Just the facts: Age - 34; Homeland - New Zealand; Education - studied Australian politics at Victoria University in

Wellington; Employ - signed to Sydney's Goodoil Films in 2006.

Why Australian politics?: "I suppose it was curiosity. I kind of wish I hadn't because ignorance is bliss."

A family affair: Murphy was sucked into the world of filmmaking through his father, feature director Geoff Murphy. His dad would build sets in the yard, giving him a sense of what was achievable cinematically with scant resources. "I tried to stay away from film for a while because I'm the youngest of five and they're all in the film industry. So is my mom."

Influences: Murphy's work - including his Bronze Lion-winning "Soup" for Olympus Cameras - involves clear ideas and a simple style. He credits this to his years as a grip, which included a gig on Lord of the Rings.

Best work: In "For Your Daughter" for Australia's White Ribbon Day campaign against domestic violence, a father demonstrates the torturous lengths he'll go to prove his love for his daughter. The ad is a more intellectual approach in a country where PSAs are notoriously blunt. "If you change the conversation, people will think differently," he says.

Goodoil Films http://www.goodoilfilms.com