Before Thor: Ragnarok, before Hunt for the Wilderpeople, before What We Do in the Shadows, before Boy there was Eagle vs Shark, Taika Waititi’s first feature – a wry comedy that chronicles the quirky romance of two awkward misfits.

She’s just off beautiful. He’s just off beat. Lily is the quiet, awkward loner who doesn’t fit in anywhere – but that could change. Jarrod is a warrior in his own world who thinks he’s brave and powerful and is blind to Lily’s adoration – but that could change.

On the day Lily gets fired from her job at Meaty Boy, she musters up the courage to attend Jarrod’s annual “come as your favourite animal” costume party. The dressy affair sparks the beginnings of a romance as well as a small journey for the pair to Jarrod’s quite hometown, in which Jarrod plans to seek revenge on an old nemesis and where Lily unwittingly finds herself stranded amongst Jarrod’s family of eccentricities.

“Eagle vs Shark isn’t a romantic comedy rather a slightly dark, amusing tale with a little bit of love in it,” says Waititi. “When the atmosphere is tense and uncomfortable that is when we feel the need to laugh most. The sort of humour I prefer and write comes from finding the lighter side of tragic.”