Christine Jeffs
Christine Jeffs' first film industry gig was once the cameras had stopped rolling. She began in post-production; as part of the team who mix soundtracks, then as an assistant editor on a varued productions, including Melanie Rodriga's Send a Gorilla, Gaylene Preston's Ruby and Rata and Alison Maclean's Crush.
In 1990, Jeffs completed a diploma in editing at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School in Sydney. Her 1993 short film Stroke, a wordless mini-epic spinning off one woman swimming, was invited to numerous international film festivals, including Cannes and Sundance in the United States. She continued to develop her directorial voice through advertising, where she became an in-demand director.
Throughout the 1990s, Jeffs' work in the world of commercials went from strength to strength, winning her two NZ Film and Television Awards, a Bronze Lion at the Cannes Ad Awards, and Axis Awards for direction for three years running. In 1999 Admedia named her the NZ advertising industry's most popular director. It was during this time that she began the four-year long process of developing the script for her debut feature, Rain.
Jeffs was haunted by Kirsty Gunn's coming of age novel, but was unsure how to bring its distinctive atmosphere of summer holidays and fractured families to the screen. Shot in 34 days, the film was made for a smaller budget than some of her 30 second commercials. In an interview while promoting Rain, Jeffs noted that the move from commercials and short films to features "wasn't a difficult transition for me".
XXXX CHECK ORIGINAL QUOTE "... it was just like a wonderful chance to really get stuck into something meaty. In terms of the day-to-day work that a director does, it didn't feel that different except that the emotional content was completely different. I was able to really get into the performances and deal with things in a much bigger way.... I had spent a lot of time in cutting rooms on big films, so I felt like that was where I'd come from in many ways, as much as directing commercials. I had a very strong background in the whole nature of making feature films."
Rain was invited to screen at the Cannes Film Festival in the Directors' Fortnight section, which showcases new directing talent. Part coming-of-age tale, part portrait of a dissatisfied wife (Sarah Peirse), Rain won enthused reviews from The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and North and South —plus awards for Peirse. American showbusiness magazine Variety named Jeffs on its annual '10 Directors to Watch' list, and Variety reviewer David Rooney praised Rain as an "evocative mood piece, enriched by gorgeous visuals" which communicated a powerful sense of time, place and atmosphere.
The praise for Rain brought Jeffs' talents to the attention of actor Gywneth Paltrow. After another director fell through at late notice, Paltrow engaged Jeffs to direct Sylvia, which explored the troubled relationship between poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. "The script dropped out of the sky," Jeffs argued, "which had its blessings and its curses".
Sylvia was partly shot in Otago. The cinematographer was Jeffs' partner in life and art, John Toon. The film won mixed reviews, unavoidably dominated by comparisons with the real-life subject matter. But there was general acknowledgement of Jeffs' grasp of the story's emotions, and it represented a solid first step on the international filmmaking ladder.
When Jeffs shot her first feature in America, she found the experience comparable to doing an indie film back in New Zealand: "It's low budget — you have to work hard and fast." The film was Sunshine Cleaning, which explores the relationship between two sisters whose job is cleaning crime scenes. It shared Oscar-winning actor Alan Arkin and some of the same producing team as road movie Little Miss Sunshine.
Sunshine Cleaning debuted at the Sundance festival in January 2008. Wall Street Journal veteran Joe Morgenstern praised Jeffs' "unerring instinct for the nuances of American life", and argued that her and actors Emily Blunt and Amy Adams "bring a steadfast sense of truth to the story of two sisters trying to jump-start their stuck lives and grow up".SPELL JUMPSTART
LA Times critic Betsy Sharkey praised Sunshine Cleaning as an "offbeat and oddly endearing drama, leavened with just the right amount of comedy ... but dig in a little deeper, and you uncover a smartly done morality tale that couldn't be more in synch with these troubled times".
After Sunshine Cleaning, Jeffs concentrated on directing commercials. Although still based in New Zealand, in 2011 she left American company Saville Productions, to sign with New York commercials house Xenon, and in 2017 signed a deal closer to home, with Auckland-based company Flying Fish. In her advertising career, Jeffs has worked with local clients such as SkyCity, Bank of New Zealand and the police, as well as international drinks company Baileys and American department store Kohl's.
