TainuiStephens
- Producer
- Director
- Presenter
Tainui Stephens is a Kiwi screen taonga. Since joining Koha as a reporter in 1984, he has brought many Māori stories to television, and worked on everything from Marae to Māori Television's version of It's in the Bag. Among the notable documentaries he has directed are Māori Battalion doco March to Victory and award-winning show The New Zealand Wars. He was a producer on Vincent Ward film Rain of the Children.
Screenography
Biography
Tainui Stephens is a rare programme-maker who excels both on camera, and behind the scenes. A fluent storyteller in English and te reo, he counts himself blessed to have begun in television just as Māori programming finally made inroads on New Zealand screens.
Awards
2020 New Zealand Television Awards
Nominated for Best Drama Series (with Matthew Metcalfe, Glen Standring, Fraser Brown and Liz Adams): The Dead Lands
2008 Qantas Film and Television Awards
Nominated for Best Maori Language Programme: Let My Whakapapa Speak
“...for Māori New Zealanders to use their language to express their thoughts and pedigree is not a matter of idealism, it's a way of making our lives better; it's a way of enshrining a better future for our kids.”