The film is titled Prime Minister – Ardern’s husband Clarke Gayford had a hand in the project’s creation – and its producers are over the moon.
Dark Doris Entertainment, responsible for hit films like the Richie McCaw documentary Chasing Great(2016), confirmed the film’s festival selection on Thursday, with producer Cass Avery saying the team was “thrilled” to debut at Sundance.
“This film puts an intimate lens on a unique leader during a historical time,” Avery said.
Prime Minister is described as “an intimate view” inside the political and private life of Ardern, capturing her time in office and beyond.
“We are dedicated to creating and enabling meaningful films and projects that drive social change, and Prime Minister encapsulates that kaupapa".
Gayford is credited as one of the film’s six producers and three directors of photography.
Representatives for the production told the Herald that with his broadcasting credentials, Gayford was “uniquely placed,” to support the telling of Ardern’s story.
He was not involved as a director or editor of the film.
'Prime Minister', set to premiere at Sundance Film Festival 2025, will provide an intimate view inside the political and private life of Jacinda Ardern. Photo / Supplied
US production company Madison Wells also co-produced the film, which is directed by Chasing Great director Michelle Walshe and Academy Award-winner Lindsay Utz (American Factory, Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, Miss Americana).
“We have assembled a dream team of renowned filmmakers to tell Jacinda’s trailblazing story,” Madison Wells head of film and TV Rachel Shane told Variety in June this year.
“Bringing these creators together in the service of sharing one woman’s exceptional journey is only the first step in this exciting project, and we can’t wait to share it with the world”.
Ardern previously told the Herald that the film had her support, saying: “The producers have not sought or used [NZ] Film Commission funding and that was important to me.
“We’ve stopped seeing people in public life as human. Mine is a human story and a New Zealand story”.
Both production companies held full editorial discretion over the film, and no New Zealand Film Commission or NZ taxpayer funding was sought or granted.
According to earlier statements from the NZFC to the Herald, the documentary did not impact plans for another production of Ardern’s life that is currently in the works – a local film with a working title of Mania.
“Madison Wells appear to be doing an authorised biopic on Dame Jacinda Ardern’s political career, while the independent Mania documentary explores quite different social and political issues in New Zealand society arising out of her tenure as Prime Minister,” said NZFC chief executive Annie Murray at the time.
“It will be good for the NZ viewing public to have the contrasting stories available at about the same time. Each work will likely benefit from this as well”.
On Thursday, it was confirmed producers had informed the NZFC that production for Mania was on an indefinite pause, and no Film Commission funding had been drawn down.
Murray, in a statement, said it was “wonderful” to see Prime Minister selected for Sundance.
“We want to see more New Zealand stories being promoted on the world stage, and it is great to be able to congratulate the team behind Prime Minister for their outstanding work".
Murray also noted that while Prime Minister did not receive any Commission funding, Walshe’s previous project, Chasing Great received funding from NZFC.
“We want to build capability in the local film sector and empower our talent to thrive on the world stage, and this selection demonstrates how that pathway from idea to international recognition can work.”
Richie McCaw with directors Justin Pemberton, left, and Michelle Walshe at the Chasing Great press conference in 2016. Photo / New Zealand Herald
In a statement ahead of the Sundance premiere, Walshe and Utz said Ardern’s story “felt personal” to them as female directors and mothers.
“In a world accustomed to hardened, masculine leadership, Jacinda Ardern led with an unapologetic commitment to empathy and compassion,” the statement said.
“As filmmakers, we were guided by a central question: What does leadership look like when kindness and humanity are at its core?
“Our goal is to give audiences an intimate, front-row seat to the extraordinary demands of leading a country, made even more remarkable as Jacinda navigated some of New Zealand’s most significant crises while balancing the realities of new motherhood”.
