identity Crisis.