Puven Pather

Last updated

Puvan Pather
Born
Occupation(s)Stunt performer, Actor, Director
Years active1990-present
Spouse(s) Jessica Gower (2004–present; 1 child)

Puven Pather is an Australian film director, screenwriter, actor and stunt performer born in South Africa.

Contents

Puven has been married to actress Jessica Gower since 2004, and the couple have a daughter named Sequoia. [1]

Career

Pather came to Australia at the age of nine from Durban, South Africa. He began his film career at the age of 16, as a stunt performer in Melbourne. [2] He has been a professional stunt performer and stunt coordinator since 1990. As a stunt performer, he has performed such stunts as high falls, water work (scuba), air rams, rock climbing, rigging, ski/snowboarding, full body torches, driving, fights, car hits, crash bangs and more. His credits include Superman, Ghost Rider and Charlotte's Web.

He has been an actor in films since 1995, often performing his own stunts.

He is a directing graduate of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS), where he gained recognition and won awards for his work as a Director. His directorial debut was with the films The Shot and The Visitor. As part of the Slamdance Film Festival, The Shot had its US premiere at American Cinematheque on 20 August 2003, at the Egyptian Theater. [3] It was shown at the Tampere International Short Film Festival, Finland, 5–9 March 2003, [4] the 29th Seoul Independent Film Festival, [2] and the AFTRS National screening tour. [5]

However, Pather is most known for Neighbours episode 7591, where he places a stunt double.[ citation needed ]

Awards

He won "Best New Director" for The Shot, at the 20th annual St Kilda Film Festival in Melbourne, [6] where he also won both "Best Fiction" and "Best Achievement with An Original Screenplay" for his work The Visitor. [7]

The Shot then won "Best Film" at the "Spanischer Kurzfilm Sieger bei Festival" (Spanish Film festival) in Berlin. [8] and "First Prize" at the 2003 Australian Shorts Film Festival. [9]

Reviews

Current offered of The Shot:

This is a very good, tightly shot, short film that anyone into vanguard photojournalism should watch. Cinematography and direction are well executed and the story is succinctly sharp. [10]

Director

YearFilmDuration
2001WaterbabiesShort film (6 minutes)
2002The ShotShort film (10 minutes)

Actor

[11]

YearFilm or SeriesCharacter
2008 Rush Boy
2001 Lantana Drug dealer
1999 Tribe Curly
1999 BeastMaster Ishmael
1999 Stingers Hector Gueteres
1998 Gargantua Naru
1997 Mr. Nice Guy Giancarlo's Man
1995 Tunnel Vision Youth

Stuntman

YearFilm or SeriesRole
2009 Beautiful Kate stunt driver
2009 Knowing stunts
2007 Ghost Rider utility stunts
2006 Charlotte's Web safety assistant
2006 Superman Returns utility stunts
2005 The Great Raid stunt performer
2005 The Alice stunt double
2003 Peter Pan stunt double
2003 The Matrix Revolutions stunts
2002 Garage Days stunts
2002 The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course stunt safety driver
2001 Invincible stunts
2001 Lantana stunt performer
2000Green Sails stunt performer
2000 Water Rats stunt performer [12]
1999 Noah's Ark stunt performer
1999 Little White Lies utility stunts
1998 The Lost World stunt performer
1998The Violent Earthstunt performer
1998Search for Treasure Islandstunt double
1998 Beverly Hills Family Robinson water safety
1998 Moby Dick stunt performer
1998 Tales of the South Seas stunt double
1997 Joey stunts
1997 True Love and Chaos stunt double
1997 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea stunt performer
1997 Mr. Nice Guy stunt performer
1997The Place of the Deadassistant stunt rigger
1996 Medivac stunt assistant
1996 Acri stunt performer
1996 Who Dares Wins stunt assistant
1996 Water Rats utility stunts
1996 Police Story 4: First Strike stunt performer
1996 Pacific Drive stunt assistant
1996 The Wayne Manifesto utility stunts
1995 Tunnel Vision stunt performer
1995 Silver Strand stunt double
1994 Ocean Girl stunt double
1994 Blue Heelers stunt assistant
1993 Time Trax stunt performer
1990 Bony utility stunts

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References

  1. "Interview: Jessica Gower of Blade". ugo.com. Ugo. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  2. 1 2 http://www.siff.or.kr/zbbs/view.php?category=&id=egarchive&no=320%5B%5D
  3. "DOWN UNDER WONDERS SHORTS". americancinematheque.com. American Cinematheque. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 May 2009. Retrieved 4 May 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. http://www.aftrs.edu.au/aboutus/NewsEvents/News/nationalscreeningtour-sydney.aspx?type=news&archiveYear=2002
  6. Roberts, Jo (2 July 2003). "Short film has second award in the bag". theage.com.au. The Age . Retrieved 3 May 2009. "Puven Pather was named best new director for The Shot and The Visitor"
  7. "20th St. Kilda Film Festival". filmfestivals.com. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2009. "director Puven Panther being named Best New Director for The Shot and The Visitor double-dipping to receive both the Best Fiction and Best Achievement with An Original Screenplay"
  8. "Spanischer Kurzfilm Sieger bei Festival in Berlin". nmz.de (in German). NMZ. 11 November 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2009. (Google translation) "Puven Pather won best film at Spanish festival in Berlin"
  9. "Shorts 2003 winners". shortsfilmfestival.com. Shorts Film festival. Retrieved 4 May 2009.[ dead link ]
  10. ""The Shot" a short film by Puven Pather". current.com. Current. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2009.
  11. "Puven Pather filmography". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2012. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  12. http://www.us.imdb.de/title/tt0744372/fullcredits [ dead link ]