Puven Pather

Puven Pather is an Australian film director, screenwriter, actor and stunt performer born in South Africa.

Puven has been married to actress Jessica Gower since 2004, and the couple have a daughter named Sequoia.

Career Pather came to Australia at the age of nine from Durban, South Africa. He began his film career at the age of 16, as a stunt performer in Melbourne. He has been a professional stunt performer and stunt coordinator since 1990. As a stunt performer, he has performed such stunts as high falls, water work (scuba), air rams, rock climbing, rigging, ski/snowboarding, full body torches, driving, fights, car hits, crash bangs and more. His credits include Superman, Ghost Rider and Charlotte's Web.

He has been an actor in films since 1995, often performing his own stunts.

He is a directing graduate of the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS), where he gained recognition and won awards for his work as a Director. His directorial debut was with the films The Shot and The Visitor. As part of the Slamdance Film Festival, The Shot had its US premiere at American Cinematheque on 20 August 2003, at the Egyptian Theater. It was shown at the Tampere International Short Film Festival, Finland, 5–9 March 2003, the 29th Seoul Independent Film Festival,

However, Pather is most known for Neighbours episode 7591, where he places a stunt double.

Awards He won "Best New Director" for The Shot, at the 20th annual St Kilda Film Festival in Melbourne, where he also won both "Best Fiction" and "Best Achievement with An Original Screenplay" for his work The Visitor.

The Shot then won "Best Film" at the "Spanischer Kurzfilm Sieger bei Festival" (Spanish Film festival) in Berlin. and "First Prize" at the 2003 Australian Shorts Film Festival.

Reviews Current offered of The Shot:This is a very good, tightly shot, short film that anyone into vanguard photojournalism should watch. Cinematography and direction are well executed and the story is succinctly sharp.

Credits

Director Year Film Duration 2001 Waterbabies Short film (6 minutes) 2002 The Shot Short film (10 minutes)

Actor

Year Film or Series Character 2008 Rush Boy 2001 Lantana Drug dealer 1999 Tribe Curly 1999 BeastMaster Ishmael 1999 Stingers Hector Gueteres 1998 Gargantua Naru 1997 Mr. Nice Guy Giancarlo's Man 1995 Tunnel Vision Youth

Stuntman Year Film or Series Role 2009 Beautiful Kate stunt driver 2009 Knowing stunts 2007 Ghost Rider utility stunts 2006 Charlotte's Web safety assistant 2006 Superman Returns utility stunts 2005 The Great Raid stunt performer 2005 The Alice stunt double 2003 Peter Pan stunt double 2003 The Matrix Revolutions stunts 2002 Garage Days stunts 2002 The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course stunt safety driver 2001 Invincible stunts 2001 Lantana stunt performer 2000 Green Sails stunt performer 2000 Water Rats stunt performer 1999 Noah's Ark stunt performer 1999 Little White Lies utility stunts 1998 The Lost World stunt performer 1998 The Violent Earth stunt performer 1998 Search for Treasure Island stunt double 1998 Beverly Hills Family Robinson water safety 1998 Moby Dick stunt performer 1998 Tales of the South Seas stunt double 1997 Joey stunts 1997 True Love and Chaos stunt double 1997 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea stunt performer 1997 Mr. Nice Guy stunt performer 1997 The Place of the Dead assistant stunt rigger 1996 Medivac stunt assistant 1996 Acri stunt performer 1996 Who Dares Wins stunt assistant 1996 Water Rats utility stunts 1996 Police Story 4: First Strike stunt performer 1996 Pacific Drive stunt assistant 1996 The Wayne Manifesto utility stunts 1995 Tunnel Vision stunt performer 1995 Silver Strand stunt double 1994 Ocean Girl stunt double 1994 Blue Heelers stunt assistant 1993 Time Trax stunt performer 1990 Bony utility stunts