Tim Wong

Tim Wong is a designer, writer, editor, and filmmaker. As the founding editor of The Lumière Reader, one of New Zealand’s longest-running arts criticism platforms, he oversaw its evolution from a film criticism zine into a broader space for arts writing. His deep engagement with cinema runs through his work across multiple mediums, including his feature-length film Out of the Mist (2015), which considers the history of New Zealand cinema beyond the most commonly cited titles and the established narrative.

Wong is a second-generation Chinese New Zealander who grew up in Pōneke Wellington. Among his early cinema memories, he recalls the first Asian-language film he saw: Ang Lee’s Eat Drink Man Woman, which he saw with his family at the Paramount Theatre, at the age of 12. He also recalls discovering 90s Hong Kong cinema as a teenager, describing Wong Kar-wai’s films as “essential to my cinephile upbringing” and “my identification as Chinese.” Wong’s interest in cinema deepened while studying at Massey University School of Design & Fine Arts, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Design in 2003. His studies spanned graphic design, fine arts, and photo media, and he was particularly drawn to activist and anti-capitalist art, influenced by Adbusters and culture jamming, as well as photography and video art through artists Tracey Moffat and Wayne Barrar, and Anne Noble, who taught at Massey.

During university, Wong developed his skills in both writing criticism and film programming, presenting screenings of films such as Chungking Express, Ghost World, Funny Games, and The Cremaster Cycle. This led to the creation of a print zine called Lumière Magazine in August 2003, which featured film criticism by local writers. After seven issues, the zine evolved into a website called The Lumière Reader, which was launched in August 2004. As well as essays about films and filmmakers, the website also covered local events such as the annual New Zealand International Film Festival.

After university, Wong worked a variety of part-time jobs to support his freelance design work and the running of The Lumière Reader. He spent several years at Aro Video, Wellington’s arthouse and alternative video library, where he connected with Aotearoa filmmakers, particularly the tight-knit artist community in Aro Valley. This would later directly contribute to the making of Out of the Mist and other collaborations, including his design work for the 2014 restoration re-release of Geoff Murphy’s Utu on Blu-ray.

By 2006 The Lumière Reader had expanded into arts journalism through the participation of collaborators seeking a space to publish their criticism. Many regular contributors were given editorial autonomy in their areas of interest, covering literature, theatre, music, and visual arts. Past theatre editors included Renee Liang, Nathan Joe, and Sam Brooks. Wong described the platform's purpose as not universally serving the arts community, nor functioning as a publicity vehicle, but rather as a space for curatorial freedom: “highlighting what wasn’t already spoken for in mainstream media.”

The Lumière Reader was an important platform for emerging arts writers such as Brannavan Gnanalingam, Thomasin Sleigh, and Megan Dunn to hone their craft. Gnanalingam credits the site for paving the way for others that followed, such as The Pantograph Punch and The Spinoff, while playwright Nathan Joe has reflected on its significance to him as a young reader:

Stumbling across The Lumière Reader, it was remarkable to know that there were New Zealanders — actual Kiwis who were as invested (more invested actually) in this thing called criticism. It sort of blew my naive smalltown mind. I thought I was so alone in my capacity to appreciate, so unique. It meant so much to me to know that it existed.

Much of Wong’s own writing on the site was film criticism and he built a reputation as a “gifted reviewer.” His criticism reflects his wide-ranging film diet — engaging with local and international films, and both new releases and historical titles. His approach emphasises respect for artistic intention and purpose, prioritising engagement with a work “on its own terms” and “avoiding simplistic value judgements.” He attended film festivals in Europe and North America, and in 2012 and 2022 was invited to be a voting critic on Sight and Sound’s decennial ‘Greatest Films of All Time’ poll.

In 2015 The Lumière Reader produced a series of three digital documentaries, partially funded by NZ On Air. Of these, Out of the Mist was written and directed by Wong himself (using $7000 from the NZ On Air Funding, with Wong contributing the remainder of the budget himself). A rough cut of the short was submitted to the New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) for consideration, and with the encouragement of festival director Bill Gosden, Wong expanded the film to feature-length. It premiered as part of the NZIFF on 20 July, 2015.

In many ways, Out of the Mist is a response to Cinema of Unease, Sam Neill’s 1995 analysis of New Zealand cinema. Narrated by writer Eleanor Catton, Wong’s film features excerpts from over 70 New Zealand films, drawing them together into a narrative “about the state of New Zealand Cinema, how we might begin to redefine it, and whose work is being obscured by the popular canon.” Wong's broader artistic ethos is reflected in the description used to present the documentary series:

Advocating for art on the margins, the series seeks to engage with fellow artists, thinkers, and practitioners — particularly those whose work has been neglected, misunderstood, or obscured by popular media and culture.

The Lumière Reader ceased publishing in March 2016. Run without ads, “on the smell of an oily rag,” through a volunteer model supplemented by occasional partnerships, Wong attributes the closure to a lack of sustainable funding, with its only successful government funding application being the 2015 NZ On Air grant. He also notes that, by this point, newer platforms such as The Pantograph Punch had surpassed The Lumière Reader in terms of fairer and more conscientious online publishing models. Around the same time, Wong became disillusioned with reviewing films in a media landscape dominated by consumer-driven and short-form discourse, leading him to shift toward curatorial-based writing.

In the years following (2016 to 2020), Wong was the Publications Manager for the New Zealand International Film Festival, during which time he worked with the festival’s longtime director, Bill Gosden. After Gosden died in 2020, Wong and filmmaker Gaylene Preston edited The Gosden Years, which was published in 2021. The illustrated hardcover book pays tribute to Gosden’s legacy, bringing together his programme notes and introductions alongside other archival material, and opens with a foreword written by Wong.

Now living in Tāmaki Makaurau, Wong continues to work as a designer, both with artists on a freelance basis and for Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival.

2021 — The Gosden Years (co-edited with Gaylene Preston)

2003–2016 — The Lumière Reader (founding editor; criticism)

2015 — Out of the Mist: An Alternate History of New Zealand Cinema (writer and director; film)

2015 — Land of the Long White Stain (series producer, short film)

2015 — Paper Boat (series producer, short film)