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Story: Feature film

Vigil, 1984

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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.

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NZ On Screen

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

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How to cite this page

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

Story by Helen Martin, published 9 September 2013, reviewed and revised 21 May 2024 with assistance from Emma-Jean Kelly.