David Stevens
Tying David Stevens' career down to a single nation or genre is a challenge. Stevens grew up in Africa and the Middle East, studied acting in the UK, then began his screen career in NZ. In 1972 he directed award-winning drama An Awful Silence, then moved to Australia. There he was Oscar nominated for co-writing movie Breaker Morant, and forged a busy career directing (A Town Like Alice) and writing (The Sum of Us).
David Blyth
David Blyth cemented his place in the Kiwi filmmaking renaissance with two films that left social realism far behind: 1978 experimental feature Angel Mine, and 1984's Death Warmed Up, New Zealand's first homegrown horror movie. Since then Blyth's work has included family friendly vampire film Moonrise, a number of documentaries on war, and varied works exploring sexuality.
Don Selwyn
Don Selwyn, ONZM, was an actor, casting director and mentor to a host of talented Māori who went on to work in film and television. Selwyn’s long acting resume includes 1970s historical epic The Governor and police show Mortimer’s Patch. He also directed The Māori Merchant of Venice, the first feature film in te reo Māori.
Jemaine Clement
Jemaine Clement is the bespectacled half of folk-comedy duo Flight of the Conchords, who achieved international cult status in their own HBO series. Clement's screen career began after he appeared on 90s sketch shows Telly Laughs and Skitz. Following his big screen debut in Tongan Ninja, he starred in misfit romance Eagle vs Shark. In 2014 he co-directed and acted in hit vampire comedy What We Do in the Shadows.
Peter Jackson
Peter Jackson has gone from being a shy, unknown fanboy making pastiche versions of his favourite fantasy movies, to a renowned master of his craft; from Pukerua Bay to Wellywood: today he has few peers in the realm of large scale filmmaking.
Glenn Standring
Glenn Standring is a writer/director with a background in animation and computer graphics. His 1996 short Lenny Minute was accepted into competition at Cannes. To date his feature films have been southern gothic takes on the occult/horror genres. He also provided the script for historical action tale The Dead Lands, directed in 2014 by No. 2 talent Toa Fraser.
William Kircher
Since graduating from NZ Drama School, William Kircher has gone on to act in more than 100 plays, and at least 30 screen projects. Often cast as policeman (TV's Shark in the Park and movie Out of the Blue) or villain, Kircher has also worked on the other side of the camera. He was Bifur the dwarf in Peter Jackson's three-part adaptation of The Hobbit.
David Hannay
Although best-known for his work in Australia, producer David Hannay was New Zealand born and raised. Hannay, who passed away on the last day of March in 2014, was an enthusiastic producer and film lover whose 50 plus credits included Anglo-Kiwi mini-series Savage Play, movie Solo, and cult Aussie biker classic Stone.
Philip Smith
Television producer Philip Smith made his name with a stable of internationally-successful sports programmes. These days, as head of production company Great Southern Film and Television, he has been expanding from comic shows like Eating Media Lunch into other fields — including reality shows (Rescue 1), Moa-nominated telemovie The Kick and 2008 movie Apron Strings.
Kevin J Wilson
Kevin J Wilson specialises in playing no-nonsense Kiwi blokes. Brought up partly in a house in the bush, Wilson began his long acting career at Auckland University. Since his TV debut in Pukemanu he has acted in almost every genre, and starred in movies Chunuk Bair and Pictures (as photographer Alfred Burton), and police series Shark in the Park. Wilson also initiated 1984 movie Wild Horses, and has directed several shorts.