INTERVIEW-Rugby-It's okay to be an obsessive All Blacks fan, says film-maker

WELLINGTON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Film-maker Julian Shaw broke down in tears when the All Blacks lost their rugby World Cup quarter-final to France in Cardiff four years ago. So did his older sister Rewa, a medical student at the time and now a qualified doctor.

His "red faced tears", like that of his sister and a number of other New Zealanders captured in his documentary 'Cup of Dreams', however, are nothing compared to the haunted look of flyhalf Daniel Carter after the 20-18 loss at Millennium Stadium.

Or the palpable silence from a packed news conference as coach Graham Henry addressed the assembled media, his clipped comments punching holes in the tension-filled room as his battered and bruised captain Richie McCaw sat beside him, unable to lift his head, seemingly lost in his own despair.

The gut-wrenching climax of the film, broadcast in New Zealand earlier this week, may have been tough viewing for some fans as the All Blacks prepare, again, to head into a World Cup as favourites, desperate to shake a 24-year monkey from their backs and win their second title on home soil.

But the documentary had also served to highlight how much the country had matured in a short space of time, said Shaw, given previous World Cup failures had led to sackings, recriminations and questions in parliament.

"I think New Zealand has grown hugely and the maturity in the response to the last World Cup loss really spoke volumes," the 25-year-old told Reuters in a telephone interview from Sydney.

"It (an All Blacks' loss) will feel like the end of the world but I think that New Zealand has turned a corner.

"I don't think we will see a response like we had 1999."

The fall-out from the galling semi-final loss to France at the 1999 World Cup -- after the heavily favoured All Blacks blew a substantial lead -- saw coach John Hart resign, the local stock market slump and university students offered grief counselling.

The players also arrived back in New Zealand and found that "LOSERS" had been scrawled across their baggage.

'PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT'

The most successful side in world rugby, the All Blacks boast an imperious winning rate of just under 75 percent throughout their history.

But they have inevitably become identified with their failures at the quadrennial tournament since winning the first World Cup on home soil in 1987.

The rising tide of expectations every four years and the repeated disappointments drew Shaw to film the World Cup campaign in 2007, when he, like virtually every other rugby fan in the world, thought Graham Henry's side would win at a canter.

That loss in Cardiff, however, changed everything.

"I wish the All Blacks had won that World Cup but as a film maker I'm kind of glad they didn't," said Shaw, who drew acclaim for "Darling! The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story", his first feature documentary on the South African comedian and social activist.

"That was when my film took a step forward and became much more about the people of New Zealand and the psychological impact of the All Blacks on the country."

It opened up new themes to explore -- identity, the nature of obsession, belonging to a group and national pride -- while helping him reconnect with his father through their shared passion for the team.

"I guess the fact they lost gave me a much deeper insight into the All Blacks impact on New Zealanders," he added.

"As far as I'm concerned there is nothing wrong with holding the All Blacks up as an icon of this country, they make me proud to be a Kiwi."

Shaw's documentary, funded in part by an Australian government agency, will also screen in Australia on pay TV provider Foxtel on Sept. 8.

The director will travel from his adopted home Sydney to be at the opening game between the All Blacks and Tonga at Eden Park after a friend saw the film and offered him a ticket.

He was hesitant to pick a winner for the tournament.

"I think the hope has never been higher. But in a way the expectations are lower," he said. "I think this is their best chance to do it ... so I'm going to cautiously go with the All Blacks.

"Cautiously."

(Editing by Ian Ransom; To comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com) Please double click on the newslink: for more rugby stories