Puven Pather
Encyclopedia
Puven Pather is an Australia
n film director
, screenwriter
, actor
and stunt performer
born in South Africa
.
Puven has been married to actress Jessica Gower
since 2004, and the couple have a daughter named Sequoia.
. 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 Webb.
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. It was shown at the Tampere International Short Film Festival, Finland, 5–9 March 2003, the 29th Seoul Independent Film Festival, and the AFTRS National screening tour.
, where he also won both "Best Fiction" and "Best Achievement with An Original Screenplay" for his work The Visitor.
The Shot then won "Best Film" at the "Spanischer Kurzfilm Sieger bei Festival" (Spanish Film festival) in Berlin. and "First Prize" at the 2003 Australian Shorts Film Festival.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and stunt performer
Stunt performer
A stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be...
born in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Puven has been married to actress Jessica Gower
Jessica Gower
Jessica Gower is an Australian actress; sometimes credited as Jess Gower.Gower's first claim to fame was as a starstruck but confused fan in a 2001 television commercial for Telstra featuring John Farnham and Glenn Wheatley...
since 2004, and the couple have a daughter named Sequoia.
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 MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. 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 Webb.
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
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
. His directorial debut was with the films The Shot and The Visitor. As part of the Slamdance Film Festival
Slamdance Film Festival
As a year-round organization, Slamdance serves as a showcase for the discovery of new and emerging talent in the film industry; it is also the only major film festival fully programmed by filmmakers. Slamdance counts among its alumni many notable writers and directors who first gained notice at the...
, The Shot had its US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
premiere at American Cinematheque
American Cinematheque
The American Cinematheque is an independent, non-profit cultural organization in Los Angeles dedicated exclusively to the public presentation of the Moving Image in all its forms. It is considered among the premier organizations of its kind in America....
on 20 August 2003, at the Egyptian Theater. It was shown at the Tampere International Short Film Festival, Finland, 5–9 March 2003, the 29th Seoul Independent Film Festival, and the AFTRS National screening tour.
Awards
He won "Best New Director" for The Shot, at the 20th annual St Kilda Film Festival in MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, where he also won both "Best Fiction" and "Best Achievement with An Original Screenplay" for his work The Visitor.
The Shot then won "Best Film" at the "Spanischer Kurzfilm Sieger bei Festival" (Spanish Film festival) in Berlin. and "First Prize" at the 2003 Australian Shorts Film Festival.
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.
Director
| Year | Film | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Waterbabies | 6’00 |
| 2002 | The Shot (short film) | 10’00 |
Actor
| Year | Film or Series | Character |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Rush Rush (2008 TV series) -DVD releases:-Achievements:-International distribution:-External links:... |
Boy |
| 2001 | Lantana Lantana (film) Lantana is a 2001 Australian film, directed by Ray Lawrence and featuring Anthony LaPaglia, Kerry Armstrong, Geoffrey Rush and Barbara Hershey. It is based on the play Speaking In Tongues by Andrew Bovell, which premiered at Sydney's Griffin Theatre Company... |
Drug dealer |
| 1999 | Tribe Tribe A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists... |
Curly |
| 1999 | BeastMaster BeastMaster (TV series) BeastMaster is a Canadian television series that aired from 1999 to 2002. It was loosely based on a 1982 MGM movie The Beastmaster. The series aired for three complete seasons... |
Ishmael |
| 1999 | Stingers Stingers Stingers was an Australian police drama television series. It ran for eight seasons on the Nine Network before it was canceled in late 2004 due to declining ratings and the late timeslot Channel Nine gave the program... |
Hector Gueteres |
| 1998 | Gargantua | Naru |
| 1997 | Mr. Nice Guy Mr. Nice Guy (1997 film) Mr Nice Guy is a 1997 Hong Kong martial arts action crime comedy film directed by Sammo Hung and starring Jackie Chan. It also stars Richard Norton as the villain, with whom Chan had worked in 1993 film City Hunter and Chan and Hung had worked in Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars. Hung makes a cameo as... |
Giancarlo's Man |
| 1995 | Tunnel Vision Tunnel vision Tunnel vision is the loss of peripheral vision with retention of central vision, resulting in a constricted circular tunnel-like field of vision.- Medical / biological causes :Tunnel vision can be caused by:... |
Youth |
Stunt
| Year | Film or Series | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Beautiful Kate | stunt driver |
