Stan Wolfgramm
Stan Wolfgramm, MNZM, began working in the fashion industry as a model, while studying science at Auckland University. That early job opened doors into acting roles in commercials, theatre, and occasionally film and television. Reflecting on a breakthrough moment, he says: “I actually toured with Ladies Night! We did the first big national tour of the show around the country. We still hold a box office record for attendance.”
That national tour proved transformative. At its end, Wolfgramm knew he wanted to deepen his acting craft: “I had heard about this style of acting called ‘The Method’, in America. So I ended up jumping on a plane and flying over there.”
He secured an audition at the legendary method acting school first founded by Lee Strasberg. Wolfgramm was invited to join the school in New York; he spent two years immersed in 'the method' and NYC, before returning to New Zealand in 1992.
Back in Auckland, he felt a new clarity of purpose: “One thing that it did teach me was to find my own voice. I realised that I was passionate about telling stories about who I was, and where I’d come from — being a Tongan, Cook Island, German, born in Mt Roskill — that was my story. I came back to Auckland and found there weren’t many people telling those stories at that time. So I thought 'well I’ll just form a theatre company'…and that was Drum Productions.”
Specialising in Pasifika storytelling, Drum began as a theatre company and school, and grew into a communications company and producer of film, television, and events. It has served broadcasters, government agencies, and community organisations alike — underpinning Wolfgramm’s mission to give Pasifika people a valued voice in Aotearoa, and across the globe.
“I worked with a very good friend of mine, Johnny Gibbons. We were teaching actors, as well as writing and producing shows. It was good, but I felt I needed to speak to larger audiences, and that’s when I started working with others in the television industry.”
In collaboration with his partner Julie Smith, Wolfgramm transitioned into making documentaries, the first being Tokyo Bros (2002) for TV3. It traced the lives of New Zealanders working in Japan. It was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2003 NZ Television Awards.
That year, Wolfgramm directed doco For the Love of Carolina, the story of Carolina Anderson, who was attacked by a dog in Grey Lynn. “We were able to bring change to the New Zealand dog laws — regarding dogs and owners and liability.”
The next major venture was launching seminal live TV fashion event Style Pasifika. After a few years, Wolfgramm and Smith transitioned it from a live showcase into a national TV special as Westfield Style Pasifika, which ran from 2000 to 2011. The show blended Pacific fashion, music and dance; often Wolfgramm co-hosted. It won multiple NZ Television Awards including Best Entertainment Programme in 2003, and Best Event Broadcast in 2006.
Westfield Style Pasifika was one of five events chosen by the New Zealand government to promote the country during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Wolfgramm was also a consultant to that year's World Cup opening ceremony, then did two years as event producer of Auckland's Pasifika Festival.
“New Zealand, itself, was still trying to find its identity… “Am I a British nation? Am I a Pacific nation? What does that mean? This is where shows like Style Pasifika became part of New Zealand’s identity… Style Pasifika allowed our designers to express themselves… in what it meant to be a New Zealand designer, and express themselves on an international platform.”
Next came Pacific Beat Street (2004–2009), Aotearoa's first mainstream Pacific youth television magazine show. An impressive 205 episodes were produced across six years, providing a platform — including an interactive website — for young Pacific voices to explore music, style, identity and social issues.
Drum Productions has expanded over the years into organising presentations and videos for large-scale events in Aotearoa and the Pacific region — including for the New Zealand Pacific Leaders Forum and initiatives on Pacific economic development, ocean conservation and innovation. Wolfgramm has also partnered with marine biologists and international media outlets such as National Geographic to document whale research in Rarotonga, applying his production skills to stories across culture, science and the environment.
These days Wolfgramm splits his time between Auckland and Rarotonga, as he collaborates with international partners to get a mainstream spotlight on Pacific stories. “For us as Pacific storytellers, we can see this new era of films from the Pacific. We see a big growth in that… we see this as an exciting time for storytellers from the region.”
Drum Productions launched Film Raro, a groundbreaking challenge that invites filmmakers from around the globe to work with indigenous Cook Islands communities to create culturally grounded short films. The aim is to build storytelling skills and digital capacity. Some of the finished films have played at international festivals. “In Rarotonga we lag behind with digital literacy and equity… I believe digital storytelling is a way to build digital capacity for our people… That storytelling element is so important to trade, culture, identity and tourism.”
Central to his mission is reclaiming who tells Pacific stories. “For me the most important story to tell is the story of our ocean… that ocean is our past, our present, and our future. Our culture sits there, our economic development sits there, and it’s in a state of crisis at the moment from factors such as climate change and over-fishing. That’s a story that we need to tell — and what I'm currently very involved in.”
Looking ahead, Wolfgramm's primary focus is creating an immersive exhibition that tours globally and honours indigenous Pacific Ocean stories. “The exhibition uses digital mapping, gaming tech, augmented reality, and other digital mediums. It is my dream — my legacy project.”
In 2015 Wolfgramm was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the arts and Pacific communities. The following year he was named as Pacific Business Entrepreneur of the Year, at the National Pacific Business Trust Awards.
Profile written by Jane Ross; published on 21 August 2025
Sources include
Stan Wolfgramm
Drum Productions website. Accessed 21 August 2025
Film Raro website. Accessed 21 August 2025
'Film Talks On Air - Stan Wolfgramm 17 - 08 - 25' (Podcast interview) Interview Jane Ross
Unknown writer, 'Hanging out and listening to the youth beat' - The Evening Post (TV Week pullout) 12 April 2005, page 4