AwanuiSimich-Pene

Of Māori, Croatian and Belgian descent, Awanui Simich-Pene grew up in the far north. In 2003 her studies in Māori and sociology at Auckland University were swapped for a Unitec degree in writing and directing. Experience in front of the camera (including as the scheming Rima on reality parody Living the Dream) and behind it (as a script supervisor) led to directing gigs on a run of shows: from Riwia Brown-penned domestic drama Irirangi Bay, to bilingual kids show Pūkana and comedy Find Me a Māori Bride. In 2017 Simich-Pene was a director on anthology feature Waru (2017), as one of eight Māori wahine filmmakers.