Cecil William Holmes (23 June 1921 – 24 August 1994) was a New Zealand-born film director and writer.

Biography

Holmes was born on 23 June 1921 in Waipukurau, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.[1]

He served in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and British Royal Navy during World War II before turning to filmmaking. He made a number of documentaries for the New Zealand National Film Unit then moved to Australia, where he directed several feature films and a number of documentaries for the Commonwealth Film Unit.[2]

He died on 24 August 1994.[1]

Personal life

His second wife was author and Indigenous Australian advocate Sandra Le Brun Holmes, who contributed an account of the experience of their making I, the Aboriginal to Walkabout,[3] a magazine for which Holmes himself also wrote.[4]

Recognition

The Cecil Holmes Award given by the Australian Directors Guild is named after him. The Award was instigated in 1995, and is presented by the ADG board from time to time to honour recipients who have advocated for the role of the director.[5]

Selected filmography

Screenplays

  • Feature Film Screenplays (unrealised) 'Call Me By My Proper Name' (true story of the man hunt for Australian Aboriginal Larrey Boy in the Northern Territory of Australia)
  • Mackie's in Town (screenplay of the true story of Pat Mackie, leader of Mt. Isa Mines Strike of 1964)
  • Morrison of Peking (screenplay based upon book by Australian writer Cyril Pearl, 1967)
  • The Planter of Malaita (screenplay of a Joseph Conrad novella)

Books

  • One Man's Way, (autobiography) Penguin, 1986
  • Mask Of Smiles, 1994 (Holmes' journey into the Philippines), completed yet unpublished at time of his death.

References

  1. 1 2 Campbell, Russell. "Cecil William Holmes". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  2. ↑ Graham Shirley, 'Cecil Holmes' at Australian Screen Online
  3. ↑ Le Brun Holmes, Sandra (1 September 1963). "To the islands". Walkabout. 29 (9): 32–35.
  4. ↑ Holmes, Cecil (1 March 1965). "Filming the Ubar Ritual". Walkabout. 31 (3): 13–17.
  5. ↑ The Cecil Holmes Award, Australian Directors Guild
  6. ↑ "Revealing the activities of the Methodist Missionary Society through film". ALIA Library. 20 June 2022. Retrieved 7 June 2023.


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