Christopher Pryor

How Far is Heaven, Christopher Pryor's directorial debut, was described as “stunning” (Sunday Star-Times), “moving” (Listener) and “a genuine triumph” (Capital Times). The film chronicled a year Pryor and co-director Miriam Smith spent in the Whanganui River community of Jerusalem. Prior Pryor credits include multiple collaborations with director Florian Habicht, as both cinematographer and editor. Pryor and Smith followed up How Far is Heaven with small town rugby chronicle The Ground We Won, which won the 2017 NZ Film Award for Best Documentary. Pryor took another gong for his cinematography.

[Jerusalem is a] genuine triumph  [...]. Two deeply held belief systems co-exist in Jerusalem, and the beautifully photographed film presents us with multiple dichotomies  —  Māori and Pākehā, young and old, urban and rural  —  without taking any sides itself. Destined to be one of the greats. Dan Slevin in Capital Times, 29 August 2012