Halaifonua Finau

When Tongan-Kiwi Halaifonua Finau landed his first screen acting gig at age 17 on Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby, he quickly took an interest in being a producer. After gleaning advice from producers on his next slew of acting jobs, Finau stepped into producing on kids' show Small Blacks TV.  Since then, he has been a producer on Polynesian comedies Baby Mama's Club and SIS, and a writer on Jonah Lomu miniseries Jonah. Finau has both writer and producer credits on semi-autobiographical movie Red, White and Brass, and award-winning drama series The Panthers. In 2021 he co-founded production company Tavake, with Tom Hern. 

With Jonah and The Panthers and now Red, White & Brass, they all highlight the uniqueness and special energy that we have as Tongans. So that’s what will always be next for me: how can I carry on waving the flag and putting on for my little country? Halaifonua Finau, in an interview with Regional News, 26 September 2023