ScreenTalk » Maori

Jim Moriarty on getting back on the horse

Screen Talker — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 03:13:24 +0000

Actor Jim Moriarty cut his teeth on the early dramas Pukemanu and Close to Home, then went on to appear in a number of other TV projects such as Inside Straight and City Life. He has starred in films The Strength of Water, No Petrol No Diesel, and played Jesus in Saving Grace. As well as acting, Moriarty has directed in television and theatre, and works with at risk Māori youth. In this ScreenTalk, Moriarty talks about:

How actors were allowed to help develop the scripts on Close to Home
Incorporating political and social issues into the show
Being thrown from a horse on the set of The Lie of the Land
Making ‘love’ the central focus of playing Jesus in Saving Grace
Being give the freedom to improvise while making The Waimate Conspiracy
How the film No Petrol No Diesel gave at risk youth a chance of participating in the industry
Having an emotional reaction to the story in The Strength of Water
Not regretting turning down the role of Jake in Once Were Warriors

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Joanna Paul – Portrait of an Over Achiever

Screen Talker — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 00:49:11 +0000

Joanna Paul‘s screen career has seen her both in front of and behind the camera, and undertaking some of the most challenging Māori screen projects in New Zealand, including Aroha, the country’s first TV series in Te Reo, and the launch of Maori Television.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Paul reveals:

The challenges she faced starting out in broadcasting
Her thoughts on some of the many TV projects she has been involved in, including acting on Loose Enz drama The Protestors.
Details of her early film career in Wellington
Her insights into the early days of news and current affairs at TV3
Her experiences fronting the first Nightline on TV3 and why the format was successful
Thoughts on news and current affairs television today
Insights into the establishment of Maori Television
The state of Māori broadcasting today

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence

Stacey Daniels Morrison

Screen Talker — Mon, 09 May 2011 23:23:34 +0000

Stacey Daniels Morrison began her television career as a part-timer on What Now?, presenting a cooking segment each week while still at high school.

After moving to Auckland and missing out on a role at Ice TV to Petra Bagust, she took a job on the Maori affairs series Marae, which took her on a professional and personal journey as she discovered her Māori heritage.

From Marae she moved to fledgling music show Mai Time, where she found herself at the forefront of a change to the way Māori culture was portrayed on screen.

Morrison has moved between presenting and working behind-the-scenes, with a diverse range of shows under her belt, everything from Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner to Sports Cafe.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Morrison reveals:

How theatresports at school got her her first gig
How Peter Hayden helped correct her Māori pronunciation
Why Mai Time came along at the right time
Why she finds the buzz of live TV so addictive
And that she can’t believe she gets paid for making It’s in the Bag

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Claudette Hauiti on producing in Front of the Box

Screen Talker — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 21:17:19 +0000

TV producer Claudette Hauiti (Ngāti Porou, Ngāpuhi) began her career as a sports journalist on radio before moving to television news. In later years, her production company Front of the Box has made ground-breaking Māori series such as Eye to Eye and Takatāpui, as well as the award-winning documentaries Gang Girls and Children of the Revolution.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Hauiti talks about:

How some gang connections led to the documentary Gang Girls and how it validated the lives of the women interviewed
How strong support from Maori TV for Takatāpui helped get the series on air despite some misgivings from the Māori community
The cancellation of Eye to Eye
How she likes Front of the Box shows to challenge audiences
How Maori Television has created a huge mind shift in attitudes to Māori and assisted in making New Zealand more multi-cultural
The challenges of being an independent television producer in New Zealand

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Rawiri Paratene – on his acting career

Screen Talker — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 01:54:56 +0000

Rawiri Paratene (Ngā Puhi) was the first Māori student to graduate from the New Zealand Drama School, and has since made an indelible mark on the NZ screenscape.

Paratene’s small screen career began with a small part on The Governor, and playing Koro in 70s sitcom Joe and Koro. Paratene then hosted daily pre-school show Play School – a role familiar to a generation of Kiwi kids.

