Films About Contact

An elderly woman in an old-fashioned dark dress with white trim stands alone by a body of water, looking thoughtfully into the distance as dark storm clouds gather overhead.

Gloriavale: New Zealand’s Secret Cult

2022 • 89’ • Australia/New Zealand

When widespread abuse is uncovered at a New Zealand cult, a family must turn to the legal system in an effort to save themselves and their community from the all powerful leaders “the Shepherds.” With unprecedented access to the notoriously secretive community, the film follows a lone family as they mount a ground-breaking legal case against the Shepherds.

Directors/Producers: 
Noel Smyth & Fergus Grady

Festivals:
New Zealand International Film Festival 2022
CinfestOZ 2022
Seattle International Film Festival 2023

Poster for the film 'Gloriavale' featuring a woman in a dark dress with white trim standing outdoors, against a cloudy sky and water in the background.

Filmmaker’s Biography

Noel Smyth is an Australian documentary writer, director, producer, cinematographer, editor. His debut feature documentary Camino Skies (co-directed with Fergus Grady) won the Doc Edge Film Festival awards for ‘Best NZ Directors’ and ‘Best NZ Emerging Filmmakers’ and was nominated for ‘Best NZ Feature’, ‘Best NZ Editing’, ‘Best NZ Cinematography’.

Fergus Grady is a producer/director who has fifteen years experience in the film industry. His debut feature documentary Camino Skies was the second highest grossing NZ documentary of 2019 winning two Doc Edge Film Festival awards. He executive produced the Netflix original Cargo and also associate produced West of Sunshine.