Ward said Breath seems to have resonated with Chinese audiences, both in its form and content.

He noted the similarities between his paintings with Chinese artistic traditions: "They're very similar to Chinese scroll paintings, not only in format, but also the use of space, the use of figures and multiple timeframes in one painting.

"It has a zen-like negative space and it's figurative work, sometimes falling, sometimes floating."

A preview event is planned for November with a major exhibition next year, and the institute is keen for Ward to impart his knowledge of mixing media, in which he broke new ground with the "motion painting" technique developed for What Dreams May Come.

In the film, the main character, played by Robin Williams, inhabits an afterlife that was created by filming real scenes and then attaching colors and scanned paint strokes to individual pixels, giving the impression of a painting in motion.

While What Dreams May Come and Map of the Human Heart were both screened in Chinese cinemas, Ward's presentation of Breath will mark his first foray into China.

Ethnic Chinese New Zealand publisher and architect Ron Sang is to release a book on Ward and his work in June.

Some of Ward's films are to be featured in a New Zealand film festival in Beijing later this year.

Questions:

1. What is the latest project from New Zealand filmmaker and artist Vincent Ward?

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