40th ANNIVERSARY SCREENING OF VINCENT WARD'S VIGIL (1984)

VIGIL (1984) 40TH ANNIVERSARY SCREENING + Q&A

Film Talks proudly presents VIGIL (1984) - our 40th Anniversary Screening and Q&A with Vincent Ward, Fiona Kay, and John Maynard.

Join us for this special celebratory screening of Vincent Ward's acclaimed first feature film, VIGIL. 

VIGIL was the first New Zealand film to screen in competition at the Cannes Film Festival (1984), and it received a standing ovation. it was a worthy celebration for Vincent Ward, producer John Maynard, and the cast. 

Special Guests:

Vincent Ward will be with us in The Grand, at the majestic Embassy Theatre to Introduce VIGIL and to be part of the magical conversation. 

Lead actress Fiona Kay and producer John Maynard will join us by live link from Sydney.

We will also be joined by special guests who worked closely with the cast and crew of this landmark film. 

Film Synopsis:
In a remote valley, a farmer dies. In his wake comes a hunter. The farmer's daughter watches him. He starts a relationship with her mother and helps her grandfather to build a strange new invention. To the child, he is a predator. She must expel him from her valley.  - NZ Film Commission

VIGIL is a powerful atmospheric drama set in a primeval valley where four characters live and farm in an uneasy coexistence. The story unfolds through the eyes of the central character Toss, an 11-year-old girl caught up in the tragedy of her father’s death and the arrival of a stranger, Ethan. Ward spent five years making this mystical testimony to the beauty and immutability of nature's laws and the circle of life and death.  - NZ Film Commission

Historical and Cultural Significance:
VIGIL was described in the Los Angeles Times as "a unique work by a major talent" and it has been variously described as ‘stunning’, ‘distinctive’, ‘magical’, ‘astonishing’ – ‘a milestone marking [Ward] as a figure of importance’ (The Boston Globe).  - NZ Film Commission

“It reminds us of cinema’s great power to excite, surprise and conjure up unique imagined worlds .. A work of astonishing, original force – The most distinctive New Zealand film to ever reach Britain.”  - The Guardian

VIGIL can be described as distinctive and important in the context of its contribution to the development of New Zealand film for several reasons:

• VIGIL was influenced by European cinema and signaled a distinct departure from the American “action” movie tradition. It is rich cinema. 
• VIGIL influenced many subsequent New Zealand films, for example, “The Piano”, “Rain”, and “Whale Rider”, with the emotive power of its striking and poetic visual imagery and strong spiritual dimension. 
• VIGIL is an example of film as cultural expression, strengthening the strong thread of New Zealand films about children, broadening and questioning the maturing vision of ourselves as New Zealanders. 
• VIGIL was the first New Zealand film selected to screen in competition at Cannes. With its subsequent release to international acclaim, it mined new territory and prepared the way for other successful New Zealand films. - NZ Film Commission

Festivals & Awards:

1984: Cannes Film Festival - in competition, Madrid Film Festival (Best Film), Prades International Film Festival (Best Film), Chicago International Film Festival, and New Zealand Listener Awards (Best Cinematography, Best Production and Best Screenplay)

1985: Imag Fic Festival (Best Film)

1986: GOFTA Awards for Best Original Screenplay: Vincent Ward and Graeme Tetley,  Best Cinematography: Alun Bollinger, and Best Production Design: Kai Hawkins

2000: Down-under Film Festival Germany

The Embassy Theatre:
Embassy Theatre is celebrating its 100 birthday in 2024! We are proud to be celebrating VIGIL at The Embassy Theatre, Wellington. 

Partners:
Film Talks is proud to partner with the Carterton and Wellington Film Societies. We are proud to celebrate films with you!