Among the Cinders

Maurice Shadbolt stepped up to play the father of the main character in this adaptation of his acclaimed coming-of-age novel. Blaming himself for the death of a Māori friend, teenager Nick (Paul O’Shea) escapes his parents to visit his grandparents. Nick and his misfit grandpa (Derek Hardwick) set out to visit old haunts, and Nick finds romance. The opening clip features Shadbolt and Bridget Armstrong as Nick's parents. In the second, Nick and his grandpa negotiate with Ahu (Tama Poata) over some horses, then head into the hills. Shot partly in Golden Bay, the German-Kiwi co-production was directed by German Rolf Hädrich.