David Strong
I make films because I love to tell stories and to share them with the world.
I spent twenty-two years as an Army officer and United Nations peacekeeper. Through this I saw the world, supported those in need and had the privilege of leading New Zealand soldiers on operations. I also experienced humanitarian disaster and conflict, and how it impacted people’s lives. I feel this gave me empathy in storytelling and the ability to bring a realness and rawness to my stories, an authenticity. I bring this with me when I write and pick up a camera. It gives me a unique perspective on the world and what we see on screen, and I hope audiences can see that in my films.
By day I lead complex national-scale transformation programmes across New Zealand. The military planning and operational approach transfers directly into this world. It’s about alignment of interests, clarity in ambiguity, calmness under pressure and building teams around a shared purpose. On a film set or in the office boardroom, the fundamentals don’t change.
I believe film is one of the most powerful tools we have for genuine empathy. That’s why it matters to keep making it and to keep making it well.
Bio
David Strong is a Wellington-based independent filmmaker, writer and director whose work is drawn directly from a life lived at the intersection of conflict and humanity.
His debut short Pacific Dreams (2011), which he wrote and directed, is a meditation on invisibility and longing set in a rest home. It stars Dame Kate Harcourt, who won Best Female Actress at the Rhode Island International Film Festival for her performance. The Last Night (2014), drawn directly from his peacekeeping experience. It places a UN military advisor in a high-stakes negotiation with an Afghan warlord. It screened at Cannes, Rhode Island, Austin and the New Zealand Film Awards, and won Best Short Film at the Women’s International Film and Arts Festival. Both films were produced with Wanda Lepionka. In 2017 he directed the cinematic sequences of Tiki Taane Mahuta, the nationally-toured stage production that won the Excellence Award for Full Production Design at the Wellington Theatre Awards. With Wanda Lepionka he co-wrote and co-directed Maunga (Mountain) (2019), and co-produced the South Coast Arts Trail documentary series (2025).
Since 2006 he has worked as a specialist military advisor on major international productions including Disney’s Mulan and Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series. He was a founding member and inaugural Chair of ScreenSafe and a trustee of the New Zealand Polish Film Festival (2016–2026). He is co-founder of CraftInc. Films.
David has two Masters of Arts in Strategic Studies and has twice been awarded the United Nations Commendation for Service to Peace.
Get in touch!
hello@craftincfilms.com