John O'Shea (director)
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John Dempsey O'Shea (20 June 1920 – 8 July 2001) was a New Zealand independent filmmaker; he was a director, producer, writer and actor. He produced the only three feature films that were made in New Zealand between 1940 and 1970.


Early life

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...
is where O'Shea was born in 1920. His parents were both of Irish Catholic ancestry, his mother, Norah Frances Dempsey, was born in New Zealand and his father, John Joseph O’Shea, was from
County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...
, Ireland. He had three older siblings. He grew up in New Plymouth and
Whanganui Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is ...
and then went to study in
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
at Victoria University College where he got involved with a film society. He also studied at Christchurch Teachers' Training College, and in 1942 served in the
New Zealand Army The New Zealand Army (, ) is the principal Army, land warfare force of New Zealand, a component of the New Zealand Defence Force alongside the Royal New Zealand Navy and the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Formed in 1845, as the New Zealand Mil ...
for two years during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
with the ambulance corps in the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...
and
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
.


Career

He was active from 1940 to 1970, and in 1952 set up Pacific Films in
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
with Roger Mirams. He produced numerous short films and the three New Zealand feature films made in that period: '' Broken Barrier'' (1952) with Roger Mirams, '' Runaway'' (1964), and '' Don't Let It Get You'' (1966) for which he is most remembered. O'Shea was involved with the '' Tangata Whenua: People of the Land'' (1974) a six part television documentary series directed by New Zealand's first Māori screen director
Barry Barclay Barry Ronald Barclay, New Zealand Order of Merit, MNZM (12 May 1944 – 19 February 2008) was a New Zealand filmmaker and writer of Māori people, Māori (Ngāti Apa, Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Hauiti) and Pākehā (European) descent. ...
. Other films he produced included are '' Pictures'' (1981), '' Among the Cinders'' (1983), '' Leave All Fair'' (1985) and '' Ngati'' (1987). He appeared in the spoof '' Forgotten Silver'' (1995). Part of his legacy was the many people who Pacific Films gave valuable experiences to and went on to have notable careers such as Barry Barclay and Gaylene Preston. The tearooms at Pacific Films was described as "the venue for debate and argument with O'Shea promoting a lively, stimulating environment where success was measured in ideas, not seniority." O'Shea was a lecturer, research historian, and assistant film censor and was a founding member of the New Zealand Film Archive in 1981.


Awards

In the 1990 New Year Honours, O'Shea was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
, for services to the film industry. Also in 1990 he was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal for services to the film industry. In 1992 he received the
New Zealand Film Commission The New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC; ) is a New Zealand government agency formed to assist with creating and promoting New Zealand films. It was established under the New Zealand Film Commission Act 1978 (as amended in 1981, 1985, 1988, 1994 a ...
Lifetime Achievement Award.


Personal life

In 1946 O'Shea and Jean Cormie Douglas got married in Christchurch on 20 April, they settled in Wellington. They had three children together, Patrick, Rory and Kathy who all went on to work in the film industry.


References

*''Don’t let it get you: memories - documents'' by John O’Shea (1999, Victoria University Press, Wellington)


External links

*
John O'Shea
at NZ On Screen
John O'Shea on some films, 1950
''Design Review'': Volume 2, Issue 6 (May–June 1950),
NZETC The New Zealand Electronic Text Collection (NZETC; ) is a freely accessible online archive of New Zealand and Pacific Islands texts and heritage materials that are held by the Victoria University of Wellington Library. It was named the New Zeala ...

John O'Shea on more films, 1950
''Design Review'': Volume 3, Issue 1 (July–August 1950), NZETC {{DEFAULTSORT:Oshea, John 1920 births 2001 deaths New Zealand film directors New Zealand film producers New Zealand military personnel of World War II New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from New Plymouth