Kevin Denholm working with Canadian actor Rick Hoffman for an Air New Zealand Safety Video. He says a key to his success as a film chaplain is that he knows the rhythm and speaks the language of a set.
One of New Zealand’s most successful commercial film and ad directors is now an Anglican chaplain undertaking theological study with Otago.
If this sounds like a major life U-turn for Kevin Denholm, you’d be wrong.
Looking back on Kevin’s journey it all connects beautifully, however, forging that pathway has required talent, intent, hard work and a higher calling. He is an absolute alchemist.
“I have always been drawn to chaplaincy as a model, it really appeals to me this idea of being a non-anxious presence, and you must be present, you cannot dial it in,” Kevin says.
When it came to deepening his studies in theology he says, “There was only one place in my opinion that was the gold standard – and that was Otago.”
Kevin is undertaking a doctorate thesis in moral injury in the film industry. He has just returned from presenting his research at Durham University, one of two global centres for this fast-growing field of research.
“Moral injury is basically a betrayal of what’s right by someone who holds legitimate authority in a high-stakes situation. This term was developed by chaplains working in the military who observed this wounding of people’s spirits far beyond PTSD.”
Kevin and his wife Nikki have been running a film company called Exposure for 30-plus years. Their commercial success includes creating some of our nation’s iconic ads such as the Mitre 10 ‘Sandpit’, Toyota’s ‘Everyday People’ and Air New Zealand’s ‘Nothing to Hide’.
One of their most significant campaigns for him, has been to raise awareness about depression with Sir John Kirwan and the Ministry of Health.
From the get-go, this commercial work was always intended as the enabler to Exposure’s humanitarian work supporting non-governmental organisations such as World Vision, The Salvation Army, and Tearfund.
However, when Covid-19 struck, Kevin’s work stopped.
“We had to close the doors on our business, overnight it all stopped – including our humanitarian work, the reason the business existed, this was all offshore so we couldn’t get there.”
Kevin Denholm on the way to a shoot in Antarctica. One of NZ’s most successful commercial directors, a key motivation for Kevin is his humanitarian work.
Kevin was raised in a faith-based home, his father is a minister, and both his parents still actively provide pastoral care. He had undertaken some theological studies and felt a strong call to service, and the pandemic provided an opportunity to act on that.
“I love the film community. The people it attracts are usually highly creative, highly resilient mostly and good at problem solving. But my observation was that we weren’t so good at resolving our own stuff.”
“I had had this real deep dive into mental health through this work with John Kirwan and could see this real gap and need.”
So, he emailed about 300 people in film crews he had worked with in the previous four or five months.
“I said that I’ve been moving towards a role in pastoral care within our community. I’m not formally qualified yet, but I do know how to listen. So if you’re going through something, please don’t hesitate to reach out. After I said that, it was like a floodgate opened.”
Kevin ran online sessions from his home, but realised he didn’t have all the necessary skills and training.
He enrolled with Mātai Whakapono Karaitiana - Theology at Otago. Throughout the lockdowns in Auckland, he undertook a postgraduate diploma, then master’s thesis in Theology.
“I found study to be the biggest shot in the arm for me, like being hooked up to a big bag of sugar. It was deeply stimulating to be using a different part of my brain on something that I really loved and discovering new and wonderful things through readings and lectures.”
During chaplaincy studies, he was introduced to the subject of moral injury when it was set as an assignment.
“I thought how can I apply this to an industry I know about that runs on hierarchy? Film sets – you don’t know what you’re going to be filming, you sign an NDA [non-disclosure agreement], and you’re shooting scenes with violence, or explicitly sexual content, or culturally offensive material.
“I started to dig into this. My master’s thesis was on ‘Does moral injury exist in the film industry?’ It was a categoric yes.”
Kevin Denholm is furthering his studies in Theology with Otago. “I’ve become a bit of an evangelist for Otago Uni. It is brilliant.”
Kevin is now 18 months into his PhD – digging a lot deeper and wider into this topic.
Alongside this study Kevin also worked towards becoming an Anglican minister. In 2022 he was ordained out of Wellington by Archbishop Justin Duckworth.
Kevin supports film cast and crew on location, working out of a caravan equipped with a “beautiful La Marzocco coffee machine.” From this base, he offers a dedicated on-set wellbeing service, providing a safe, confidential space for anyone needing to talk - regardless of background or belief. This service is called FilmChaplain.
“A key to this is that I know how to be on set and where the pressures fall and who they are falling on. I know the rhythm and speak the language.
“I’ve just been on set and was embraced as an important part of the crew. They made me part of the production – and I had a positive and affirming response.”
This chaplaincy also serves as fieldwork research to his PhD, supervised by Professor David Tombs and Dr Yuki Watanabe. Keenly aware of the sensitivity of this subject to the industry, as well as the sacred confidences of a chaplain, Kevin is taking a carefully considered approach – his main offering is care.
His main chaplaincy guide at Otago so far has been Dr Graham Redding, the Douglas Goodfellow Lecturer in Chaplaincy Studies.
Kevin says, “Graham is the grand master - he has lived a life of pastoral service. He is such a remarkable and deeply inspiring guy.”
The admiration is reciprocated; Graham describes Kevin as a “magic student”.
As for his time at Otago, Kevin says, “I’ve become a bit of an evangelist for Otago Uni. It is brilliant.”
-Kōrero by Antonia Wallace, Communications Adviser Humanities
Mātai Whakapono Karaitiana - Theology
The Theology Programme at Otago offers campus and distance courses on the Bible, Christian theology, church history, public theology, pastoral and practical theology, ministry, and chaplaincy that will deepen your understanding of the Christian faith.
Find out more