# Matthew Metcalfe

Matthew Christian Metcalfe is a New Zealand film producer and screenwriter known for his biographical and documentary films. He has also produced comedies and drama films, as well as being involved in several television series. In 2025 Metcalfe was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the film industry.
In the early 2000s, Metcalfe worked as a music producer in the early 2000s before moving into film and television. He produced several short films, before producting feature films and television series. Notable films he has produced include Dean Spanley (2008), The Dead Lands (2014), Beyond The Edge (2013), Whina (2022), McLaren (2017), Mothers of the Revolution (2021) The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck (2023) and The Lie (2024).

## Early life and education

Metcalfe was born in Christchurch, New Zealand. His family moved to Papua New Guinea to then Canberra, Australia, when Metcalfe was a child.
He did military service in Australia and New Zealand. He completed a Bachelor of Commerce Degree at Auckland University, and later the University of Oxford, England, where he received an Advanced Diploma in English History. He was interested in film during his student days.

## Career
### 1998–2003: music videos and short films

Metcalfe worked as a music video producer in the early 2000s, with Shihad, Hayley Westenra and Che Fu. Metcalfe's first credit as a producer was for the 1999 short film, 9 Across. He was involved with the script writer, Jesse Warn who was promised to getting 9 Across on-screen. 9 Across won the script writer an award for Best Contribution to a Short at the 1999 NZ Film and TV Awards.
During the early 2000s Metcalfe started working on more short films and music videos. Working in between jobs as a waiter, shelf stacker and cinema usher. At one point he went into the New Zealand Radio station, bFM and offered to make a music video for any band with a budget of $1,000. He then went on to produce music videos for Shihad and Hayley Westenra. In 2001 he produced the Tui-Award-winning music video for Che Fu's Fade Away.

### 2003–2007: early films

Metcalfe teamed up again with film writer Jesse Warn to work on more projects. They worked further on with a TV series about the New Zealand band, Steriogram. He teamed up with Warn again to produce the 2003 film Nemesis Game. In 2005 he produced the TV series, Air Force which was about the Royal New Zealand Air Force. He then went to focus on a more personal documentary about his own father, Frank, in Vietnam - My Father's War which was released in 2006.
Around this time Metcalfe started to direct documentaries including the 2007 documentary, Soldiers of Fortune. He was also involved in the development of the 2008 feature-length documentary, Relocated Mountains which follows a Kurdish refugee's trip from New Zealand back to Iraq. For both of these films, Metcalfe spent time in Baghdad, Iraq. Metcalfe has noted that during the filming, him and the film crew were being secretly filmed by a kidnap squad.

### 2007–2013: documentary film breakthrough

In 2007, a film that Metcalfe produced, The Ferryman was released. At this point he began working with producer Alan Harris with Dean Spanley which was released in 2008.
Metcalfe went on to produce a further four features with Toa Fraser, including, Giselle, The Dead Lands and the films, 6 Days and The Free Man. He also produced the romantic comedy, Love Birds that was released in 2011. In 2013 he produced the documentary, Beyond The Edge. Metcalfe also portrayed the English mountaineer and author Wilfrid Noyce in the film.

### 2013–2020: further feature films

Metcalfe then worked with New Zealand producer Fraser Brown to work on more documentaries such as, McLaren, Born Racer - The Scott Dixon Story and Wayne. In 2020 Metcalfe produced the documentary, Dawn Raid. In 2021, Metcalfe produced Mothers of the Revolution which follows the story of the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp protests. In 2022 the film was nominated for the Envy Best Single Documentary award at The Grierson Trust. Dawn Raid was also nominated in 2022 by The Grierson Trust for the Sky Documentaries Best Music Documentary award.

### 2020–2024: Whina, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck and Billion Dollar Heist

In 2022 Metcalfe was one of the producers for the biographical film about the life of Dame Whina Cooper, Whina.
In 2023 a documentary film based on the book by Mark Manson, The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck was released. Metcalfe served as one of the writers and producers. Metcalfe served as one of the producers for the horror mystery film The Tank, which was released late April 2023. In July 2023 Billion Dollar Heist held its first public screening as part of the 2023 New Zealand International Film Festival.

