The auteur theory in film seeks to explain the nature of the director's artistic 'signature' and to critically identify in the filmic works his or her stylistic, technical and thematic characteristics. Auteur theory disavows the impact of nationhood and the ways individual subjectivity is ideologically constructed within culture: this thesis asks, what are the cultural implications of a Wellington auteur? The project investigates the problematic nature of film authorship through close textual analysis of Peter Jackson's six feature films. Specifically, this study focuses on the challenges that discourses of post-colonialism and questions of national identity pose to the notion of auteurism, through a critical interrogation of Peter Jackson's unique cultural and filmic vision.