Hori Ahipene
The versatile Hori Ahipene became a 90s comedy fixture thanks to The Semisis — playing a Samoan matriach — bilingual sitcom Radio Wha Waho, and a run of TV sketch shows: Away Laughing, Skitz and Telly Laughs. He also directed on the latter two series. Later the Toi Whakaari acting graduate would co-star with Te Radar on two seasons of Māori Television sitcom/chat show B&B. In 2017 he took on dual roles as a coach and an aunt on kapa haka comedy The Ring Inz. Ahipene has also acted on Outrageous Fortune and fantasy Maddigan's Quest, and appeared on the big screen in Jubilee.
John A Givins
John A Givins is a television producer and director. His company Livingstone Productions produced the award-winning historical series Captain’s Log, and eleven seasons of Queer Nation. Givins has gone on to produce programmes and develop formats for Māori Television.
John Gilbert
John Gilbert has edited images of hobbits, disabled lovers, and heroic conscientious objectors. Along the way he has done time at TVNZ, edited over 20 feature films, and cut a clutch of classic short films. In 2017 Gilbert won his first Academy Award — for Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge — after having been previously nominated for The Fellowship of the Ring.
Allen Guilford
Allen Guilford was a prolific and much admired cinematographer, whose host of television programmes ranged from 1970s TV landmark The God Boy to colonial melodrama Greenstone. Guilford won NZ Film Awards for his work on movies The Footstep Man, coming of age tale The Climb, and blockbuster What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? He passed away on 10 March 2009.
Harry Lavington
Although Harry Lavington's acting career spanned four decades on stage and screen, he is probably best known for a single role: that of baker and family man Ken Paget, on long-running New Zealand soap Close to Home.
Carthew Neal
Carthew Neal's producing credits include Kiwi box office champ Hunt for the Wilderpeople, oddball David Farrier documentary Tickled and Madeleine Sami playing many roles series Super City. Neal runs Auckland company Fumes, and Piki Films. In 2007 he created environmental info series Wa$ted, which screened or was remade in more than 20 countries. An early pioneer in interactive web storytelling (2002’s 5 Minute Call), Neal went on to produce web comedy Aroha Bridge and interactive documentary I Spy (with My 5 Eyes). He also manages musical acts — including Aroha Bridge creator, Coco Solid.
Nicola Castle
Nicola Castle began her career as an editor, achieving recognition at the 2011 NZ Television awards for cutting award-winners The Green Chain and Whare Taonga. In 2015 she directed short film Madness Made Me for online series Loading Docs, about a woman's time in a mental hospital. Castle splits her time between Auckland and Melbourne, and holds a Masters in Screen Production from Auckland University.
Doug Dillaman
Detroit-raised Doug Dillaman likes moving pictures so much that when not cutting images himself, he's often writing about film. In 2004 Dillaman headed to NZ to study editing, then began cutting for local television, including Let's Get Inventin' and Maddigan’s Quest. In 2008 he joined a filmmaking collective who met each Sunday. Dillaman worked with many of them on his directorial debut: identity-switching movie Jake.
Gary Scott
Gary Scott began his television career as an assignment editor on TV3's news desk, before joining Ninox Films as a writer and researcher. He directed documentaries then joined Wellington company Gibson Group in 2001, where he has produced or executive produced a slew of factual programmes and series, including Kiwis at War, Here to Stay and NZ Detectives.
Brian Challis
Dunedin-born Brian Challis studied at Canterbury University and the NZ Film and Television School, and began making films with his friends: Scott Wills starred in both 1998 short The Hole (which was invited to 15 film festivals) and no dialogue follow-up Ouch. Since then Challis has mainly directed commercials, plus occasional TV shows (Nigel Blows Stuff Up). He also has varied film projects in development.