‘I WAS STUCK IN HIS WEB’
Dark Tourist creator David Farrier’s new documentary Mister Organ is in cinemas
What was the hardest part about making Mister Organ?
Navigating what was true and what was false was really, really difficult. You know when a friend tells you something, but you have a feeling that something is off? Making this documentary was like multiplying that feeling by 1000. It was like being stuck in a particularly sticky spider web. Making a film about someone who is always 10 steps ahead is also really hard!
What has it been like promoting the film and reliving those years of your life dealing with its subject Michael Organ?
It’s like a strange form of time travel. All the emotions you thought you were done with come back – good and bad! The bonus, though, is now a film exists – a time capsule of this incredibly mad time that I can now get out of my own head and share with New Zealand. And I can finally talk to people about it!
What work are you most proud of in your career?
I feel really proud of Webworm, the electronic newsletter I write three times a week. It’s my baby and I love it! A really amazing community has formed there. It’s where I did all my Arise megachurch reporting this year, which led to stories on the 6pm news on both channels, the resignation of its leaders and a host of conversations about other problematic New Zealand
megachurches. Real change started happening and I feel so proud that Webworm could give a voice to victims.
Living in LA, what do you miss the most about NZ?
The ocean and the beaches. We’re so lucky. The first thing I want to do when I set foot in Aotearoa is jump in the ocean up north. I can’t wait. And I miss mince and cheese pies.