# List of New Zealand film makers

The following is a list of New Zealand film makers.

## International directors

| Name | Notable titles | Other |
| Andrew Adamson | Shrek 1 and 2, The Narnia film series | Academy Award nominee |
| Martin Campbell | Casino Royale, The Mask of Zorro, GoldenEye | BAFTA winner |
| Jane Campion | The Piano, Holy Smoke! | Academy Award winner |
| Richard Curtis | Love Actually, Bridget Jones's Diary (writer) | BAFTA winner, Academy Award nominee |
| Winston Cowie | Zayed's Antarctic Lights, Our Sea. Our Heritage, Wild Abu Dhabi: The Turtles of Al Dhafra | New York Festivals TV and Film Awards |
| Roger Donaldson | Species, Worlds Fastest Indian Dante's Peak, Cocktail, The Recruit | Golden Palm nominee |
| Ellory Elkayem | Eight Legged Freaks | |
| Peter Jackson | Bad Taste, The Frighteners, Heavenly Creatures, The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, King Kong, the Hobbit trilogy | 9 time Academy Award nominee, three of which he won. |
| Gerard Johnstone | M3GAN, Housebound (2014 film) | |
| Geoff Murphy | Utu, Under Siege II, Goodbye Pork Pie | |
| Andrew Niccol | Lord of War, Gattaca, The Truman Show (writer) | BAFTA winner, Academy Award nominee |
| David Sims | The Truth About Tangiwai, Painting in an Empty Land, Mystery at Midge Bay | Gold Houston International Film Festival |
| Lee Tamahori | Once We're Warriors, Die Another Day, Along Came a Spider, xXx: State of the Union, The Devil's Double | |
| Vincent Ward | River Queen, Map of the Human Heart, What Dreams May Come | 2 time Golden Palm nominee |
| Niki Caro | Whale Rider, North Country | BAFTA winner |
| Taika Waititi | Boy, Two cars, one night, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Jojo Rabbit, Thor: Ragnarok | Academy Award winner, BAFTA winner |

## Domestic directors

| Name | Notable For |
| Murray Ball | Footrot Flats: The Dog's Tale |
| Barry Barclay | Ngati |
| Michael Bennett | Matariki |
| Paul Campion | The Devil's Rock |
| Ben Hawker | Blackspot |
| Jonathan King | Black Sheep |
| Paul Maunder | Sons for the Return Home |
| Brad McGann | In My Father's Den |
| James Napier Robertson | The Dark Horse |
| Robert Sarkies | Out of the Blue, Scarfies |
| Glenn Standring | Perfect Creature, The Irrefutable Truth about Demons |
| Mika X | GURL |

## Producers

* Barbara Sumner Burstyn
* Philippa Campbell
* Winston Cowie
* Ainsley Gardiner
* Charles Knight
* Larry Parr
* Fran Walsh

## New Zealand at the Academy Awards

New Zealand film makers have won a total of sixteen Oscars at the US Film Academy Awards from 41 nominations. Eleven wins were for work on the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. The first New Zealand nomination was in 1958 for Snows of Aorangi with New Zealand's first wins coming in 1994 for The Piano. 1994