| 2009 | Knowing Knowing (film) Knowing is a 2009 American-British science fiction film directed by Alex Proyas and starring Nicolas Cage. The project was originally attached to a number of directors under Columbia Pictures, but it was placed in turnaround and eventually picked up by Escape Artists. Production was financially... |
stunts |
| 2007 | Ghost Rider Ghost Rider (film) Ghost Rider is a 2007 superhero film written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson. Based on the character of the same name which appeared in Marvel Comics, the film stars Nicolas Cage as Johnny Blaze, a stunt motorcyclist who sells his soul to the Devil and transforms into thevigilante Ghost... |
utility stunts |
| 2006 | Charlotte's Web Charlotte's Web (2006 film) Charlotte's Web is a 2006 American live-action/computer-animated feature film, based on the popular book of the same name by E. B. White. It is directed by Gary Winick and produced by Paramount Pictures, Walden Media, The K Entertainment Company, and Nickelodeon Movies... |
safety assistant |
| 2006 | Superman Returns Superman Returns Superman Returns is a 2006 superhero film directed by Bryan Singer. It is the fifth and final installment in the original Superman film series and serves as a alternate sequel to Superman and Superman II by ignoring the events of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace .The film stars... |
utility stunts |
| 2005 | The Great Raid The Great Raid The Great Raid is a 2005 war film about the Raid at Cabanatuan, adapted from William Breuer's book of the same name. It tells the story of the January 1945 liberation of the Cabanatuan Prison Camp on the Philippine island of Luzon during World War II. It is directed by John Dahl and stars Benjamin... |
stunt performer |
| 2005 | The Alice The Alice The Alice was an Australian drama television series created by Justin Monjo and Robyn Sinclair. It was set in the central outback city of Alice Springs. The program began as a successful TV movie, that later spun off a regular series. The series proved less popular and was cancelled by the Nine... |
stunt double |
| 2003 | Peter Pan Peter Pan (2003 film) Peter Pan is a 2003 fantasy film released as a joint venture of Universal Studios, Columbia Pictures and Revolution Studios. P. J. Hogan directed a screenplay co-written with Michael Goldenberg which is based on the classic play and novel by J. M. Barrie. Jason Isaacs plays the roles of Captain... |
stunt double |
| 2003 | The Matrix Revolutions The Matrix Revolutions The Matrix Revolutions is a 2003 American science fiction film and the third installment of The Matrix trilogy. The film was released six months following The Matrix Reloaded. The film was written and directed by the Wachowski brothers and released simultaneously in sixty countries on November 5,... |
stunts |
| 2002 | Garage Days Garage Days Garage Days is a 2002 Australian film directed by Alex Proyas and written by Proyas, Dave Warner and Michael Udesky. The Garage Days soundtrack includes the song "Garage Days" featuring Katie Noonan, David McCormack and Andrew Lancaster.-Plot:... |
stunts |
| 2002 | The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course is a 2002 Australian comedy-adventure film based on the nature documentary series The Crocodile Hunter, starring Steve Irwin and his wife Terri Irwin. The Irwins play themselves filming an episode of The Crocodile Hunter while trying to protect a crocodile.... |
stunt safety driver |
| 2001 | Invincible | stunts |
| 2001 | Lantana Lantana (film) Lantana is a 2001 Australian film, directed by Ray Lawrence and featuring Anthony LaPaglia, Kerry Armstrong, Geoffrey Rush and Barbara Hershey. It is based on the play Speaking In Tongues by Andrew Bovell, which premiered at Sydney's Griffin Theatre Company... |
stunt performer |
| 2000 | Green Sails | stunt performer Stunt performer A stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be... |
| 2000 | Water Rats (TV series) Water Rats (TV series) Water Rats is an Australian TV police procedural broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001. The series was based around the men and women of the Sydney Water Police who fight crime across Sydney Harbour and surrounding locales. The show was set on and around Goat Island in Sydney... |
stunt performer |
| 1999 | Noah's Ark Noah's Ark (1999 film) Noah's Ark is a 1999 TV Film directed by John Irvin and starring Jon Voight and Mary Steenburgen. The film, as many other related film and television projects, re-tells the Biblical story of Noah's Ark from the Book of Genesis... |
stunt performer |
| 1998 | The Lost World The Lost World (1998 film) The Lost World is a 1998 film, based on the book of the same title by Arthur Conan Doyle.- Plot :Mongolia, 1934.The researcher Maple White , together with his assistant Azbek , discovers an unknown world populated by dinosaurs, situated on a plateau in Mongolia... |
stunt performer |
| 1998 | The Violent Earth | stunt performer |
| 1998 | Search for Treasure Island | stunt double |
