Jane Andrews
Jane Andrews founded Jam TV with Melanie Rakena in 2002. The partnership has resulted in a run of award-winning shows that brought fresh energy to local factual programming. Jam shows Off the Rails, South and the long-running Intrepid Journeys achieved high ratings and critical acclaim. In 2010 the Andrews directed and produced Radar's Patch won a Qantas award for Best Information/Lifestyle Programme.
Zane Holmes
Fascinated by every stage of the television process, Zane Holmes began in the backroom as an editor and has gone on to stints in producing, directing and visual effects. After getting his directing break on hit Being Eve, he later joined Jeremy Dillon as a partner in company Pop-Up Workshop,which specialises in shows for children. They followed series Pop-Up with The Moe Show, starring a friendly creature with big ears.
Jono Smith
Jono Smith was 14 when he won the starring role as teenager Ned Poindexter in 50s-era coming of age classic The Scarecrow. After leaving school, Smith joined TVNZ and became a camera assistant. Since relocating to England in 1993 he has shot a raft of television projects, short films, and four features. In 2010 he co-produced acclaimed movie Sus.
Rhys Darby
Seasoned stand-up comedian Rhys Darby played an inept band manager on cult hit Flight of the Conchords. It proved a springboard to wider fame. After acting in movies on both sides of the Atlantic, Darby starred in Kiwi rom com Love Birds. 2014 saw the debut of Darby's comedy show Short Poppies. He went on to act in the 2017 remake of Jumanji, and cameoed in local hit Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
Josh Thomson
Tongan-Kiwi comedian Josh Thomson won attention after starring in 48 Hour short films Only Son and Brown Peril. Along with acting (Hounds) and appearances on comedy show 7 Days, Thomson is also an editor and director. In 2017 he starred in movie Gary of the Pacific, as a hapless real estate agent turned Pacific Island chief. The same year, he joined Three's prime time news show The Project.
Toa Fraser
Playwright turned director Toa Fraser grabbed the theatre world with award-winning play No.2, which he then directed for the screen. At the 2006 Sundance Festival it won the coveted audience award. Follow-up Dean Spanley won seven gongs at the 2009 Qantas Film Awards, including best director. Fraser went on to helm ballet documentary Giselle, te reo action movie The Dead Lands, and hostage drama 6 Days.
Kelly Martin
Kelly Martin is chief executive of leading New Zealand production company South Pacific Pictures. Martin rose through the network ranks from photocopying to international acquisitions, before she became director of programming at TV3 — where she oversaw local drama successes like Outrageous Fortune, and comedy hits bro’Town and 7 Days. In 2012 she left TV3 to head up South Pacific Pictures.
Simon Coldrick
Simon Coldrick first encountered an editing suite while living in his native England. He moved downunder in 2005 and set up Auckland post-production company The Bigger Picture. Coldrick went on to edit Emmy-nominee The Golden Hour, acclaimed big-screen documentary Tickled, and award-winning docudrama Erebus: Operation Overdue. In 2019 he co-directed rugby documentary By the Balls.
Jane Wrightson
Jane Wrightson spent 12 years as Chief Executive of Crown agency NZ On Air, which funds Kiwi television, digital media, radio and music. Prior to starting at NZ On Air in 2007, she spent a decade at TVNZ, was New Zealand's first woman Chief Film Censor, and headed both the Broadcasting Standards Authority and screen lobbying group SPADA. Wrightson became the Retirement Commissioner in February 2020.
Steve Roche
Steve Roche is one third of Plan 9, a musical collective whose CV of soundtracks includes 20 plus features and over 130 hours of television. Roche first played with David Donaldson and Janet Roddick in celebrated band Six Volts. Since then they have won multiple soundtrack awards, and worked on everything from Forgotten Silver to What We Do in the Shadows. Roche also plays in bands Thrashing Marlin and The Labcoats.