Acclaimed actress Lucy Lawless is set to unveil her directorial debut, Never Look Away, at the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival. The film will make its world premiere in the World Cinema Documentary Competition section of the Festival.
Directed and co-written by Lucy Lawless, Never Look Away was produced and co-written by Matthew Metcalfe, Tom Blackwell and Lawless and made with funding from the New Zealand Film Commission, Ingenious Media, GFC Films, AM Media, Images & Sound and with the support of the New Zealand Government’s Screen Production Rebate.
The film chronicles the amazing life of Margaret Moth, a trailblazing New Zealand born CNN camerawoman who fearlessly risks it all to show the reality of war from inside the conflict, staring down danger and confounding those who perpetuate it.
Lucy Lawless said “I really wanted to tell New Zealanders the story of one of our least-known famous people. Now it seems the whole world is ready to fall in love with Margaret Moth. It’s a rollercoaster ride - she’s no angel but her life story makes you feel that you too can go out and move mountains with whatever tools you have right now. She’s hugely inspirational.”
Producer Matthew Metcalfe added, “We are incredibly proud to have supported Lucy to bring this remarkable debut film to the screen. Margaret Moth was a pioneer. A woman from New Zealand who blazed an inspiring trail; showing us all how we can live our lives to the full. Lucy has told a story filled with pathos, humour and meaning and we look forward to presenting to audiences around the world.”
Transmission Films will distribute the film in Australia and New Zealand.
The 2024 Sundance Film Festival will take place in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah January 18 to 28th. This year’s programme includes 82 feature-length films representing 24 countries. A record number of 17,435 submissions from 153 countries or territories were considered for this year’s festival, including 4,410 feature-length films. Of these feature film submissions, 1,679 were from the U.S, and 2,741 were international.
Image Supplied
Photographer Credit: Joe Duran
Image Caption: Margaret Moth standing in front of an oil fire