For better or for worse, this has been a pretty big year for Taika Waititi, and the lad is showing no sign of slowing down! He’s slated to direct the film adaptation of the graphic novel The Incal, a modern adaptation of 1981’s Time Bandits, and a sports-dramedy film called Next Goal Wins. What we love about Taika is how willing he is to tackle all sorts of stories, and he always brings a sense of fun, charm, and earnestness to them.

But with all that being said, my heart will always belong to his very first feature film, Eagle vs Shark. At the time of its release, critics claimed that it was a film like any other of its ilk, yet another mid-aughts twee thing that couldn’t stand on its own. Several years later, I think they were full of it and overly enamored with Napoleon Dynamite, which they compared it to ceaselessly. Sure, it’s got all the trappings for an insufferable indie that focuses too much on aesthetics with no real backbone, but even back then, Taika knew how to write a touching story.