Jackie van Beek
Jackie is a New Zealand actor, writer and director. She has made seven short films that have played in festivals including London, Palm Springs and MIFF and many are being used as educational resources around the world. Jackie's short film, GO THE DOGS, played at the Berlinale in 2011. Jackie won SPADA New Filmmaker of the Year in 2013 (NZ) and was awarded first prize in the 2015 WIFT International Showcase for her short film UPHILL. As an actor she is best known for her role in the vampire comedy, WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS. THE INLAND ROAD is her debut feature.

Director's statement
“My story takes place in that topsy-turvy time after a tragedy when people, desperate to connect, are reaching out blindly or withdrawing completely. I began with the idea of bringing a group of very different people together after a fatal accident. I wanted to explore the relationship between mothers and daughters. What happens to a mother when she’s incapable of mothering? What happens to a daughter when she’s scared of losing her mother’s love? I wanted to tell a story about feeling directionless and not knowing how to take the next step. But what I most hope to express through this film is the great capacity we have as human beings for love, kindness and forgiveness. It was important to me to assemble the cast in a way that mirrored the story –to combine strangers, foreign to each other and each other’s cultures. Our lead actress, Gloria, is Maori, was a non-actor and had been home-schooled in a tiny settlement in the North Island called Mapou. We cast our six year old in the South Island, close to our main location. We found our male lead in London and our major supporting roles came from my hometown, Auckland. Rehearsals were a great opportunity for my cinematographer and I to observe these strangers getting to know each other. I lead a lot of improvisations in the two weeks leading up to production and consequently rewrote a lot of the dialogue. I encouraged the actors to take this feeling of freedom into production”.