Tim Sanders

Tim Saners grew up in the Australian city of Adelaide, where he was won over by the mood and mystery of Picnic at Hanging Rock. He studied film as part of his degree, but was not impressed by the quality of teaching. "They accidentally screened the randomly spliced out-takes of our final 16mm effort and we got a pass mark."

Sanders got his start after getting to know some Australian filmmakers, when his OE took him to the Cannes Film Festival. Back home he got a job as a unit manager, arranging tea and toilet facilities, before working his way up to production managing, line producing, and finally producing in his own right.

He gained a great deal of experience in Australia during the 1980s. It was the heyday of the tax shelter production boom and the scale of the work was unprecedented. It was the era of Breaker Morant, The Man from Snowy River, Gallipoli and Crocodile Dundee, and Sanders got close to talented filmmakers such as Peter Weir.

Tim Sanders came to New Zealand as a Co-producer on Aberation (1997), a horror movie about mutant lizards shot on the Miramar Peninsula. He then helped Peter Jackson on Lord of the Rings, acting as Co-producer during the pre-production phase and the first few months of shooting.

Sanders next role was as Head of Production at South Pacific Pictures. The high point of that experience was as producer of Niki Caro's film, Whale Rider.

After a couple of years, Sanders struck out on his own with the intention of focusing on high value films tailored for the international marketplace. Perfect Creature (2006), directed by Glenn Standring, was the first of these.

His latest project is family tale Kiwi Flyer , the tale of a boy and his efforts to win Nelson's annual trolley derby. Filming is set to commence in August 2011.

Sources include
'Kiwi Flyer takes flight'. Loaded 7 July 2011. Accessed 7 July 2011