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ReneNaufahu

  • Actor
  • Director
Rene-Naufahu-profile-image.jpg

One of the first Pacific Island faces to appear on Shortland Street, Rene Naufahu played paramedic turned bar manager Sam Aleni for four years. Of Tongan, Samoan, German and Irish descent, the junior rugby rep won an NZ Screen Award for No. 2, playing loyal grandson Erasmus. One of the key players behind TV drama The Market, he returned to the director’s chair for Moa-nominated big screen thriller The Last Saint.

Screenography

The Last Saint
2014 Director, Writer, Associate Producer Film
Power Rangers Samurai
2011 As: Mentor-Ji Series
Russian Snark
2010 As: Vincent Film
The Witch and the Woodsman
2010 As: Woodsman Short film
No. 2
2006 As: Erasmus Film

Awards

2014 Rialto Channel NZ Film Awards (The Moas)
Nominated for Best Film: The Last Saint
Nominated for Best Director: for The Last Saint
Nominated for Best Screenplay: for The Last Saint

“After watching this, and witnessing the courage and desire of the talent involved, we knew we had no other choice but to go full steam ahead and commit to shooting the full film ... time to put our game faces on!”

— Rene Naufahu on early promotional footage shot for his The Last Saint, his first movie as director

Related images

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Soul (Taungaroa Emile) and Erasmus (Rene Naufahu) in a scene from 2006 movie No. 2.
Photo appears courtesy of the NZ Film Commission