### Winners and nominees

| Year | Category | Film | Result | Recipient |
| 1958 | Best Short Subject (Live Action) | Snows of Aorangi | Nominated | – |
| 1964 | Best Documentary (Short) | 140 Days Under the World | Nominated | – |
| 1980 | Best Adapted Screenplay | Breaker Morant | Nominated | Jonathan Hardy |
| 1987 | Best Short Film (Animated) | The Frog, the Dog and the Devil | Nominated | Bob Stenhouse, Hugh MacDonald & Martin Townsend |
| 1994 | Best Director | The Piano | Nominated | Jane Campion |
| 1994 | Best Supporting Actress | The Piano | Won | Anna Paquin |
| 1994 | Best Original Screenplay | The Piano | Won | Jane Campion |
| 1995 | Best Original Screenplay | Four Weddings and a Funeral | Nominated | Richard Curtis |
| 1995 | Best Original Screenplay | Heavenly Creatures | Nominated | Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh |
| 1999 | Best Original Screenplay | The Truman Show | Nominated | Andrew Niccol |
| 1999 | Best Actor | The Insider | Nominated | Russell Crowe |
| 2001 | Best Actor | Gladiator | Won | Russell Crowe |
| 2002 | Best Makeup | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Won | Richard Taylor |
| 2002 | Best Visual Effects | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Won | Richard Taylor |
| 2002 | Best Adapted Screenplay | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Nominated | Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boyens |
| 2002 | Best Art Direction/Set Direction | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Nominated | Dan Hennah & Grant Major |
| 2002 | Best Costume Design | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Nominated | Richard Taylor & Ngila Dickson |
| 2002 | Best Director | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Nominated | Peter Jackson |
| 2002 | Best Editing | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Nominated | John Gilbert |
| 2002 | Best Picture | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Nominated | Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh |
| 2002 | Best Sound | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Nominated | Hammond Peek |
| 2002 | Best Actor | A Beautiful Mind | Nominated | Russell Crowe |
| 2003 | Best Art Direction/Set Decoration | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Nominated | Dan Hennah & Grant Major |
| 2003 | Best Editing | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Nominated | Michael Horton |
| 2003 | Best Picture | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Nominated | Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh |
| 2004 | Best Adapted Screenplay | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won | Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and Phillipa Boynes |
| 2004 | Best Art Direction | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won | Dan Hennah and Grant Major |
| 2004 | Best Costume Design | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won | Ngila Dickson and Richard Taylor |
| 2004 | Best Director | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won | Peter Jackson |
| 2004 | Best Editing | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won | Jamie Selkirk |
| 2004 | Best Original Song | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won | Fran Walsh |
| 2004 | Best Makeup | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won | Richard Taylor |
| 2004 | Best Picture | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won | Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh |
| 2004 | Best Sound Mixing | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Won | Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek |
| 2004 | Best Actress | Whale Rider | Nominated | Keisha Castle-Hughes |
| 2004 | Best Costume Design | The Last Samurai | Nominated | Ngila Dickson |
| 2005 | Best Animated Feature Film | Shrek 2 | Nominated | Andrew Adamson |
| 2005 | Best Short Film | Two Cars, One Night | Nominated | Taika Cohen and Ainsley Gardener |
| 2006 | Best Visual Effects | King Kong | Won | Richard Taylor and Christian Rivers |
| 2006 | Best Sound Mixing | King Kong | Won | Michael Hedges and Hammond Peek |
| 2006 | Best Sound Editing | King Kong | Won | Mike Hopkins and Ethan Van der Ryn |
| 2006 | Best Art Direction | King Kong | Nominated | Dan Hennah, Grant Major and Simon Bright |
| 2006 | Best Sound Mixing | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe | Nominated | Tony Johnson |
| 2008 | Best Picture | Atonement | Nominated | Tim Bevan |
| 2010 | Best Art Direction | Avatar | Won | Kim Sinclair |
| 2010 | Best Picture | District 9 | Nominated | Peter Jackson |
| 2012 | Best Original Song | The Muppets | Won | Bret McKenzie |
| 2013 | Best Art Direction | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | Nominated | Dan Hennah, Grant Major and Simon Bright |
| 2013 | Best Picture | Les Misérables | Nominated | Tim Bevan |
| 2014 | Best Sound Mixing | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | Nominated | Michael Hedges |
| 2015 | Best Adapted Screenplay | The Theory of Everything | Nominated | Anthony McCarten |
| 2023 | Best Sound Mixing | Avatar: The Way of Water | Nominated | Michael Hedges |

## Special effects

Richard Taylor, who is the head of Weta Workshop, has won a notable number of awards for his work on the Lord of the Rings film trilogy and King Kong. Currently, he holds one of the largest Academy Award Collections.