At the age of 25, directed THIS IS NEW ZEALAND, for the New Zealand Pavilion at Expo '70, Osaka, Japan. This was the most critically-acclaimed and popular film presentation at Expo '70 (there were over 100 there), and later went on to become a commercial hit in NZ's four main centres, where cinemas were specially adapted to accommodate its three-screen stereophonic presentation.
In 1973 MacDonald received a Queen Elizabeth II Arts Council grant for overseas study and spent nine months in England and Canada at Pinewood and Shepparton Studios, the BBC, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and National Film Board of Canada.
He has received over thirty international awards in role of Director or Producer, including an Oscar® nomination for Bob Stenhouse's animated film THE FROG, THE DOG AND THE DEVIL (Producer 1986). His latest award was for Westland Milk Products A LAND APART (New York Film Festival 2004).
Clients have included New Zealand Dairy Board (within NZ and internationally with 20 overseas companies), Kiwi Milk Products, Fonterra, Interlock Industries, AMP Society, Hannahs Shoes, Colmar Brunton, Westland Milk Products, Vastera (USA - computer systems), Pellerin Multimedia Inc, USA, and many others.
MacDonald's other work includes Memory Line Productions, a self-funded partnership between Macdonald, David Sims and Kit Rollings originally formed in 1991 to produce documentaries on New Zealand's social and technological history for sale in the New Zealand and special interest overseas sell-through markets. Five one hour programmes have been made and collectively have sold over 50,000 copies in VHS. They have recently been re-mastered to DVD and are about to be to be re-issued.
MacDonald's other producing credits include the short animated films THE ORCHARD (1996), and FISHERBOY (2003).
Nominated for Short Films (Animated Films) 1986: THE FROG, THE DOG AND THE DEVIL - Producer (w. Martin Townsend)
1 nomination