Joy Cowley

The Road Builder

The dreary existence of middle-aged spinster Maura Prince takes an unexpected turn with the arrival of young handyman Billy Jarvis, but there is more to Billy than meets the eye.

Holy Days

Three quirky older nuns hit the road looking for miracles but end up learning to drive like demons instead. When the last of the sisters of St. Suzanne’s face forced retirement, they take matters into their own hands. A last-minute dash to New Zealand’s stunning South Island leads them to an ex-nun-turned-lawyer who can defend their rights. A young Māori boy jumps onboard to help, but has a secret mission of his own: to reach the peak of Mt. Cook, where he believes he’ll find his recently deceased mother before she steps off into the spirit world. But things go terribly wrong when an unexpected snowstorm throws everyone off course, and this oddball group of friends faces their greatest challenge yet — mortality.

The Orchard

One morning, as kids are stealing apples from an old man’s orchard high above a seaside town, an earthquake hits. No one is hurt, and the townsfolk are non-plussed, but the old man is agitated: he alone is aware of the imminent tsunami and tries to warn the village. Based on a classic Japanese fable, The Orchard was made by one-man band Bob Stenhouse, who had been nominated for an Academy Award the previous decade for pioneer tale The Frog, The Dog and The Devil. Fans of the animator will recognise his lush, luminous hand-drawn style.