In My Father´s Den

Colour, 35 mm
New Zealand, United Kingdom, 2004, 126 min
Section: Another View

Synopsis

The film is based on the novel of the same name by Maurice Gee, first published in 1969. War reporter Paul Prior (Mathew MacFayden) returns after seventeen years to his hometown on New Zealand’s South Island. His father has just died. He and his brother Andrew barely recognize each other and the tension in the air is thick enough to cut. At their cottage built in an orchard, Paul finds a private den that his father had hidden from his puritanical wife. There he also meets 16-year-old Celia, the daughter of his former girlfriend....  Brad McGann’s ability to tell a strongly dramatic tale, his talent for exploiting New Zealand’s uniquely rich natural palette, and his sensitive perception of the deepest family secrets rank him among the most exciting directorial finds of contemporary New Zealand cinema. The film was screened at festivals in Sydney, Auckland, Wellington and Toronto. 

About the director

Brad McGann (b. 1965, Auckland) grew up in New Zealand and studied at the University of Otago and the Swinburne Film and Television School in Melbourne. He has shot the short TV drama It Never Rains (1996), co-directed the documentary Come As You Are (1996) and has written and directed the award-winning short Possum (1996). In My Father’s Den (2004) is his feature directorial debut. “For me, filmmaking is not only about telling stories but about conveying a palpable sense of another person’s world - how they experience things, not just what they do. My favourite filmmakers - Malick, Kieslowski, Cassavetes, Loach, Bertolucci, Tarkovsky - gave me an appreciation for this type of subjective filmmaking where authenticity, intimacy, and point-of-view were more important than a clever plot.”