Christine Jeffs
Christine Jeffs' first film industry gig was once the cameras had stopped rolling. She began in post-production; as part of the team who mix soundtracks, then as an assistant editor on varied productions, including Gaylene Preston movie Ruby and Rata and Alison Maclean's Crush.
Earlier, Lower Hutt-born Jeffs had studied Sociology and Geography at Massey University, and got a diploma in editing at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School in Sydney. Her first short film Stroke (1993), a stylish, wordless tale of a woman in a swimming pool, was invited to numerous festivals, including the Cannes Film Festival and Sundance in the United States. Jeffs continued to develop her directorial voice through advertising, where she became an in-demand director.
Throughout the 1990s, her work in the world of commercials went from strength to strength, winning her two NZ Film and Television Awards, a Bronze Lion at the Cannes Ad Awards, and Axis directing gongs for three years running. In 1999 Admedia named her most popular director. It was during this time that she began the four-year long process of developing her debut feature, Rain.
Jeffs was "haunted" by Kirsty Gunn's coming-of-age novel; her copy was "thumbed and underlined". But she was initially unsure how to bring its distinctive atmosphere of fractured families and woozy summer holidays to the screen. Shot in 32 days, the film was made for $1.8 million, less than some of her 30 second ads. The move from commercials and short films to features "wasn't a difficult transition".
"It was just like a wonderful chance to really get stuck into something meaty. In terms of the day-to-day work that a director does, it didn't feel that different except that the emotional content was completely different. I was able to really get into the performances and deal with things in a much bigger way . . . I had spent a lot of time in cutting rooms on big films, so I felt like that was where I'd come from in many ways, as much as directing commercials. I had a very strong background in the whole nature of making feature films."
Rain was invited to screen at the Cannes Film Festival in the non-competitive Directors' Fortnight section, which showcases new directing talent. It was the first in a long run of festival screenings. Part coming-of-age tale, part portrait of a dissatisfied wife (Sarah Peirse), Rain won enthused reviews from The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and North and South. American showbusiness magazine Variety named Jeffs on its '10 Directors to Watch' list, and Variety reviewer David Rooney praised Rain as an "evocative mood piece, enriched by gorgeous visuals" which communicated a powerful sense of place and atmosphere.
The praise for Rain brought Jeffs' talents to the attention of actor Gywneth Paltrow. After another director departed at late notice, Paltrow engaged Jeffs to direct Sylvia, which explored the troubled relationship between poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. "The script dropped out of the sky," Jeffs argued, "which had its blessings and its curses".
Sylvia was partly shot in Otago. The cinematographer was Jeffs' partner in life and art, John Toon, who had also shot Rain. The film won mixed reviews, unavoidably dominated by comparisons with the real-life subject matter. But there was general acknowledgement of Jeffs' grasp of the story's emotions, and it represented a solid first step on the international filmmaking ladder.
When Jeffs shot her first feature in America, she found the experience comparable to doing an indie film back in New Zealand: "It's low budget — you have to work hard and fast." The film was Sunshine Cleaning, a comedy drama about sisters whose job is cleaning crime scenes. Jeffs was keen to explore the relationship between sisters, and the tensions of having shared an experience without having spoken about it.
Sunshine Cleaning debuted at the Sundance in early 2008, where it was nominated for the festival's top award. Wall Street Journal veteran Joe Morgenstern noted the directors' "unerring instinct for the nuances of American life", and argued that she and actors Emily Blunt and Amy Adams had bought "a steadfast sense of truth to the story of two sisters trying to jump-start their stuck lives and grow up".
LA Times critic Betsy Sharkey praised Sunshine Cleaning as an "offbeat and oddly endearing drama, leavened with just the right amount of comedy ... but dig in a little deeper, and you uncover a smartly done morality tale that couldn't be more in synch with these troubled times".
After Sunshine Cleaning, Jeffs concentrated on directing commercials. Although still based in New Zealand, in 2011 she left American company Saville Productions, to join New York commercials house Xenon, and in 2017 signed a deal closer to home, with Auckland-based company Flying Fish. In her advertising career, Jeffs has worked with local clients such as SkyCity, Bank of New Zealand and the police, as well as international drinks company Baileys and American department store Kohl's.