| 1998 | Beverly Hills Family Robinson Beverly Hills Family Robinson Beverly Hills Family Robinson is a 1997 American Walt Disney television film based on the novel Swiss Family Robinson by Johann David Wyss. The film features Dyan Cannon, Martin Mull, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan O'Donohue as the main cast and was aired on ABC... |
water safety |
| 1998 | Moby Dick | stunt performer |
| 1998 | Tales of the South Seas | stunt double |
| 1997 | Joey Joey - Animals :* Joey , an infant marsupial* Joey, a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot who was one of the Blue Peter pets-People with the given name Joey:* Joey Benjamin , English cricketer* Joey Bishop , entertainer... |
stunts |
| 1997 | True Love and Chaos | stunt double Stunt double A stunt double is a type of body double, specifically a skilled replacement used for dangerous film or video sequences, in movies and television , and for other sophisticated stunts... |
| 1997 | 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1997 Village Roadshow film) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a 1997 television movie produced by Village Roadshow Pictures, based on the novel of the same name by Jules Verne.-Events:In this version:... |
stunt performer |
| 1997 | Mr. Nice Guy Mr. Nice Guy (1997 film) Mr Nice Guy is a 1997 Hong Kong martial arts action crime comedy film directed by Sammo Hung and starring Jackie Chan. It also stars Richard Norton as the villain, with whom Chan had worked in 1993 film City Hunter and Chan and Hung had worked in Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars. Hung makes a cameo as... |
stunt performer |
| 1997 | The Place of the Dead | assistant stunt rigger |
| 1996 | Madivac | stunt assistant |
| 1996 | Acri ACRI Acri can refer to:*Acri, a town in the province of Cosenza, southern Italy*The Association for Civil Rights in Israel*ACRI, acronym of the African Contingency Operations Training and Assistance*ACRI, acronym of the American Committee for Relief in Ireland... |
stunt performer |
| 1996 | Who Dares Wins Who Dares Wins Who Dares, Wins, Latin: "Qui audet adipiscitur" is a motto that originated with the British Special Air Service. It is normally credited to the founder of the SAS, David Stirling. The motto has been used by nine elite special forces units around the world that in some way have historical ties to... |
stunt assistant |
| 1996 | Water Rats Water Rats (TV series) Water Rats is an Australian TV police procedural broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001. The series was based around the men and women of the Sydney Water Police who fight crime across Sydney Harbour and surrounding locales. The show was set on and around Goat Island in Sydney... |
utility stunts |
| 1996 | Police Story 4: First Strike Police Story 4: First Strike Police Story 4: First Strike , , is a 1996 Hong Kong martial arts action comedy film made in the typical humorous style of Jackie Chan.... |
stunt performer |
| 1996 | Pacific Driver | stunt assistant |
| 1996 | The Wayne Manifesto The Wayne Manifesto The Wayne Manifesto is an Australian children's television series that aired on the ABC in 1996. Based on the children's books by David McRobbie, it is centred around the life 12-year-old Wayne Wilson, showing the world both as the way he would like it and the way it really is... |
utility stunts |
| 1996 | Little White Lies Little White Lies "Little White Lies" is a popular song.It was written by Walter Donaldson. The song was published in 1930. It was recorded on July 25, 1930 by Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians with vocal by Clare Hanlon and The Waring Girls... |
utility stunts |
| 1995 | Tunnel Vision Tunnel vision Tunnel vision is the loss of peripheral vision with retention of central vision, resulting in a constricted circular tunnel-like field of vision.- Medical / biological causes :Tunnel vision can be caused by:... |
stunt performer |
| 1995 | Silver Strand Silver Strand Silver Strand may refer to:* Silver Strand , an action film directed by George Miller* Silver Strand Beach, a beach neighborhood in the city of Oxnard, California, also referred to locally as Silverstrand Beach... |
stunt double |
| 1994 | Ocean Girl Ocean Girl Ocean Girl is an Australian science fiction TV series aimed for family audiences and starring Marzena Godecki as the lead character... |
stunt double |
| 1994 | Blue Heelers Blue Heelers Blue Heelers is an Australian police drama series which depicted the lives of police officers stationed at the fictional Mount Thomas police station in a small town in Victoria.- Overview :... |
stunt assistant |
| 1993 | Time Trax Time Trax Time Trax was an American/Australian co-produced science fiction television series that first aired in 1993. A police officer, sent through time into the past, has to track down and return convicted criminals who have escaped prison in the future... |
stunt performer |
| 1990 | Bony Bony (TV series) Bony is an Australian television series made in 1992. The series of 13 episodes followed on from a telemovie made in 1990. The series was criticised for casting a white man as the title character Detective David John Bonaparte , under the tutelage of "Uncle Albert", an elderly Aborigine played by... |
utility stunts |