Pacific Films is a film production company in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
.
[Not to be confused with other companies with the name, including the film company in Hawaii that produced '' Phantom Below''.]
History
The Pacific Film Unit was established 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 ...
in 1948 by Alun Falconer and
Roger Mirams, who were ex-National Film Unit staff. At that time, most films produced in New Zealand were documentaries made by the government's
National Film Unit.
John O'Shea
John Francis O'Shea (; born 30 April 1981) is an Irish professional football coach and former player who is currently assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland men's national team. He was known for his versatility in playing several defensi ...
joined in 1950. Falconer left to pursue a career in China and the company changed its name to Pacific Film Productions Ltd.
The first feature film was ''
Broken Barrier'' (1952), which O'Shea produced and directed with Roger Mirams. In 1956, Mirams moved to Australia, and started a branch of the company in Sydney, though he later formed his own company,
Roger Mirams Productions.
In 1960, the company had an office in Courtenay Place, Wellington, and was the New Zealand representative for British
Movietone News
Movietone News was a newsreel that ran from December 1927 to 1963 in the United States. Under the name British Movietone News, it also ran in the United Kingdom from 1929 to 1986, in France also produced by Fox-Europa, in Spain in the early 1930s a ...
and Fox Australian Movietone News. In 1969, the company had a staff of 15. The facility was in
Kilbirnie
Kilbirnie () is a small town of 7,280 (as of 2001) inhabitants situated in the Garnock Valley area of North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is around southwest of Glasgow and approximately from Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley and ...
, with the office in
Lower Hutt
Lower Hutt () is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropoli ...
, and the company also represented
Hearst Metrotone News and
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1 January 1927. It p ...
. Associated companies were Pacific Television Ltd. and Pacific Films Ltd.
John O'Shea was active from 1940 to 1970, and he produced numerous short films, as well as 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).
Pacific Films produced scores of road safety dramas, rugby tests, documentaries and commercials (O’Shea).
Notes
References
*''Don’t let it get you: memories - documents'' by John O’Shea (1999, Victoria University Press, Wellington)
*''New Zealand Business Who's Who (1960 & 1969–70)''
External links
''Pacific Films'' (including other companies of that name) on IMDb
1950s in New Zealand cinema
1960s in New Zealand cinema
Film production companies of New Zealand
Companies based in Wellington
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