Docuseries 6 x half hour

Premiering 22nd October – 26th November 2023
Sundays 7:30pm on Sky Open

Mothers, daughters, sisters, friends. Entrepreneurs, problem solvers, business owners, project conceivers. Women wear many hats. Often, many at the same time. There is an amazing resourcefulness and depth of talent to the women of the land in Aotearoa.

In each episode, we lean into the lives of three women connected by a sense of place, as they share stories of courage, commitment and community. Among others, we meet a station cook raising her three girls on a high-country station; a wahine using traditional Māori healing to enhance
the wellbeing of shearers and the shearing industry; a stitch-painter whose work is inspired by the nature around her; a fisherwoman on a mission to supply sustainable, seasonal kaimoana; and the postmistress of the oldest continually running postal service in the country.

PRODUCED BY
Nadia Maxwell

EXECUTIVE PRODUCED BY
Kristy McGregor

Proudly produced in collaboration with
SHEPHERDESS MAGAZINE

Made with the support of
NEW ZEALAND ON AIR

PRESS

"A gentle, thoughtful portrait of each woman’s life, their whānau and community, capturing the everyday beauty in a world not often seen on our screens. Shepherdess is about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary, and the beauty in the small things."
– Tara Ward, THE SPINOFF

“Shepherdess feels grounded and grounding”
– Russell Brown, THE LISTENER

“Beautifully filmed and is not only female focussed but female led, produced and directed by women”
– Melenie Parkes, THE POST

Feature Film

Husband and wife scientist team Glenn and Sarah study the effects of removing pests from Perseverance, a rocky island deep in the Southern Ocean, 1000 kilometres from human life. The arrival of Pete, the mysterious new caretaker for the island, causes upheaval in their marriage, and when Sarah discovers she is pregnant, and that they’re trapped on the island with no contact to the outside world, desperation kicks in with the pitiless winter coming ever closer.

OVERACTIVE IMAGINATION presents in association with FOUR KNIGHTS FILM the NEW ZEALAND FILM COMMISSION and RANDOM FILMS a film by NIC GORMAN starring SOPHIE HENDERSON MARK MITCHINSON and VINNIE BENNETT

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY
Nic Gorman

PRODUCED BY
Nadia Maxwell

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Tom Hern, James Napier-Robertson Charlotte Larsen

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
John Chrisstoffels

EDITOR
Richard Shaw

PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Martin Gorzeman

COMPOSER
Stephen Gallagher

CASTING DIRECTOR
Liz Mullane

INTERNATIONALS SALES
Film Mode

KEY FESTIVALS

Toronto International Film Festival 2017

Melbourne International Film Festival 2017

New Zealand International Film Festival 2017

PRESS

“Suspenseful, engrossing… a gripping study in isolation”
– Richard Kuipers, VARIETY

An intricate story in a rugged setting makes this thriller one of the year’s best local films.
– James Robbins, THE LISTENER

"A twisty psychological thriller from promising New Zealand director Nic Gorman". "Bennett justifies his rising-star status at this year’s Toronto fest with a smouldering performance as the enigmatic and potentially dangerous interloper. Mitchinson nails it as the self- centered academic, and Henderson gives a finely judged turn as an idealist whose paradise threatens to become her prison."
– VARIETY

“HUMAN TRACES is loaded with suspense and vistas as spooky as they are sweeping.”
– DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD

“A smart, entertaining, thoughtful and mischievous film with something on its mind and the confidence and know-how to say it.”
– Graeme Tuckett, FAIRFAX

“Verdict: An impeccable paced thriller that’s a strong contender for Kiwi Film of the Year.”
– Toby Woollaston, NZ HERALD

“In his directorial debut, Nic Gorman boldly explores two subjects of limitless complexity: environmental science and the human heart.”
– CONTENTFUL


Feature Film

When Ellie returns to her childhood home, heavily pregnant, she’s reunited with her estranged mother Ivy. What begins as a tenuous reunion slowly turns terrifying. Ellie becomes consumed by dark memories that haunt the house and ends up unearthing the hidden, horrifying reality of her family.

