Skip to main content

Kōrero: Feature film

Vigil, 1984

Remote Media URL

Vincent Ward's utterly distinctive and unforgettable psychological thriller Vigil launched the then-27-year-old director's international career. Until this film appeared, the New Zealand countryside was widely regarded as idyllic – a great place to bring up children and sheep. As this trailer indicates, Ward created a sinister, brooding, elemental landscape, thick with unknowable terrors and disturbing symbols. He discovered both the film's star, 11-year-old Fiona Kay, and its location, a remote valley near New Plymouth, after exhaustive nationwide searches.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

NZ On Screen

Reference: Vigil. Producer, John Maynard; director and writer, Vincent Ward. John Maynard Productions, 1984.

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Helen Martin, Feature film – The 1980s: breaking new ground, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/video/42478/vigil-1984 (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Helen Martin, i tāngia i te 9 September 2013, reviewed and revised 21 May 2024 me te āwhina o Emma-Jean Kelly.