Vincent Ward

A one time member of the Canterbury Film Sociery, Vincent Ward has made acclaimed short films and won praise for his debut feature, Vigil (1984), the first New Zealand-produced film to be shown in competition at Cannes. Ward then spent four years making The Navigator (1988), a visually stunning fantasy about a group of men from plague-ridden, medieval England who tunnel through the earth - and time - into 20th-Century New Zealand in an attempt to save their village. He followed up with the intense romantic saga, Map of the Human Heart (1993). Ward made a transition into Hollywood writing the screenplay for Alien³ then directing 1998's What Dreams May Come, starring Robin Williams and Annabella Sciorra. Most recently, Ward acted as executive producer for The Last Samurai (2003) and directed (Coming back after a brief period of having been 'let go'.) >River Queen. Based on an original story by Ward who co-wrote the screenplay with Toa Fraser, River Queen is an intimate story set in 19th century New Zealand following the journey of a young woman's conflict when caught between two cultures. Academy-award nominee Samantha Morton, Cliff Curtis, Temuera Morrison, and Kiefer Sutherland were amongest the cast.

In 2004 we screened Vigil and The Navigator. In 2006 we shall be showing State of Siege