Brendan Donovan
Brendan Donovan’s debut short Here (2001), made while he was directing commercials in the US, starred Lee Majors as an aging hitman. Since returning to NZ Donovan has pursued drama, winning Qantas awards for he innovative Insiders Guide to Love, and TV movie Aftershock (2008). His first feature was family drama The Hopes & Dreams of Gazza Snell. Donovan also lectures in directing at Auckland University.
Sarah Peirse
Sarah Peirse is a multi-award winning actor on screen and stage, best known for her portrayals of two very different mothers — the kind-hearted Honorah Rieper in Heavenly Creatures, and the disaffected sophisticate in Rain. Peirse has also won awards for Vincent Ward’s The Navigator, and one of her earliest starring roles: A Woman of Good Character.
Dave Gibson
Dave Gibson is one of New Zealand's most experienced producers. Under his command, company Gibson Group made programmes for local and international audiences for over three decades. In 2012 Gibson was made an Officer of NZ Order of Merit for services to the screen industry; in 2014 he sold his shares in Gibson Group, and began a four-year stint as Chief Executive of the NZ Film Commission.
Graeme Tetley
Graeme Tetley began his long scriptwriting career with Vigil, one of the most acclaimed New Zealand films of the 1980s. He went on to co-create police show Shark in the Park, collaborate extensively with director Gaylene Preston (Ruby and Rata, Bread and Roses), and co-write Out of the Blue, the story of the Aramoana massacre. Tetley passed away on 13 March 2011.
Francis Kora
Toi Whakaari acting graduate Francis Kora has a passion for telling Aotearoa stories through music, theatre and the screen. Kora starred in 2013 movie The Pā Boys. He wrote new songs while traveling for the filming of Pā Boys, many of which made the final cut. Kora is a longtime vocalist and bass guitarist in popular band Kora, and co-hosts Māori Television's My Party Song as part of The Modern Māori Quartet. Kora played war hero John Pohe in 2008 documentary Turangaarere: The John Pohe Story. He also acted in telemovie Aftershock and short film Warbrick, and has presented for TV's Code and The Gravy.
Simon Baumfield
Simon Baumfield is a multi-award-winning cinematographer, whose work includes ensemble TV series Insiders Guide to Love and horror movie The Irrefutable Truth about Demons.
Mike McRoberts
TV3 news anchor Mike McRoberts spent a decade as a radio reporter, then made his name as a sports journalist with TVNZ in the mid 90s. After six years with the state broadcaster, including occasional shifts reading the primetime news, he moved to TV3. From 2005, he joined Hilary Barry leading the 6pm news bulletin. Since then he has presented reports and bulletins from Christchurch, Iraq, Haiti and the Philippines.
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).
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.
Caroline Girdlestone
Fed up with seeing animals unintentionally mishandled on set, former farm girl Caroline Girdlestone decided to do something about it. Now one of the most respected animal trainers in Australasia, she’s worked with almost any animal imaginable across more than 500 projects – ranging from the cute barnyard animals of Racing Stripes to the horrifying ovine creatures in Black Sheep.