Elijah Wood, the star of Lord of the Rings, has returned to New Zealand shores as part of his latest project.

Wood stars in Bookworm, an adventure-comedy that follows a young girl and her estranged father on their mission to find mythological beast known as the Canterbury panther.

He describes the film as an emotional father-daughter story - where the connections are the central focus of the piece.

"It's actually quite beautiful and emotional - and ultimately connective at the very end of it all. Those things also really appeal to me."

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