SHOWEST 2004 INTERNATIONAL FILMMAKER

NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WHALE RIDER DIRECTOR NIKI CARO TO RECEIVE INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT IN FILMMAKEING AWARD AT SHOWEST 2004

Award to be Given at International Day Luncheon

LOS ANGELES, February 5, 2004 --  ShoWest 2004 is pleased to announce that Whale Rider director Niki Caro will receive the International Achievement In Filmmaking Award at ShoWest 2004, which takes place March 22^nd through March 25^th at the Bally’s and Paris Hotels in Las Vegas, it was announced today by Mitch Neuhauser, co-managing  director of ShoWest.

 “Whale Rider was one of the true stand out films of last year -- with amazing performances, especially by Keisha Castle-Hughes, and its fantastic visual style,” said Neuhauser.  "We thank Newmarket Films for allowing us to debut this film before the Industry at the 2003 convention and we could not be more pleased to honor Niki's work.  We look forward to what we know is going to be an incredible career.”

In Whale Rider, a contemporary re-telling of a Maori legend, a young girl must challenge her grandfather and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny.  The film was shot entirely In Whangara, a coastal village on the magnificent East Coast of New Zealand's North Island.  It stars newcomer and Academy Award-Nominee (Best Actress) Keisha Castle-Hughes as Pai, and three of New Zealand's most distinguished actors: Rawiri Paratene as Koro, Vicky Haughton as Nanny Flowers and Cliff Curtis as Porourangi, the girl's father.

Niki Caro adapted the much-loved--and best selling --1986 book by Witi Ihimeara, the first Maori novelist to be published In New Zealand.  The film is produced by Tim Sanders, John Barnett and Frank Hubner for South Pacific Pictures, Apollo Media and Pandora Film.  Executive Producers are Bill Gavin and Linda Goldstein Knowlton.  Author Witi Ihimeara serves as Associate Producer.

Caro’s next project will be Class Action for Warner Bros. and Industry Entertainment.  Penned by Michael Seitzman, Class Action is based on the nonfiction book by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy about Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines, a case that forced corporations to take seriously sexual harassment in the workplace.

Born and raised in Auckland New Zealand, Niki Caro graduated from Kaimah College and became interested in filmmaking during her studies at Auckland University's Elam School of Fine Arts.  She expected to become a sculptor but was greatly inspired by Vincent Ward’s Vigil, a coming of age story set in rural New Zealand.  After a year of study at a Melbourne film school, Caro returned to Auckland and began to write scripts.  She made two notable short films:  Sure to Rise, which was screened at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival and Footage and offbeat study of footwear fetishism, selected for the 1996 Venice Film Festival.

Caro's television drama has also bee laude:  The Summer the Queen Came, an affectionate look at the small, twisted details of life in suburbia, earned her best writer and director nominations in the 1994 New Zealand Film and Television Awards. 

Previously, ShoWest award winners were Ang Lee for Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon, Jean-Pierre Jeunet for Amelie, and Fernando Meirelles for City of God.

Celebrating its 30^th Anniversary in 2004, ShoWest is the world’s largest motion picture industry convention. The 2004 edition of ShoWest will be held from March 22^nd-25^th at Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas and at this time it is expected that more than 5000 members of the industry will be on hand. Each year, ShoWest attracts delegates from more than 45 countries in North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia. For the third consecutive year, DLP Cinema, a Texas Instruments Technology, is the Official Corporate Sponsor of ShoWest. Founded by the National Association of Theatre Owners of California and Nevada, ShoWest is managed by the VNU Expositions Film Group, a division of VNU Business Media.

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