Sandra Kailahi

Tongan-German Sandra Kailahi began her career as a radio reporter, before moving into television and film. After reporting for Tagata Pasifika for 11 years, she worked at Three News and Fair Go, read the news on TVNZ 7 and produced Te Karere and One News. Since producing short film The Messiah in 2017 with her company Kingston Productions, Kailahi has produced feature documentary For My Father's Kingdom, film Uproar and Tongan-English bilingual web series Brutal Lives - Mo'ui Faingata'a (which she co-created and co-wrote). Kailahi has served on numerous boards, including for NZ Film Commission and NZ On Screen. 

…it just means that we [Pacific Islanders] are now at the table and we can bring our voice to the table, and we can look at that and really amplify and uplift our voices, our stories, and that's what I'm really excited about. Sandra Kailahi, interviewed on Radio 531pi about her appointment to the NZ Film Commission board, 7 March 2019