You'll love it or hate it, says 'River Queen' director

Vincent Ward during the filming of 'River Queen'.

After a problem-plagued production, today is one of both celebration and relief for River Queen director Vincent Ward.

The film has its world premiere in Wanganui this evening, something that seemed a long way off during filming setbacks including leading lady Samantha Morton's hospitalisation with influenza and Ward's own firing and rehiring.

"I am just relieved we got there," Ward told a press conference in Wanganui this morning. "It's like completing the circle."

Set in the 1860s, River Queen is the story of young Irish woman Sarah O'Brien (Morton) who has a son to a Maori man and finds herself on both sides of the conflict during wars between Maori tribes and the British colonial army.

New Zealand has many hidden stories -- "beneath every roadway, alongside every river" -- that rival anything created in Hollywood, Ward said today.

"They're ours and they're raw and they're real," he said.

"It's a luxury and a wonder to be able to tell those stories."

For actors Temuera Morrison and Cliff Curtis, it was a chance to share part of their own history.

"It was nice to play a Maori for a change," Morrison laughed.

He said he and Curtis, both from Rotorua, were embraced by the local iwi.

Curtis, who works extensively in Hollywood, said he is picky about which projects he commits to, especially when he comes home.

"I look for stories that I think otherwise might not get told," he said.

"For me it was important to explore...what our people went through in order to survive the process of colonisation."

Newcomer Rawiri Pene (Boy), who was 12 at the time of filming, loved the experience of working with Curtis, Morrison and overseas stars Morton and Kiefer Sutherland.

"It felt cool. It felt like Hollywood," he said.

Ward acknowledged there had been some bad reviews, but said there had also been good ones, and people should see the film and make up their own mind.

"What is so exciting about this movie is that it does invite debate -- you'll either love it or you'll hate it."

- NZPA