Christine Jeffs facts for kids

Christine Jeffs (born January 29, 1963) is a talented director, editor, and screenwriter from New Zealand. She is well-known for directing movies like Rain, Sylvia, and Sunshine Cleaning. Christine Jeffs has also directed many television commercials.

Christine Jeffs' Journey in Film

Christine Jeffs earned a master's degree in fine arts from the University of Auckland in 2018. She studied how photographers and their subjects connect. Her career began in New Zealand, working in post-production. This means she helped finish films after they were shot. She worked as an assistant film editor.

Later, Jeffs attended the Australian Film, Television and Radio School in Sydney, Australia. She earned a diploma in film editing in 1990. After that, she was an assistant editor on three feature films. These were Ruby and Rata (1990), Crush (1992), and Absent Without Leave (1992).

What Was Christine Jeffs' First Film?

In 1993, Christine Jeffs wrote, directed, and edited her first short film, called Stroke. A short film is a movie that is not very long. This film became very popular. It was shown at famous film festivals like Cannes and Sundance. Because Stroke was so successful, Jeffs started getting offers to direct commercials.

Directing the Movie Rain

Almost ten years after Stroke, Jeffs returned to making movies. Her first full-length film as a director was Rain. This movie was based on a short book by Kirsty Gunn. Rain was shown at the Cannes Directors Fortnight, which is a special event at the Cannes Film Festival. Critics really liked Rain. The next year, a magazine called Variety named Jeffs one of the "10 Directors to Watch." This list highlights new and exciting directors.

Christine Jeffs' Film Sylvia

In 2003, two years after Rain, Jeffs released her second full-length film, Sylvia. This movie starred famous actors Gwyneth Paltrow and Daniel Craig. It told the story of poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. Christine Jeffs was asked to direct Sylvia after another director left the project. She joined the film when it was already partly made. She said it was different to join a project so late, compared to one she had worked on for years. Critics also praised Sylvia.

Directing the Comedy Sunshine Cleaning

After Sylvia, Jeffs directed her third full-length film, Sunshine Cleaning, which came out in 2008. The movie was written by Megan Holley. It starred Hollywood actresses Amy Adams and Emily Blunt. They played two sisters who start a business cleaning up crime scenes. Alan Arkin also played their unique father. Sunshine Cleaning was Jeffs' first comedy film. However, she thinks her first film, Stroke, was also a little bit funny. Like Sylvia, Jeffs joined Sunshine Cleaning after the project had already begun.

What is The Girl Film Company?

Christine Jeffs helped start a film company in New Zealand. It is called The Girl Film Company.

Christine Jeffs' Personal Life

Christine Jeffs lives in Auckland, New Zealand. Her partner is John Toon. He worked as the cinematographer on all of Jeffs' films. A cinematographer is the person who is in charge of how a movie is filmed.

Christine Jeffs' Films

Awards and Nominations for Christine Jeffs