GERMAN-born Florian Habicht grew up and attended film school in NZ where his personal film-making style developed.

At the recent Canberra International Film Festival, “Love Story” scored about 3½ stars out of five. That’s not bad for a small film produced without a screenplay. Florian filmed ordinary New York folk saying how they thought his film might answer his questions.

Florian wished to find then woo the lovely Russian woman Masha Yakuvenko whom he saw walking down a footpath carrying a slice of cake on a plate.

The best word describing Florian and his film is “idiosyncratic”. The unstructured interviews don’t always give him cogent answers but he soldiers on, seldom taking off his brown felt hat. Florian frequently calls his father Frank on Skype seeking advice about dealing with elements of his film.

His relationship with Masha develops without haste and when they finally make love, it is she who seems to take the initiative. The sequence in which Masha pours cereal into the concavity in Florian’s chest, adds milk and proceeds to have breakfast has a surreal quality that Dali might have liked. The pair have no place for ongoing domesticity, but while they’re with each other, it’s a comfortable friendship in a film with heart and humour.

At Dendy