David Sims is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

. He commenced his career at the National Film Unit, making his first film in 1968. Since then he has directed over 40 films. These films included ''Rutherford of Nelson'' (1972), a short film on the New Zealand chemist and scientist

Ernest Rutherford Ernest Rutherford, 1st Baron Rutherford of Nelson, (30 August 1871 – 19 October 1937) was a New Zealand physicist who came to be known as the father of nuclear physics. ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' considers him to be the greatest ...

's life; ''Tāhere Tikitiki - The Making of a Māori Canoe'' - a film following master carver

Piri Poutapu Wiremu "Piri" Te Ranga Poutapu (8 June 1905 – 20 August 1975) was a New Zealand Māori master carver and carpenter. He identified with the Ngāti Korokī and Waikato iwi. He was born in Maungatautari, Waikato, New Zealand in 1905. He ...

as he traditionally made a Maori waka for the Maori Queen

Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu Dame Te Atairangikaahu (23 July 1931 – 15 August 2006) was the Māori King Movement, Māori queen for 40 years, the longest reign of any Māori people, Māori monarch. Her full name and title was Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikaahu. Her tit ...

; ''The Truth about Tangiwai'' (2002) - an assessment of the railway disaster; and ''Mystery at Midge Bay'', which assessed potential Portuguese and Spanish voyages to New Zealand pre Tasman. Other films included ''A Sense of Involvement'' (1977); ''Jack Winter's Dream'' (1979); ''Painting in an Empty Land'' (1981); and ''Destinations'' (1988). An overview of his work can be seen on the NZ on Screen website. Sims received a number of awards for his work, including for Rutherford of Nelson in 1972.

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) New Zealand film directors {{film-director-stub