Directed by Eldon Booth and produced by Alex Lovell of Run Charlie Films, “Mister Sunshine” is the captivating three-minute Loading Docs’ short about Larry Woods, a former millionaire from the United States turned Auckland, New Zealand’s, most popular shoeshine man. It’s easy to see why this short has quickly become one of the top viewed films of this year’s selections—everything about it pulls you in and lifts you up.
For starters, Larry Woods is magnetic. Much of the film’s success can be attributed to Woods’ larger-than-life personality. As the film suggests, Woods didn’t always possess a mentality in which others could be stars or the recipients of his kindness. It was a humbling encounter with a gracious cashier at a fruit store that would lead Woods to reassess his self-perspective and treatment of others. These days, he’s the one changing the outlooks and attitudes of those he meets on the streets by offering free shoeshines and the most contagious of all human things—niceness.
With just three minutes to tell Mr. Woods’ story, this film is by no means an in-depth biography. While there’s little doubt Woods could likely carry a feature-length documentary on his life, Eldon Booth’s compelling snapshot sets high standards for visual and narrative engagement and executes them perfectly with its structuring and revealing of just the right amount of information about Woods to keep viewers curious and hanging on to his every word.
Though the film is about a single man’s change in attitude and how he got his famous moniker, Mr. Woods’ positivity and acts of kindness on the Auckland streets have more likely than not created a sort of chain of change, one improved mood and brightened day leading to another, and another, and now through this short documentary successfully spreading Woods’ gospel of niceness around the globe one click at a time.
Visit LoadingDocs.net/MisterSunshine to learn more about the film and be sure to follow @RunCharlieFilms on Twitter and on Facebook for the latest news on “Mister Sunshine” and the company’s additional film projects.
