Kip Chapman
Kip Chapman hit the mainstream via 80 episodes on Shortland Street, playing Waverley's country cousin Eltham Wilson. In 2005 he starred in Cannes-invited short, Nothing Special, as a man whose mother thinks he is Jesus. Award-nominated as "ultimate hedonist" Levi in TV drama The Hothouse, Chapman also acted in The Cult, Top of the Lake and The Brokenwood Mysteries. He has been even busier in theatre: founder of the Auckland Theatre Awards, he co-created globetrotting interactive hit Apollo 13 and Hudson and Halls Live!, and directed acclaimed suffrage musical That Bloody Woman.
Robyn Malcolm
Robyn Malcolm is one of New Zealand television’s best-loved actors. An accomplished stage performer before moving into screen roles, she is best known for six seasons as Outrageous Fortune matriarch Cheryl West. Malcolm has appeared in television (Shortland Street, Agent Anna, Upper Middle Bogan), movies (The Hopes and Dreams of Gazza Snell) and documentaries (Our Lost War).
Alison Bruce
With a CV that includes everything from judges to Amazon queens, Alison Bruce has often been cast as the strong unsmiling type. Yet two of her biggest screen roles completely break that mould: the fraudulent but well-meaning fortune teller in 2001 feature Magik and Rose, and the eccentric mother in award-winning series Being Eve.
Philippa Campbell
Philippa Campbell debuted as a producer with 1995 tele-play Swimming Lessons, after time as an actor, stage director, script editor, and and head of the script unit at TVNZ's drama department. Campbell went on to produce the debut movies of playwrights Anthony McCarten and Toa Fraser, plus acclaimed coming of age tale Rain and comedy horror Black Sheep. In 2013 she was Emmy-nominated, as producer of TV drama Top of the Lake.
Stephen Lovatt
Stephen Lovatt's acting career has taken him from Arcadia to Takapuna Beach, with stops in Shortland Street, Ramsay Street and ancient Rome. Award-nominated for his starring role in 2002 feature This is Not a Love Story, Lovatt's screen CV includes roles in Spartacus, Being Eve and a five-year-run in Australian export Neighbours. The Toi Whakaari grad is also an acclaimed theatre actor.
Rena Owen
Rena Owen made her name playing courageous battered wife Beth Heke, in landmark film Once Were Warriors. The film won her a run of awards, and international acclaim from Newsweek, The Wall Street Journal, The Sydney Morning Herald and Vogue. Owen has gone before the cameras in Australia, Fiji, Hungary and the United States.
Andrew Penniket
Andrew Penniket trained as a marine biologist, before joining TVNZ's Natural History Unit in 1982 as a researcher. Growing interested in underwater filming, he bought a Bolex camera and housing, then taught himself how to use them. Penniket went on to become an underwater cameraman with an international reputation. He shared an Emmy Award in the News and Documentary Emmy for his camerawork on 2011 documentary One Life, and was nominated again for series Equator. Penniket was a senior cameraman on BBC epic Planet Earth. He is a member of organisation The Guardians of Lake Wanaka.
John Day
John Day rolled film on a wide range of screen projects before establishing company Matte-Box Films in 1980. He went on to mix a busy trans-Tasman commercials career with directing gigs on a number of non-fiction titles (The Power of Music, The Hunt for the Pink and White Terraces), plus ghost movie The Returning. Day passed away on 7 January 2015.
Alister Barry
Alister Barry has been making intelligent and provocative documentaries for more than three decades. Barry's films reflect his longtime interest in how power is exercised in a democracy, and how the decisions of the powerful impact on ordinary people's lives.
Bob Allen
Starting with the National Film Unit in 1943, Bob Allen’s career as a motion picture sound recordist covered six decades. Based in the UK from 1953, he worked with well-known directors including Fred Zinnemann (Allen's work on The Day of the Jackal was BAFTA-nominated). He returned to his homeland to share his knowledge and experience as New Zealand feature filmmaking blossomed; and later to retire.