SamPillsbury
- Director
Sam Pillsbury's The Scarecrow was the first Kiwi movie to win invitation to the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Starting at government filmmaking body the Natonal Film Unit, the part-Kiwi, part-American dlrector worked in documentary — including helming the controversial Birth with Dr. R.D. Laing — before making a run of feature films and TV movies, both in New Zealand and North America.
Screenography
Biography
Born in Connecticut and raised near Henry David Thoreau's famed Walden Pond, Sam Pillsbury emigrated to New Zealand at the age of 14. Seven years later, he began working at the government-owned National Film Unit, joining a group of emerging filmmakers who were investigating new subjects and styles.
Awards
2001 American Film Institute Fest
Nominated for Grand Jury Prize: for Crooked Earth
1987 New Zealand Film and TV Awards
Best Adapted Screenplay - Film (shared with Bill Baer and Bruno Lawrence): The Quiet Earth
“Big money and big talk don’t make good films. Wit, style, dedication, passion, commitment and conviction make good films...”