Ward and Puhi reunite

Director Vincent Ward, 52, has been in Sydney at the world premiere of his latest feature Rain of the Children, a film which documents the life of Tuhoe woman, Te Puhi who Ward met 3 years ago caring for her mentally ill adult son Niki in the Urewera Ranges. Rain follows on from Ward’s 1978 In Spring One Plants Alone, a 43-minute observational film about Puhi, who Ward lived with for 18 months to make the film. Rain was one of 12 selected from 15 feature films previewed in Sydney. “It’s a big honour,” Ward said, “and it was great that our Tuhoe collaborators could be here for it,” Ward said. “As the overall producer I felt in charge of my own destiny. I was able to get the film I wanted. And it’s more than the film I set out to make.” Rain premieres in New Zealand at the Auckland Film Festival in July.