peter maguire

Peter enjoyed a Huckleberry Finn childhood in the Snowy Mountains of South Eastern Australia. Son of a Dairy Farmer and an Irish Midwife, the impetus to lead a creative life grew out of a chance event. When Sister Margaret of the Nuns of St Joseph asked Peter to unpack a box of books for the school library, neither imagined he would discover an anthology of poetry that would shape his life……Coleridge, Tennyson, Yeats, Frost. Tucked into a corner of the library, reading these stanzas formed a Rosetta Stone for Peter’s future approach to film making. Emotion, concision, juxtaposition, storytelling. Heady stuff for a 12-year-old. Peter was accepted into the Swinburne Film School at his first attempt and graduated three years later top of his class. It’s a happy outcome when you find the right door to knock on. It was a happier outcome when a film-maker’s strengths play to what the advertising market was looking for. A sure touch with casting, the ability to summon subtle performances, narratives that wove humour and emotion in equal measure. Numerous awards and prestigious campaigns followed. But of course, the world turns.  With Covid-19 causing a year-long hiatus in advertising in Australia, Peter decided take advantage of his half Irish ancestry, took his EU passport and explored working in other markets. Was it possible to create stories for other cultures, expressed in other languages, that resonated in the same way as Peter’s domestic work…the answer, happily, is yes! Film is a true global medium. A universal poetry without the filter of language. In verses or stanzas of 15 seconds, 30, or even 45, Peter has created a space for the viewer to engage with his stories with the curiosity of a 12-year-old. And that, dear reader, is a brief rundown on your correspondent. Apart from his hobbies of cooking, restoring furniture and collecting accordions.