Throughout the 2010s, Jeffs pursued another artistic passion; photography. In 2018 she completed a Master's degree in fine arts from Auckland University, and her photography show Subject to Consent exhibited at Auckland's Vivian Gallery and was a prizewinner at the Wallace Art Awards. "The camera's always been a tool for the way I've seen the world," Jeffs said in an interview during the exhibition. "And likewise in explorations for feature film work, I've always had the camera with me, looking for locations or exploring ideas."
Jeffs made her return to features in 2024 with A Mistake, a medical drama starring American actor Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games). As she had with Rain, Jeffs both directed and adapted the screenplay from a novel; this time with the help of the original author, New Zealand writer Carl Shuker. The story follows a talented female surgeon at Auckland Hospital, whose life is thrown into disarray after a mistake is made in surgery. The film shot in New Zealand in late 2022 and was received positively by reviewers after premiering at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
On the Screen Rant website, Mae Abdulbaki argued that A Mistake was "deftly written and directed . . . Jeffs explores ethics, moral and emotional accountability with a compassionate and nuanced eye". The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney wrote that the film "functions as both an empathetic character study and a thoughtful examination of professional ethics, culpability and forgiveness".
Christine Jeffs lives with her partner John Toon on a ranch in Auckland, where she also rears horses for competition.
Profile updated on 28 June 2025
Sources include
Mae Abdulbaki, 'A Mistake Review: Elizabeth Banks Captivates In Stressful Medical Drama That Retains Its Humanity' - Screen Rant website. Loaded 7 June 2024. Accessed 11 July 2024
Russell Baillie, 'This mess we're in' (Interview) - The NZ Herald, 8 August 2009
Rick DeMott, 'Xenon Signs Director Christine Jeffs' (Press release) Animation World Network website. Loaded 14 June 2011. Accessed 5 June 2019
Kerry Doole, 'Toronto weather report' (Interview) - OnFilm, October 2001, page 13 (Volume 18, no 10)
Scott Foundas, 'Christine Jeffs On Her Debut Feature "Rain"' (Interview) IndieWire website. Loaded 23 April 2002. Accessed 28 June 2025
Ricki Green, 'Flying Fish Signs NZ Filmmaker Christine Jeffs', Campaign Brief website. Loaded 16 February 2017. Accessed 25 April 2024
Joe Morgenstern, 'Adams, Blunt, are Rays of 'Sunshine' (Review of Sunshine Cleaning) -The Wall Street Journal, 13 March 2009
Rebecca Murray, 'Interview With "Rain's" Director, Christine Jeffs' (Interview) About.com website. Loaded 2001. Accessed 25 April 2024
Alex Ritman, 'Cannes: Elizabeth Banks to Lead Medical Drama ‘A Mistake’,The Hollywood Reporter website. Loaded 5 May 2022. Accessed 28 June 2025
David Rooney, '‘A Mistake’ Review: Elizabeth Banks Gives a Tightly Wound Performance in Christine Jeffs’ Somber Medical Drama," - The Hollywood Reporter website. Loaded 7 June 2024. Accessed 28 June 2025
David Rooney, 'Review, 'Rain' - Variety, 15 May 2001
Betsy Sharkey, 'Coming clean' (Review of Sunshine Cleaning) - The Los Angeles Times, 13 March 2009
Steve West, 'Sundance Interview: Sunshine Cleaning Director Christine Jeffs' (Interview) CinemaBlend website. Loaded 26 January 2008. Accessed 25 June 2025
Anonymous, 'Poppies in October: an interview with Christine Jeffs' Poets.org website. Loaded 15 October 2003. Accessed 28 June 2025
'Christine Jeffs - Artist Talk' (Video Interview), Scott Lawrie Gallery YouTube channel. Loaded 1 April 2020. Accessed 25 April 2024
'Somewhere Near', The University of Auckland website. Loaded 2018. Accessed 28 June 2025
Rain press kit