New Zealand has produced one of the world's most vibrant film cultures, a reflection of the country's evolving history and the energy and resourcefulness of its people. From early silent features like The Te Kooti Trail to recent films such as River Queen, this book examines the role of the cinema of New Zealand in building a shared sense of national identity. The works of key directors, including Peter Jackson, Jane Campion and Vincent Ward, are here introduced in a new light, and select films are given in-depth coverage. Among the most informative accounts of New Zealand's fascinating national cinema, this will be a must for film scholars around the globe.
Barry Keith Grant is professor emeritus of film studies at Brock University in Ontario, Canada. He has published more than 30 books and is the editor of the Contemporary Approaches to Film and Media series (including TV Milestones) for Wayne State University Press. His most recent books are Comics and Pop Culture: Adaptation from Panel to Frame, co-edited with Scott Henderson (University of Texas Press, 2019) and The Twilight Zone (Wayne State University Press, 2020).
Hilary Radner is Professor of Film and Media Studies in the Department of History and Art History at the University of Otago, New Zealand, where she coordinates the Visual Culture Programme. Her research interests revolve around understanding the representations of gender and identity in contemporary cinema and visual culture, particularly in terms of how these evolve over time in relation to second wave feminism. Her published works includes Shopping Around: Feminine Culture and the Pursuit of Pleasure (Routledge, 1995) and Neo-Feminist Cinema: Girly Films, Chick Flicks and Consumer Culture (Routledge, 2011), as well as numerous co-edited volumes, most recently Feminism at the Movies: Understanding Gender in Contemporary Cinema (Routledge, 2011) and A Companion to Contemporary French Cinema (Wiley/Blackwell, 2015).