Feature Film
The Piano
1993
Filmed In
Auckland · Taranaki
Towns & Areas
Karekare Beach and Matakana, west Auckland · Awakino, Northern Taranaki
The Story
A haunting, intensely beautiful period drama about a mute Scottish woman sent to colonial New Zealand for an arranged marriage, who expresses herself solely through her beloved piano and a passionate affair.
The Stars
Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, and a young Anna Paquin. This ensemble anchors a story shot almost entirely around Auckland's wild, black-sand West Coast.
Behind the Lens
Directed by pioneering Kiwi filmmaker Jane Campion, who won the Palme d'Or and an Oscar for her screenplay. Campion wrote and directed the film herself, drawing on a story she'd been developing for years beforehand.
Why NZ?
The story is intrinsically tied to the dense, brooding New Zealand bush. The movie's most iconic visual — the piano sitting isolated on a vast, black-sand beach — was filmed at Karekare Beach on Auckland's wild West Coast. The beach remains one of the most recognisable single filming locations in New Zealand cinema history.
On Set
Holly Hunter, a classically trained pianist, played every piece in the film herself rather than being doubled. Anna Paquin was just 11 years old when a single audition monologue won her the role — and an Oscar. Director Jane Campion originally wrote a different ending in which Ada drowns, but has said she "lost her nerve" and rewrote it.
Legacy
The film won the Palme d'Or at Cannes — shared, unusually, with another film that year — and took home three Academy Awards, including Best Original Screenplay for Jane Campion.
Full in depth information, stories, anecdotes and fascinating facts of every movie in the regional guides.
Get The Full Guide
Secure Your Founding Member Access All 10 Region Guides, All 45 Movies