Judith Trye

Judith Trye was born and raised in the Waikato town of Putaruru. Later she moved to Auckland, and attended Auckland Institute of Technology.

In 1978 Trye joined Television New Zealand as a producer's assistant. She spent time learning the ropes in various departments, before beginning an extended stint in the Drama Department. 

A decade after joining TVNZ, Trye went freelance. It wasn't long before she began an eight year period working with producer Murray Newey, and his company Tucker Films. Trye was one of the producers on two award-winning films aimed at teenagers: Kiwi-Canadian romance Bonjour Timothy (1994) and Ian Mune-directed drama The Whole of the Moon (1995).

In 1996 Trye signed a contract with South Pacific Pictures, and produced Shortland Street for 18 months.

Since then Trye has alternated a long line of film gigs, with producing a trio of comedy shows for television. For the big screen, she has been line producer on everything from No. 2, Black Sheep, and The Dark Horse, to hit Richie McCaw documentary Chasing Great. Line producers tend to concentrate on the budgetary side of a production; they are often key in preparing the budget, but their responsibilities can also include managing the shoot when it goes on location.   

In 2002 Trye was nominated for an NZ Television Award for Best Comedy Programme, after producing Willy Nilly with John Gilbert. The series was based on two dim-witted farmers, soldering on after their mother's death. In 2005 Trye was nominated in the same category (this time at the NZ Screen Awards) after producing Serial Killers, Written by James Griffin, the show went behind the scenes to satirise a Shortland Street-style soap.  

After producing Billy T James telemovie Billy, Trye went on work on another comical tale of brothers. Sunny Skies (2013) starred Tammy Davis (Munter in Outrageous Fortune) and Oliver Driver as half-brothers who meet for the first time, after inheriting a campground from their mutually estranged father. 

In 2016 Trye headed to New Delhi to line produce Kiwi-Indian co-production Beyond the Known World. The film is about a couple whose teenage daughter goes missing in India.

Trye has also worked on another ambitious co-production, this time set in 1860s Aotearoa: Eleanor Catton's six-part adaptation of her Booker Prize-winning novel The Luminaries. She co-produced the TV series with fellow Kiwi Luke Robinson, and lead producer Lisa Chatfield. 

Profile updated on 18 June 2020

Sources include
'Judith Trye' IMDB website. Accessed 18 June 2020