Vincent Ward

Rain of the Children

In Rain of the Children, Ward further explores the subject of his earlier film, In Spring One Plants Alone when, as a young film student he travelled to the Ureweras and documented the lives of an elderly Māori woman (Puhi) and her schizophrenic son (Niki).

Wreckage and Rage: Making 'Alien³'

The creation of the film Alien³ (1992) is covered here in this feature-length documentary in exhaustive detail. Many interviews with the cast and crew give us an idea of how hard of a time David Fincher had creating his first feature film, as well as present us with much information about every element that went into making this film, including how the plot and script changed drastically through filming.

One Night Stand

In Los Angeles, Max Carlyle makes a good living directing commercials and has a happy home life with his wife, Mimi, and two children. When Carlyle travels to New York City to visit his friend Charlie, who has been diagnosed with AIDS, he has repeat run-ins with a beautiful woman, Karen, and eventually sleeps with her. Though he goes home the next day and doesn't return until a year later, Carlyle's infidelity still lingers.

The Shot

This low-budget satire takes a shot a Hollywood as it follows two desperate, unsuccessful actors, Dern Reel and Patrick St. Patrick, who steal 10 recently shot rolls of film from Tinseltown's newest darling, the director David Egoman, and hold them for ransom.

Leaving Las Vegas

Ben Sanderson, an alcoholic Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his drinking, arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death. There, he meets and forms an uneasy friendship and non-interference pact with prostitute Sera.

Kaleidoscope

This Kaleidoscope documentary timed in with the release of Nicholas Reid’s book A Decade of New Zealand Cinema. The book cherrypicked Reid's favourites from the renaissance in local movies that began with Sleeping Dogs in 1977. Reid and a who’s who of local filmmakers discuss many of the 50+ features from the previous decade (with Bruno Lawrence ever present). They ponder the uniqueness (or otherwise) of Kiwi film. A fondness for rural and small town settings, and forceful, often conflicted, male leads is explored. Neglected areas — Māori film and more of a voice for women — are traversed.