Rhonda Kite: telling great Māori stories…

Interview – 2014

Producer Rhonda Kite, who runs company Kiwa Digital, has worked on television, film, and interactive book projects. Kite began with award-winning 1998 documentary Ōtara: Defying the Odds. She also produced anthology series Mataku, long-running arts show Kete Aronui and documentary Squeegee Bandit.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Kite talks about:

Learning how to produce on her first documentary Ōtara: Defying the Odds
Wanting to tell her own "truth" in the documentary
The trials and triumphs of a Māori woman in business in Hell for Leather
Pushing the boundaries in Chinks, Coconuts and Curry-munchers
Telling real yet spooky stories in anthology series Mataku
Discovering the power of drama from other cultures
The absolute joy of making arts series Kete Aronui
Being inspired and saddened by the story behind Squeegee Bandit
An emotional moment for Sándor Lau, the director of the documentary

This video was first uploaded on 3 February 2014, and is available under this Creative Commons licence. This licence is limited to use of ScreenTalk interview footage only and does not apply to any video content and photographs from films, television, music videos, web series and commercials used in the interview.

Interview, Camera and Editing – Andrew Whiteside

My one directive to my directors is that I would say ‘I don’t want to know upfront their whakapapa, I don’t want to know the tribe that they come from. I want them to show me.’
– Rhonda Kite on Kete Aronui, a series showcasing Māori artists

Rhonda's Full Profile