Kirsty MacDonald - Bio

I am an independent filmmaker based in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, with a Masters in Creative and Performing Arts (Directing Documentary/Scriptwriting). I have many years' experience working on documentary, drama and arts projects - short and feature films, theatre, music and cross-platform. My focus for the past ten years has been on documentary projects. Recent documentary work includes producing the behind-the-scenes videos for interdisciplinary artist Yuki Kihara who represented Aotearoa New Zealand at the Venice Biennale with her exhibition Paradise Camp. In collaboration with Kihara, I created the Paradise Camp “Virtual Explore” website videos, as well as several videos included in the exhibition.

As producer/director/camera/editor I have been making short documentaries for Auckland Council since 2012, including their annual Artist in Residence videos.

I have also had the privilege of creating over 30 oral history videos for Auckland Council with former residents of some of the region’s most spectacular locations, which are now part of the Auckland Council Regional Parks network. Since 2015 I have produced, directed, shot and edited the videos for the biennial Sculpture in the Gardens exhibition for the Auckland Botanic Gardens, as well as creating their collections videos promoting their conservation and education roles.

In 2015 and 2016 I was a tutor and lecturer in film (theory and practical) at the University of Auckland and Unitec. I have made videos for Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, the Ngāti Manuhiri Settlement Trust and the Waikato Hospital Art Trust. I have also collaborated on several video installation art projects including Skins (2011) a film/sculpture project with acclaimed sculptor Steve Woodward and Galu Afi: Waves of Fire (2012 winner of the Paramount Award of the 21st Wallace Art Awards) with artist Yuki Kihara.

In 2009 I completed a feature-length documentary called Assume Nothing and 8 short films exploring gender identity and creativity. Accompanying the photographs of celebrated NZ photographer Rebecca Swan, these films formed part of the widely attended Assume Nothing Exhibition, touring 5 major NZ art galleries and museums for 18 months until 2010 (in partnership with the New Dowse Gallery and the NZ Human Rights Commission). This film was also accepted into numerous international film festivals including DOK Leipzig, Vancouver, Planete Doc Review Warsaw and the 24th BFI London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. Assume Nothing was accepted into over 40 international film festivals and has been broadcast in Israel, Russia and Finland, with distribution in North America. It was also a finalist in the 2009 Qantas Film and Television Awards (Best Arts/Festival/Feature Documentary), received the Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2010 Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (USA) and also received a Special Mention in Competition in the Documentary New Zealand International Film Festival (2009).

In 2008 I directed three episodes of Kete Aronui (a contemporary Māori art series) for Māori Television and prior to this spent three months in France where I was Niki Caro’s assistant on the feature film The Vintner’s Luck, thanks to a mentorship grant from Women in Film and Television. While there I also directed and shot the “making of” materials for the film, which I later edited. In 2010-2011 I then served as an Industry Mentor for WIFT.

In 2007, after completing a Masters in Creative and Performing Arts (Directing Documentary/ Scriptwriting) at the University of Auckland I worked as Vincent Ward’s assistant on the feature documentary-drama Rain of the Children, and worked for him again in 2012-14. My short film Black and White made during my Masters degree, has shown at over 35 international festivals since 2006, four times in competition, winning both “Best Short NZ Documentary” and “Best Emerging Director” in the 2006 Documentary New Zealand International Film Festival, and also “Best Short Film” at the 2006 Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (USA).

With a background in music and performance I have produced and performed on 5 albums and played original acoustic music in the United States and New Zealand for 15 years. I am a keen sailor these days in both dinghies and keelboats, and formerly spent 10 years rock-climbing, skiing and snowboarding in the United States.