Peter Burger sounds like a common enough name, until you realise that it’s actually pronounced as bur-jer, and his full name is Peter Meteherangi Tikao Burger, betraying the critically-acclaimed director’s Maori and Lithuanian roots.

Having directed more than 50 television commercials for Silverscreen Productions, including multi-award winning Toyota Rav 4 “She’s a Beauty”, winning a Qantas TV Best Director Award for The Lost Tribe (an episode of popular Maori supernatural series Mataku) and having his short film Turangawaewae selected for Critic’s Week at Cannes Film Festival 2003 are just some of his achievements.

The 1993 graduate from Victoria University in Wellington with a BA in History and Maori, seems to be fascinated with films related to his ethnicity, and supernatural happenings. It should come to no surprise that his first feature film, The Tattooist, is related to an ancient Samoan tattooing tool. When the protagonist is cut by this tool, which he steals, unexplainable phenomena begin to happen.

UrbanWire spends 10 minutes with Peter Burger to find out more about the pleasantly chirpy director.

UrbanWire (UW): Having made several award winning short films, how do you feel about finally making your 1st feature film?

Peter Burger (PB): It’s a challenge stepping up. I’ve been doing commercials for 10 years and commercials require a lot of energy. It’s like a haiku (a type of Japanese poetry). Once people see it, it’s gone. Making a feature film requires a lot of stamina, it’s a real step up.

UW: What were some of the challenges or fears you experienced when dealing with a sensitive subject like supernatural occurrences in ethnic surroundings?

PB: In Samoan and Maori culture there are some spiritual rules. One example is how you should never sit on food surfaces because your body is sacred. But I’m not superstitious. The Samoans (in the film) looked after us, guided us and did a prayer for us.

UW: Judging from your previous productions, such as Mataku, you seem to have this fascination with ethnic, supernatural subjects. How did this come about?

PB: The supernatural thing is actually coincidental. Mataku is more of a thriller than a horror TV show. Regarding the ethnic part, well, it’s probably because I’m part Maori. In New Zealand, most people are European. So I’m ¾ European. The ¼ that is not, gives the productions I have made a different angle.

UW: Tattooing is popular among youths. Would you let your kids get tattoos too?

PB: (laughs) I have 2 kids, but if my son were to get a tattoo now… He’s only 3 ½ years old! The thing is, getting a tattoo is something permanent. You might be able to go for laser surgery but the mark might still remain. There might be scars. After doing so much research on tattooing, and having spoken to quite a number of tattoo artists, especially the ones with tattoos all over their bodies, you learn that quite a number of them regret what they’ve done. Sometimes they test out their designs on their own bodies, and the best way to get rid of a design that they feel they shouldn’t have put in the 1st place is to cover the entire thing with a patch of black. Sometimes you see big patches of ink used to cover an unwanted design. So you should really think about it before really getting a tattoo.

UW: What are 2 words you would use to describe The Tattooist?

PB: Beauty and pain. Not considering “and”, it’s 2 words isn’t it? (laughs)

Check out UrbanWire’s movie review of The Tattooist here!