Love letter to an idol: 'Sharko' doco celebrates Kiwi legend Graham

When renowned filmmaker Luke Graham set out to make a documentary about a legendary player from a legendary era, he had all the inspiration he needed in dad Mark, the man widely regarded as New Zealand's greatest ever.

A passion project seven years in the making, 'Sharko' is an honest and deeply human portrayal of New Zealand’s finest player - an inspiring journey about confronting the past and moving forward.

Following its world premiere at the prestigious Doc Edge festival, 'Sharko' is set to hit , and Luke is promising viewers a night full of big hits, big revelations and even the odd tear.

"There will be great moments in rugby league and it is going to touch on things that are important to us as human beings, and that's relationships within families - making sure we say those things that are important to one another," Luke told pan66.com.

"My dad is one of the greatest players ever and I wanted to celebrate him and make a doco about the greatest era in the game’s history the 1980s, which started the success to the modern world.

"It not only looks at rugby league but it looks at family and parenthood through generations. It's about my grandfather and my father’s relationship; my father and mine, and my son and me.

"It looks at all those little things – the way people were back through those generations. The love and the sadness – it reflects on all those things.

"I describe the film as a love letter to an idol. It's me learning about my father and me learning about myself and hopefully the audience learning about themselves by the end of it as well.

"I want people to remember what footy was like for them as kids and how important it was to them as kids. Also I think they will want to give a mum and dad a hug afterwards."

Featuring interviews with 'The King' Wally Lewis, Steve Roach, Paul Vautin, Graham Lowe and All Blacks legend Buck Shelford, 'Sharko' tells Mark Graham's remarkable story through the use of personal family archives, recreations and footage from a storied career.

The only player to be inducted into both the Australian and New Zealand Halls of Fame, Graham played 29 Test matches for the Kiwis between 1977-88, engaging in a host of memorable battles with the old enemy from across the ditch.

Central to those contests was Lewis, a man Luke describes as "the one I needed to get for the story" and "the antagonist to New Zealand".

"The message I am trying to send is that the Aussies are the bad guys and the Kiwis are helpless underdogs," Luke smiled.

"In three of the games you'll see in the movie it was Blocker Roach taking dad out, but there he was in 2019 presenting dad with his jacket when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

"This is about celebrating an era which is gone. It’s about holding on to those memories and those people who helped us get where we are today.

"These people didn't get paid very much but they still went out there and broke their bones for us. They made a country fall in love with the sport.

"Rugby league has always been about working people. That’s why we hold on to rugby league so well.

"They would dig holes during the day and then go and train at night."

Much like the men who feature in 'Sharko', Luke says his chosen field is more about making memories than making money.

"You don’t make a lot of money in filmmaking so you need to do something you’re passionate about and willing to fight for and I was going to fight for this story no matter what," he said.

"Rugby league is the No.1 sport in Australia and it’s going to be the No.1 sport in New Zealand very soon and we don’t celebrate it enough, so that's what I set out to do.

"We are very lucky in a country like New Zealand where league is exploding but it wouldn’t be there if it wasn’t for the people who played in the 80s and played the game because they loved it, not because they were getting paid."

For his part, the star of the show says he found the whole process somewhat daunting but he couldn't be happier with the final result.

"It was very foreign to me and had someone other than my son approached me to do this, I would have said no," Mark said.

"Luke has done a wonderful job with it and I'm very proud of his efforts.

"I look back [on my career] and it has almost been a dream. Rugby league is not an individual sport so I was very fortunate to play with so many wonderful players.

"We also talk about Matthew, my son and his brother, who passed away in 2000, so there's some tears as well.

"It was a sad day [when Matthew took his own life] and it always will be a sad day. But you’ve just got to get on with life.”