### 2024-present: Never Look Away, The Lie, A Mistake and upcoming films

For the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, the film Never Look Away was premiered. Metcalfe was a co-writer, with director Lucy Lawless, for the film, as well as a producer. The film is a feature-length documentary of New Zealand-born CNN photojournalist Margaret Moth. The film was directed by Lucy Lawless.
In 2024, The Lie was released, which follows the story of Grace Millane, a British tourist who went missing and was later found dead in 2018. A Mistake was released in June 2024 which was produced by Metcalfe, a medical-drama film which was directed by Christine Jeffs and based on the novel of the same name by Carl Shuker. The film had its world premiere at Tribeca Festival on 7 June 2024.
Films that are currently awaiting release produced by Metcalfe are Ash and Moss & Freud.

## Recognition and awards

Metcalfe is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Geographical Society
In 2002, Metcalfe won a Tui Award for best music video. This was for Che Fu's, Fade Away video that was released the same year.
In his film career, Metcalfe has received several accolades. His film Nemesis Game (2003) was nominated for an award at the Qantas Film and Television Awards.
In 2009, Dean Spanley won the award for Best Feature at the 2009 Qantas Film and Television Awards. This award was shared with co-producer Alan Harris.
In 2013, Metcalfe was awarded Independent Producer of the Year at the SPADA Screen Industry Awards.
Also in 2013, Metcalfe was included in the nomination for Beyond the Edge for Best Documentary at the 2013 Rialto Channel New Zealand Film Awards.
In the 2025 New Year Honours, Metcalfe was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the film industry.

## Filmography
### Feature films

| Year | Title | Writer | Producer | Notes |
| 2003 | Nemesis Game | No | Yes | |
| 2007 | The Ferryman | Yes | Yes | |
| 2008 | Dean Spanley | No | Yes | |
| 2011 | Love Birds | No | Yes | Also acted in the film as the Waiter |
| 2013 | Giselle | No | Yes | |
| 2013 | Beyond the Edge | Yes | Yes | Also portrayed the role as Wilfrid Noyce in the film |
| 2014 | The Dead Lands | No | Yes | |
| 2015 | Atomic Falafel | No | Yes | |
| 2015 | 25 April | Yes | Yes | |
| 2016 | The Free Man | Yes | Yes | |
| 2017 | McLaren | Yes | Yes | |
| 2017 | 6 Days | No | Yes | |
| 2018 | Wayne | Yes | Yes | |
| 2018 | Born Racer | Yes | Yes | |
| 2019 | Capital in the 21st Century | Yes | Yes | |
| 2020 | We Need to Talk About A.I | No | Yes | |
| 2021 | Dawn Raid | Yes | Yes | |
| | Mothers of the Revolution | Yes | Yes | |
| 2022 | Whina | No | Yes | |
| 2023 | The Subtle Art of Not Giving a #@%! | Yes | Yes | |
| | The Tank | No | Yes | |
| | Billion Dollar Heist | Yes | Yes | |
| 2024 | Never Look Away | Yes | Yes | |
| 2024 | A Mistake | No | Yes | |
| 2024 | The Lie | Yes | Yes | Deals with the Murder of Grace Millane |
| 2025 | Ash | No | Yes | Post-production |
| TBA | Moss & Freud | No | Yes | Post-production |
| TBA | Magnetic Aura | Yes | Yes | In development |

### Short films

| Year | Title | Producer |
| 1998 | 9 Across | Yes |
| 2000 | Little Samurai | Yes |
| 2000 | Her Iliad | Yes |
| 2004 | Picnic Stops | Yes |
| 2005 | Auld Lang Syne | Yes |
| 2005 | Nothing Special | Yes |
| 2005 | Rest Stop | Yes |

### Television

| Year | Title | Producer | Notes |
| 2004 | Steriogram - White Trash to Rock Gods | Yes | |
| 2005 | Air Force | Yes | |
| 2006 | Vietnam - My Father's War | Yes | Also presenter |
| 2007 | Soldiers of Fortune | Yes | Also director |
| 2008 | Relocated Mountains | Yes | Also writer |
| 2009 | Emilie Richards - Das Paradies am Ende der Welt | Yes | |
| 2012 | Emilie Richards - Spuren der Vergangenheit | Yes | |
| 2019 | The Dead Lands | No | Executive producer |
| 2022 | Reunited | No | Executive producer and writer |