Throughout the 2010s, Jeff's pursued another artistic passion; photography. In 2018 she gained a master's degree in fine arts from the University of Auckland, and her photography show Subject to Consent exhibited at Auckland's Vivian Gallery and was a prize winner at the Wallace Art Awards.///SPELL prize winner
"The camera's always been a tool for the way I've seen the world," Jeffs said in an interview with the gallery during the exhibition. "And likewise in explorations for feature film work, I've always had the camera with me, looking for locations or exploring ideas."
Jeffs made her return to features in 2024 with A Mistake, a medical drama starring American actor Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games). As she did with Rain, Jeffs both directed and adapted the screenplay from a novel; this time with the help of the original author, New Zealand writer Carl Shuker. The story follows a talented female surgeon at Auckland Hospital, whose life is thrown into disarray after a mistake is made in surgery. The film shot in New Zealand in late 2022 and was received positively by reviewers after premiering at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
On the Screen Rant website, Mae Abdulbaki argued that the film was "deftly written and directed . . . Jeffs explores ethics, moral and emotional accountability with a compassionate and nuanced eye." David Rooney for The Hollywood Reporter (who had also positively reviewed Rain back in 2001) wrote; "A Mistake functions as both an empathetic character study and a thoughtful examination of professional ethics, culpability and forgiveness,"
Christine Jeffs lives with her partner John Toon on a ranch in Auckland, where she also rears horses for competition.
Profile updated on 16 September 2024
Sources include
Mae Abdulbaki, 'A Mistake Review: Elizabeth Banks Captivates In Stressful Medical Drama That Retains Its Humanity' - Screen Rant website. Loaded 7 June 2024. Accessed 11 July 2024
Russell Baillie, 'This mess we're in' (Interview) - The NZ Herald, 8 August 2009
Rick DeMott, 'Xenon Signs Director Christine Jeffs' (Press release) Animation World Network website. Loaded 14 June 2011. Accessed 5 June 2019
Ricki Green, 'Flying Fish Signs NZ Filmmaker Christine Jeffs', Campaign Brief website. Loaded 16 February 2017. Accessed 25 April 2024
Joe Morgenstern, 'Adams, Blunt, are Rays of 'Sunshine' (Review of Sunshine Cleaning) - The Wall Street Journal, 13 March 2009
Rebecca Murray, 'Interview With "Rain's" Director, Christine Jeffs' (Interview) About.com website. Loaded 2001. Accessed 25 April 2024
Alex Ritman, 'Cannes: Elizabeth Banks to Lead Medical Drama ‘A Mistake’,The Hollywood Reporter website. Loaded 5 May 2022. Accessed 25 April 2024
David Rooney, '‘A Mistake’ Review: Elizabeth Banks Gives a Tightly Wound Performance in Christine Jeffs’ Somber Medical Drama," - The Hollywood Reporter website. Loaded 7 June 2024. Accessed 11 July 2024.
David Rooney, 'Review, 'Rain' - Variety, 15 May 2001
Betsy Sharkey, 'Coming clean' (Review of Sunshine Cleaning) - The Los Angeles Times, 13 March 2009
Steve West, 'Sundance Interview: Sunshine Cleaning Director Christine Jeffs' (Interview) CinemaBlend.com website. Loaded 26 January 2008. Accessed 25 April 2024
Anonymous, 'Poppies in October: an interview with Christine Jeffs' Poets.org website. Loaded 15 October 2003. Accessed 5 June 2019
Rain press kit
'Christine Jeffs - Artist Talk' (Video Interview), Scott Lawrie Gallery YouTube channel. Loaded 1 April 2020. Accessed 25 April 2024
'Somewhere Near', The University of Auckland website. Loaded 2018. Accessed 25 April 2024
Christine Jeffs first entered the film industry after the cameras had stopped rolling. Her early gigs were in post-production; as part of the team creating the sound mix on films, then as an assistant editor on a variety of productions, including Melanie Rodriga's Send a Gorilla, Gaylene Preston's Ruby and Rata and Alison Maclean's Crush.
FOR ROSIE
Jeffs made her return to feature filmmaking in 2024 with The Mistake, a medical drama starring American actor Elizabeth Banks in the leading role