Ever the cameraman

Christchurch-raised film instructor Ian McIver, currently an adjunct instructor at Solano Community College and Napa Valley College in California, is leading a 12-class film discussion series at the Cameo Cinema in St Helena. The adult Ian laughed as he described the imaginative 6-year-old Ian growing up in the South Island. “I had three sticks that I made into a tripod and pretended I had a camera,” McIver said. “I was fascinated with cowboys and always wanted to make a Western with my buddies,” he said. “I’d have them charge over the hill and I’d ‘film’ them. The biggest thing was finding a piece of string to hold the sticks together.” McIver was drawn to California again 1 years ago. He joined the staffs of Solano Community College and Napa Valley College where he taught classes on gender and culture in American film, the art of cinema, mass communication in radio, TV and film, and for awhile, a class in public speaking.