Tony Sutorius
Tony Sutorius fell in love with documentaries while studying at Victoria University. Shot on a shoestring, his second film Campaign won sellout screenings at the 1999 NZ Film Festival. The feature-length documentary chronicled an early MMP election campaign. These days Sutorius runs Porirua company Unreal Films, whose diet of educational films encompasses at least nine elections across Australasia.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Haunui Royal
For more than 20 years, Haunui Royal has been driven by the desire to be part of a vibrant Māori voice in broadcasting. The director turned executive got his break at TVNZ in 1988, before directing everything from a long line of documentaries (The Truth about Māori), to entertainment (Havoc and Newsboy's Sellout Tour). Later he spent seven years as General Manager of Programming at Māori Television.
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.
Dougal Stevenson
When television's nightly news finally went nationwide in 1969, newsreader Dougal Stevenson was the person chosen to read the very first bulletin. Six years later, Stevenson and Bill McCarthy were given alternating command of Television One's 6.30 news slot. These days the beloved broadcaster, occasional actor and car fan presents regional show Dunedin Diary, back in the town where his TV career first began in 1964.