OVERACTIVE IMAGINATION, MISS CONCEPTION FILMS and GREYSHACK FILMS in association with the NEW ZEALAND FILM COMMISSION and WATER’S END PRODUCTIONS present a film by JAKE MAHAFFY starring JULIA ORMOND, EMMA DRAPER and COHEN HOLLOWAY

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY
Jake Mahaffy

PRODUCED BY
Nadia Maxwell, Ainsley Gardiner, Georgina Conder and Mike S. Ryan

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS
Tom Dolby, Susanne Filkins, Abdi Nazemian, Nicola Goelzhaeuser, Giles Edwards and Greg Newman

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Adam Luxton

EDITOR
Jonno Woodford Robinson

PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Kate Logan

COMPOSERS
Tim Oxton and Steven Lord

CASTING DIRECTORS
Susan Shopmaker and Tina Cleary

INTERNATIONALS SALES
MPI Media Group

KEY FESTIVALS

Nightstream Film Festival 2020

IndieMemphis Film Festival 2020

Montclair Film Festival 2020

PRESS

"A mature, skilfully made, beautifully shot, edited and designed film. Mahaffy pitches the mother/daughter relationship into a minefield of buried cruelties."
– STUFF

"Reunion is essentially a two-hander, with Draper and Ormond volleying back and forth. Their performances are excellent. They convey a lifetime’s worth of history with just a few caustic looks. Mahaffy’s visual style emphasizes the claustrophobia of being in the house, trapped with the people who have defined your whole life."
– CINAPSE

"Deliciously dark with slow building dread"
– RNZ

"A haunting portrayal of a family trapped in secrecy"
– DAILY DEAD

"A compelling, well-made film that creeps up on you, Reunion has a sting in the tail that is hard to forget"
– Alliance of Women Film Journalists

Documentary

An environmental battle beset by fear, floods and corporate negligence. 

At the bottom of State Highway 1 in New Zealand, sits Mataura, population 1,610. Home to two All Blacks, New Zealand’s first million-dollar racehorse and 10,000 tonnes of highly toxic waste.

Called Ouvea premix, it is a waste by-product from the Tiwai aluminium smelter, majority owned by Rio Tinto. When exposed to water, it releases poisonous ammonia gas. So why is it sitting in an abandoned paper mill, dangerously close to the river’s edge and how did it come to be there? Six years and counting, locals want someone to take responsibility for it – and they want it gone before disaster strikes.

A WRESTLER PRODUCTION for the FRAME documentary series. Premiering on THE SPINOFF website. FRAME is made possible thanks to funding from NEW ZEALAND ON AIR.

DIRECTED BY
Nadia Maxwell

PRODUCED BY
Hannah McOwan and Nadia Maxwell

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
John Chrisstoffels

EDITORS
Greg Jennings & Amanda Mulderry

Short Film

A man is given a death sentence after receiving a zombie bite; he rushes home from the warzone to spend his final dying moments with his wife and daughter before taking his own life. However things don’t go to plan. The man and his wife find sanctity in each other – but their carelessness risks everything.

OVERACTIVE IMAGINATION and LEADHAT FILM in association with the NEW ZEALAND FILM COMMISSION FRESH SHORTS and THE SHORT FILM FUND OF NEW ZEALAND present HERE BE MONSTERS starring COHEN HOLLOWAY, JESSICA ROBINSON and NIAMH MCCORMICK

WRITTEN BY
Nic Gorman

DIRECTED BY
Nic Gorman and Paul Glubb

PRODUCED BY
Nadia Maxwell

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
John Chrisstoffels

EDITOR
Natalie Glubb

SOUND DESIGNER
Gilbert Lake

KEY FESTIVALS

Winner, Best Short Film, New Zealand Film Awards, 2013

Winner Best Screenplay/Best Cinematography/Best Colourists Show Me Shorts 2013

In competition Best International Short Film, Fantasia Festival 2014

Fantastic Fest 2013

Short Film – Post Production

In a world ravaged by a deadly virus, a 12-year-old girl is left in the care of her survivalist uncle; in a twist of chromosomes and fate, her vulnerability may also be the key to humanity’s future.

OVERACTIVE IMAGINATION and BLUESKIN FILMS in association with the NEW ZEALAND FILM COMMISSION present a film by GILLIAN ASHURST starring IZZY ASHURST, PAUL CLOVER and TANDI WRIGHT

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY
Gillian Ashurst

PRODUCED BY
Nadia Maxwell and Catherine Fitzgerald

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
John Chrisstoffels

EDITORS
Jonno Woodford Robinson and Thomas Gleeson

PRODUCTION DESIGNER
Ashley Turner

COMPOSER
Stephen Gallagher

Feature Film – Advanced Development

In the near future, 50% of the world’s children become ‘shells’ once they hit puberty, falling into a permanent catatonic state with no hope of return. This horrifying reality has created a world fixated on adolescent children, as they are coddled and fetishised in equal measures. Tess negotiates the uncertainty that comes with parenting a pre-teen child in this world.

Developed in association with the NEW ZEALAND FILM COMMISSION.

WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY
Nic Gorman

PRODUCED BY
Nadia Maxwell

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
John Chrisstoffels