ven though Whale Rider wasn't Niki Caro's feature film debut it was the film that put her name on the map, and with North Country her name is now a landmark. The native New Zealander began production on North Country with her 18 month-old baby and loving husband by her side, a brilliant cast at her disposal including Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Sissy Spacek, Woody Harrelson and Sean Bean, and a triumphant story displaying the true power of human will and she succeeds beyond expectations.

Sitting down with Niki you immediately realize what an exciting director she must be to work with; her energy is infectious and the interview was full of life. Speaking in her New Zealand accent and obviously proud of her young daughter, Tui, and proud of her film, Niki was a lot of fun to talk to and her answers echo her enthusiasm.

Question: When did you come on to this film?

Niki: I made a film called Whale Rider that did pretty well in the States. [smiling]

I had a baby simultaneously so the last thing on my mind was making another film but the scripts kept arriving and while I was breast feeding I read them and this one I just couldn't put it down, it knocked me sideways, and I couldn't let it go.

Question: Because of the women?

Niki: Initially because I was so shocked that these events had happened in such recent history. I was so shocked that a studio had the balls to make it and I thought if it was made well it could be a really amazing film and maybe it could be an important film.

Question: Is this a chick flick?

Niki: It's not a chick flick at all! I didn't want to make a chick flick and if you say those words to Frances McDormand she'd hit you around the head. The material has more weight than that, it has tremendous psychological weight because this is a film about human nature, it's not just about female nature. It was very important for me to tell this film honestly, because, unfortunately, those things happened.

It wasn't just happening in the iron mines of Minnesota, it was happening all over this country, it was happening all over the world, but it was those people, it was that community, those women in that community that stood up to it, and it was that community that changed first.

Question: Did you film inside the mines?

Niki: Not inside the mines, you can't really take a film crew into those types of environments because it is too dangerous.

Question: Is it really like that?

Niki: Yes, it is very noisy and it is very dirty. We shot in both a working mine and in a dormant mine and a city in New Mexico, which was amazing because a lot of the things that we shot, we just couldn't have shot them in Minnesota.

Question: You filmed Whale Rider in New Zealand, was there ever a thought of doing that with North Country?

Niki: In the end, my best way of working is to go to real places and be with real people and shoot the film in the real landscape because there is a truth there that I understand and I recognize. Also, when you are an outsider you are sort of privileged in a way and I can go into these communities with total humility and respect and I ask there be a collaboration and I don't ever expect it, but I've always got it and it's always been with both films, Whale Rider and North Country, that are made in an identical way and in many ways are identical filmmaking experiences.

Question: What was it you saw in all the people that made up the cast?

Niki: It's that they're all real human beings, they're all genuinely good people. They're like us, they're normal. Now I have had a bit of time to think about it and I don't think it's a coincidence that these are the best actors in the world because they are connected to real life. All of them have a commitment to living a normal life. When Charlize finished this film she was exhausted and she said, 'I just want to go home, I want to grow my orchids, I want to paint my house, I want to make jam!' and she knows that in order to reach the emotional depths that she can reach she has to stay engaged in real life because if she is just movie star all the time she'll have nothing to draw on.

Question: How about Charlize?

Niki: She's rare, I can't think of another working actress at this level that is both movie star and character actor.

Question: Charlize is going to get a nomination, did you see that on set?

Niki: Yeah, I could see a brilliant performance. Of course I could, that's my job and don't think for a moment that everyday I wasn't thrilled. You think about how hard movies are to make and there is a lot of stress and a lot of pressure because you've got to get it right but I was overjoyed making this film. These weren't tough days at the office working with these people.

Question: So can Frances drive that big truck?

Niki: I made every single actor learn their jobs. We've all got these little pink certificates that we carried around in our wallets that say we can legitimately work in the mines. You've never seen so many actors be so grateful for their day jobs as they were learning how to do the work.

It is necessary for me, that's the way I work, I demand a high degree of authenticity from the films I make when they are based in reality. That's respect when you get those details right and when you're that culturally specific and accurate, and Whale Rider taught me this, then your film is totally universal.

Question: Was there any anxiety about a sophomore jinx with the success of Whale Rider?

Niki: There's a name for it and her name is Tui, she's my baby. In New Zealand it's a native bird. I didn't honestly have the luxury of panic on this film. I'm a parent, and so I went to work and I did my job, and I got to tell you, making a Hollywood film at this level with all the inherent pressure is nothing compared to having a newborn baby. I go to work, they feed me, they do the dishes, I don't have to change anybody's diapers, nobody throws up on me.

She was 18 months when we shot, but her dad put his career on ice. We both decided that if I was going to make this film that our baby needed at least one full-time parent all the time and they came with me everywhere. So, when I got home from work, I lay on the floor, rolled around with her, and I never worried about whether I could handle it with the big movie stars, or whether I was going to do the budget justice. I didn't worry about those sorts of things, I concentrated absolutely on my responsibility toward the story.

Question: Did you meet them before making the movie?

Niki: Oh yes, not only did I meet them, I asked them to make the film with me. They were our consultants on the film and they were immensely helpful and every department of the film called on them so that we could get things absolutely right. They were tremendously helpful to the actresses of course in helping illuminate just what their lives were like, but the thing I am most proud of is to see those women stand up in the courtroom at the end of the film.

Question: What did the real women think of the film?

Niki: I've shown this film to the real women and while they didn't recognize themselves in those characters, because those characters aren't them, they recognized the situation, they recognized the working environment and I think for the first time they acknowledged what they had done in the world.

Question: What are you doing after this?

Niki: I'm going to New Zealand to roll around on the ground with my baby for months. She's two years and two months, she's got a lot to say.

Question: What would a Best Picture nomination mean to you?

Niki: I think I would explode into a million pieces!