ScreenTalk Legends - Toa Fraser

Interview – 2024

Writer/director Toa Fraser believes deeply in being led by passion ("if it's not a f**k yeah, say no") — but also in the value of relinquishing control ("I think the best thing that I did for my craft was give up a little"). This flexibility and curiosity has helped him become one of New Zealand's most versatile filmmakers, having lent his vision to everything from family dramas (No. 2) to action (The Dead Lands), dance (Giselle) and small screen fantasy (Sweet Tooth, Penny Dreadful). After enjoying early success as a playwright, Fraser's movie version of No.2 won acclaim, launching a career that has seamlessly combined local and international productions. In this memorable and philosophical interview, he discusses many topics, including;

Moving to Aotearoa as a child, and the culture shock of going from the quiet English countryside (his mother's world), to a big Fijian-Kiwi family in Auckland (his father's world). (1 minute in)
His first film No.2 almost being shut down the day before shooting (10 minutes)
Getting lighting advice from acting legend Peter O'Toole whilst making Dean Spanley (14 minutes)
Directing actors, and his unusual rehearsal process on set (17 minutes)
The challenges of collaborating on the screenplay for River Queen with Vincent Ward, as a young, up-and-coming writer (22 minutes)
Enjoying the physicality that comes with working on action projects like The Dead Lands, and how that training plays a role in his Parkinson's treatment (25 minutes)
Learning how to say "no" (29 minutes)
His personal philosophy on relinquishing control of his career, allowing stories to come to him (33 minutes)

Interview Rosie Howells. Director/Camera Chris Terpstra/Rocket Rentals. Sound Recordist Craig O'Reilly. Editor Tom Field. Producer Fran Carney. Executive Producer Kathryn Quirk.

...I've only very recently learned that [it's about] letting go, as much as having a clear kaupapa, or a clear mandate . . . When I started I wanted to be this guy, and I wanted to do it like this, and I wanted to control stuff a lot more. But over the years I've learned that really the process of doing it is way more fulfilling than the result . . . I feel like there are stories out there and if I'm the right one to tell them they'll come. If I'm not, they'll go to somebody else.
– Toa Fraser, late in this interview

Toa's Full Profile