Period film to be shot on Whanganui River

A film to be shot partly on the Whanganui River this summer will look at the mingling of Maori and Pakeha communities in the middle of the 1800s.

Director Vincent Ward describes the film as a lower-budget intimate epic, rather than a high-budget Hollywood-style glossy.

"We are the New Zealand David compared to the United States film Goliaths."

He says producer Don Reynolds is still trying to boost the production budget towards the $8 million mark.

Actors will include Sam Neill, Cliff Curtis and Samantha Morton.

The fictional storyline involves Maori living in Pakeha communities and an Irish woman who lives among Maori, becomes pregnant and leaves her child behind.

Ward's previous credits include Vigil, What Dreams May Come, Map of the Human Heart and The Navigator.

- NZPA