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After the Waterfall is the debut feature from award-winning New Zealand writer/director Simone Horrocks, with actor Antony Starr (Outrageous Fortune, In My Father’s Den) in his first lead in a feature film. 

After the Waterfall is the debut feature from award-winning New Zealand writer/director Simone Horrocks, with actor Antony Starr (Outrageous Fortune, In My Father’s Den) in his first lead in a feature film. 

Writer/director Simone Horrocks answered TBI community questions about making After the Waterfall. See the comment box below.

The screenplay was written by Horrocks, and is based on UK writer Stephen Blanchard’s 1999 novel The Paraffin Child. It was filmed in and around Piha on Auckland’s West Coast in April and May 2009.

Starr plays forest ranger John Drean, a father haunted by the disappearance of his four-year-old daughter, and the subsequent breakup of his marriage. The complex, character-driven drama explores themes of trust and betrayal, and the nature of grief and loss, survival and healing.

Alongside Starr, the film features Cohen Holloway (Boy, Eagle vs Shark), Sally Stockwell (The Ferryman, The Insider’s Guide To Happiness) and Peter McCauley (Perfect Creature, Pallet On The Floor). The ensemble cast also includes Vicky Haughton, Brenda Kendall, Paul Gittins, Kip Chapman, Michelle Langston, Cherie James, and Elizabeth Hawthorne.

Working alongside Horrocks, were cinematographer Jac Fitzgerald, shooting her first feature as director of photography, production designer Andy McLaren, and costume designer Kirsty Cameron. The film was edited by Cushla Dillon, with original music by Joel Haines.

After the Waterfall is produced by Trevor Haysom (In My Father’s Den) and funded by The New Zealand Film Commission. The screenplay was developed with assistance from The New Zealand Film Commission and British Screen (now the UK Film Council).

Simone Horrocks

American born, and New Zealand raised, Simone studied film making in London, earning a degree in Film, Photography & Photographic Arts from the University of Westminster.

She worked for a number of years behind the camera on both documentary and drama, assisting (amongst others) award winning DOP's Alwin Küchler BSC, Roman Osin & Nina Kellgren BSC, before shifting her focus to writing and directing.

Simone has made numerous short films including Spindrift, which won Best Panorama Short Film at the Berlin Film Festival, Inbetween, which premiered at the Rotterdam Film Festival, and New Dawn, which was commissioned by the Edinburgh Film Festival to mark the launch of UK Film Four's Lab.

Simone's work attracted international attention when she was nominated for the prestigious Sundance Institute/NHK Filmmaker's Award (2001), she was a semi-finalist, one of six from Europe.

Further information: After the Waterfall premiered at the NZ International Film Festival 2010, and has two more screenings in Wellington this weekend, July 30 & 31, before the general release later this year.