Research Centre
Art and Design Research Centre

Date
2005

Fiction film

Building on the question of cinematic point of view in her previous film 'Relativity', Virginia Heath researched, wrote and directed the 30 mins film 'Point Annihilation' (2005) which is set in New Zealand and investigates the conflict between two cultural points of view or ways of seeing the world.

As a native born New Zealander, Heath was interested in researching the question of conflict between Maori and Pakeha (white) culture in New Zealand through film. She chose the form of a 'rights of passage' narrative to explore the way a young white male New Zealander learns to embrace the female Maori character's intuitive, holistic perception of the world in order to 'become a man'. The film addresses contemporary male identity (as informed by rationality, science and control) when confronted with a culture which is intuitive, holistic and emotional in its approach to nature, life and death. The related research question is the power of Maori myth in shaping contemporary New Zealand narratives and culture.

The film was created as a UK/New Zealand co-production with ‘Lord of the Rings’ Peter Jackson’s company Weta Digital as part of a prize won by 'Relativity'. This enabled experimentation with state of the art digital technology in post production. International Film Festival Screenings include: Cannes Film Festival, France (May 2005) - 'Cinema des Antipodes' - Screening plus Q&A with director; Saint Tropez International Film Festival (October 2004); Drifting Clouds International Film Festival, New Zealand (September 2005); Drama International Film Festival, (Greece) 'In Competition' (September 2004). In addition to its festival screenings, “Point Annihilation” was one of the first three British films used to pilot the iTunes film download site and has had a successful online presence ever since.

Watch the film here.

Researchers involved

Professor Virginia Heath - Professor of Film

Related projects

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