James Napier Robertson

James Napier Robertson began his screen career as an actor, via hit shows Being Eve and The Tribe. It was on The Tribe that he met actor Tom Hern, and the two began making short films together. In 2006 they formed a production company (now known as Four Knights Films), and developed backwoods thriller I'm Not Harry Jenson, which Robertson wrote and directed. They hit the creative jackpot with The Dark Horse, which won awards at over a dozen film festivals, and six Moa Awards back home. Cliff Curtis stars as real-life chess champ Genesis Potini. Robertson went on to co-direct Whina Cooper biopic Whina, with Paula Whetu Jones.

Be utterly determined and relentless, no matter how huge the problems seem. I couldn’t begin to count the number of times that the odds seemed stacked so high against us that it felt impossible. But we somehow struggled on each time, and now they’re all just memories. James Napier Robertson provides advice on making your first movie, Flicks website, 20 January 2010