Tony Sutorius
Campaign, the second film directed by Tony Sutorius, won sellout screenings at the 1999 NZ Film Festival. The documentary chronicled an early MMP election campaign. Sutorius went on to make another feature-length documentary, this time about trade unionist Helen Kelly. Sutorius runs Porirua company Unreal Films, whose diet of educational films encompasses numerous elections across Australasia.
Chris Harrington
Chris Harrington began in local television in 1976, reporting and producing current affairs and news. Highlights of his career include award-winning Sunday stories about allegations of police pack rape by Louise Nicholas, and another on treatment of Porirua Hospital inmates. In 1989 he was awarded a QSM for services to journalism. In 2007 Harrington moved into private production and public relations.
Jacob Tomuri
These days Jacob Tomuri is the go-to stunt double for actor Tom Hardy, but he hasn’t always been in stunt work. Tomuri studied drama and took up stunting on The Lord of The Rings, before roles on The Tribe and Shortland Street gave him the chance to upskill his acting chops. He has gone on to double for Hardy on Mad Max: Fury Road and The Revenant. In 2017 he co-starred in acclaimed action short Do No Harm.
Jim Moriarty
Jim Moriarty's screen career has ranged from 70s soap Close to Home and Rowley Habib's The Protestors, to starring in mock-doco The Waimate Conspiracy and playing Dad in The Strength of Water. Committed to theatre as a tool for change, he has often worked with troubled youth (eg 2003 documentary Make or Break). Moriarty's directing work includes TV's Mataku, and a stage musical of Once Were Warriors.
Gary McCormick
Known for his many live tours as a poet, debater and speaker, Kiwi legend Gary McCormick has made a host of appearances on New Zealand television. His work on the talk show McCormick and long-running series Heartland helped make him television's most popular presenter in a 1999 newspaper poll.
David Harry Baldock
After almost two decades of directing and producing documentaries, David Harry Baldock left TVNZ in 1988 to launch Ninox Television. The company’s roster of reality-based programming included export hit Sensing Murder, local award-winner Our People Our Century and nine seasons of Location Location Location. These days Baldock is busy making arts programmes from Shanghai.
Grant Roa
Porirua-raised Grant Roa made his mark in athletics and martial arts, before returning to another childhood passion in his 20s: acting. Award-nominated for playing Pai’s uncle in Whale Rider, Roa has also acted in sketch show Facelift and dramas The Hothouse and The Lost Children. In 2012, working with Laurence Alexander, he produced his first feature: music doco Shihad: Beautiful Machine.
Sandra Kailahi
After starting her reporting career in radio, Sandra Kailahi switched to television and worked on Pacific magazine show Tagata Pasifika. The Tongan-German spent 11 years reporting for the long-running series, before moving to Fair Go for three years. Kailahi went on to produce Te Karere and One News, plus read the news on channel TVNZ 7. In 2017 she turned her hand to film producing, with short film The Messiah. Two years later her first feature, documentary For My Father's Kingdom, premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. The Porirua local was appointed to the board of the NZ Film Commission in March 2019.
Miriama Kamo
Canterbury University graduate Miriama Kamo began in broadcasting at National Radio. She moved onscreen to report for late 90s arts show Backch@t, and won two Qantas Media Awards for a two-parter on Porirua Hospital during her first stint at current affairs show Sunday. Kamo co-anchored coverage of the 2010 Christchurch quake aftermath, and has presented 20/20, Marae and lifestyle show Kiwi Living.
Brian Kassler
Brian Kassler started his career building sets for theatre and film, then worked as a camera grip on a host of New Zealand features. In the mid 80s he started supplying film equipment to local crews, before launching successful production company Flying Fish with Lee Tamahori. Today he fronts Showtools, a film production website.