Ron McIntyre
As a war correspondent filming the New Zealand forces in Italy and the Middle East, Ron McIntyre played a key role in supplying the raw material for the early films of the National Film Unit. After nearly four years overseas, he returned home and tried his hand at independent filmmaking. McIntyre spent just over seven years with the NFU as a cameraman and director, and also worked briefly for Pacific Films.
Reuben Collier
Rūātoki-raised Reuben Collier cut his screen teeth reporting on Waka Huia. In 2001 he founded Maui TV Productions in Rotorua. Collier's producing and directing credits include Marae, Matatini coverage, award-winning documentary Sciascia, and long-running food show Kai Time on the Road. in 2017 Collier was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to the television industry and Māori.
Peter Coates
If director and producer Peter Coates was a superhero, he’d surely be ‘Renaissance Man’. His contribution to championing the arts on television is arguably heroic, and his career multi-faceted. From 1971 to 2004 Coates produced, directed or scripted hundreds of TV productions covering a smorgasbord of topics, from operas to soap operas, and from portraits of New Zealand artists to rugby coaching films.
Nadia Maxwell
After five years in the United Kingdom, Nadia Maxwell returned to Aotearoa in 2003, to work at regional film office Film South. As a production manager at Raconteur Productions in Christchurch, she worked on documentaries for TVNZ, TV3 and Al Jazeera, and directed NZ Stories episode Singing With Conviction, and episodes of Making Italy Home. A graduate of Amsterdam's prestigious Binger Filmlab, she has since produced shorts and two features — Nic Gorman's three on an island drama Human Traces (2017), which played at festivals in Toronto and Melbourne, and past meets present thriller Reunion (2020).
Mark McNeill
Mark McNeill has been making documentaries for over 20 years. Along the way he has shown a knack for offbeat factual programming, including work with Te Radar and psychologist Nigel Latta. In 1999 McNeill launched company Razor Films. He and Latta went on to reshape The Politically Incorrect Parenting Show for a primetime Australian slot. In 2018 McNeill become the first Kiwi producer to make a series for Netflix.
Robert Boyd-Bell
Television veteran Robert Boyd-Bell's eclectic screen career includes 14 years in journalism, followed by time in academia, public service TV, and producing. Which is not to forget writing landmark book New Zealand Television – The First 25 Years. Boyd-Bell joined the state broadcaster in 1965, and later headed TV One's northern newsroom. He also has an extensive involvement in delivering programmes online.
Michelanne Forster
Michelanne Forster is a playwright, scriptwriter and author, who moved from her native California to New Zealand in the 1970s. After training as a teacher, she began her career as a writer, producer and director of children’s programmes with TVNZ. She played a large part in making the long-running Play School more relevant to a Kiwi audience, and later worked on children's shows Spot On, What Now and After School.
Ian Mune
Quite aside from being a talented and prolific actor, Ian Mune has made behind the scenes contributions to many New Zealand screen landmarks. Mune's writing career ranges from some of New Zealand's earliest television series to Goodbye Pork Pie. His work as director includes classics Came a Hot Friday and The End of the Golden Weather, and the hit sequel to Once Were Warriors.
Dean O'Gorman
Dean O’Gorman starred in his first movie (Bonjour Timothy) at the age of only 17. Since then he has had leading roles in another four, including a 2017 remake of classic road movie Goodbye Pork Pie. En route O'Gorman has played dwarves (The Hobbit), jealous brothers (The Bad Seed), American movie legends (Trumbo) and Norse gods (The Almighty Johnsons).
Hamish McKay
After starting his career commentating local rugby in Palmerston North, Hamish McKay went on to become one of New Zealand's best-known sports broadcasters. The longtime TV3 sports anchor commentated over 70 rugby test matches, including TV3’s coverage of the 2007 and 2011 World Cups. He also presented on travel series Time of Your Life, and was a repeat victim on Pulp Sport. McKay left TV3 in April 2016.