Vigil

On a sheep farm among the mountains in New Zealand, Toss, still a child, lives with her family. Her father dies in an accident. Soon afterwards a wandering hunter arrives at the farm and her grandfather gives him work. Toss is curious about the man and does not like him. When he draws close to her mother the child's world changes completely. Vincent Ward's first feature was the first New Zealand film invited into the competition at Cannes. The telling rests not on talk but on weather and image: mud, rain, fog, animals. Fiona Kay, who plays Toss, is at the centre of it. Ward later moved on to bigger productions, but the harsh and poetic language of this film stayed his own.