He went on to star in the long-running comedy sketch show Issues and won praise for his parodies of politician Winston Peters. Paratene is also an acclaimed writer whose credits include the TV dramas Erua and Dead Certs. The latter earned him a 1989 NZ Television Award.

On the big screen Paratene has created some of this country’s most memorable characters. He played the role of reformed gang memeber Mulla in What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?; but it was his role as Koro in Whale Rider that garnered him international recognition.

Paratene has served as deputy chairman of the New Zealand Film Commission. His latest cinema role is playing a psychiatric patient who believes he is the second son of God in The Insatiable Moon.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Paratene talks about:

creating a stir by portraying a realistic Māori accent in the 70s sitcom Joe and Koro
being asked to “reign in” his performance playing a dead body in The Governor
how hosting the iconic kids show Play School helped to get him a long career
fighting for Māori language and characters to be included in the show
how ad-libbing boosted the tiny role of Rangi into a major part in Footrot Flats: The Dog’s (Tail) Tale
creating the back story behind gang member Mulla in What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?
causing a public stir by wearing his on-screen tattoos out in public
loving the ‘honesty’ of his character Koro in Whale Rider
his most humbling and poignant moment on the set of the film

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Whai Ngata – Māori broadcasting pioneer

Screen Talker — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 21:34:58 +0000

Whai Ngata (Ngāti Porou, Whānau ā Apanui) has had a long and distinguished career in print, television and radio. Beginning as a Māori reporter for the Auckland Star, Ngata moved on to Radio New Zealand in 1975 and over the next few years covered such important Māori stories such as the 1975 Land March led by Dame Whina Cooper, and the Bastion Point occupation and evictions in 1978.

Ngata joined Television New Zealand in 1983, working for Network News. He began reading the news in Māori on Te Karere, and while doing so traveled to the USA to cover the Te Maori exhibition.

Along with Ernie Leonard, Ngata helped set up the Māori Programmes department at TVNZ, and became a pivotal member of the team at Waka Huia. Eventually Ngata became head of the Māori department and was instrumental in creating popular and long-running Māori programmes such as Marae and Mai Time. In his long career, Ngata attended 30 years of Waitangi Day celebrations.

In 2007 Ngata became on Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to broadcasting and television.

In this ScreenTalk interview, Ngata discusses:

The controversy surrounding the launch of Te Karere in the early 80s
Encountering gang members in the Hokianga along with fellow Te Karere newsreader Derek Fox
How saving the Māori language was not the rationale behind the news in Māori
The huge impact the Te Māori exhibition had in America
The difficulty of shooting the sacred exhibits
How Waitangi Day changed in 30 years of covering the event
How he thinks journalists should report on protests
Making the best of not having Māori programming in primetime
The huge success of The New Zealand Wars documentary series
The importance of Māori programming and language to New Zealand

This video is available on YouTube to embed and distribute via a Creative Commons licence.

Tainui Stephens

Screen Talker — Sat, 16 May 2009 23:44:17 +0000

Tainui Stephens (Te Rarawa) is one of our foremost Māori broadcasters. He has worked as a reporter, writer, director, producer and executive producer. His credits include Maori Battalion March to Victory and The New Zealand Wars.

Stephens was a stalwart of TVNZ’s Māori Programmes department in the 1980s and 90s, working on the regular series Koha, Waka Huia, Marae and Mai Time.

In this interview Tainui Stephens discusses:

being raised by his Pākehā mother, and his own personal journey “into my Māoridom”
beginning work at TVNZ Māori Programmes in 1984, and how much he enjoyed his work there
how he loves all the programmes he has worked on over the years
the good that Māori broadcasting can do
the Maori Television Service, its success, and the important role it plays in New Zealand life.

This interview is available on YouTube for distribution via a Creative Commons licence.

Credits: Interview by Monika Ahuriri, camera and direction by Clare O’Leary. Editing by Leo Guerchmann.

Rena Owen on being Beth Heke

Screen Talker — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:21:16 +0000

Actor Rena Owen came to international fame through her role as matriarch Beth Heke in the hard-hitting feature film, Once Were Warriors, based on the Alan Duff novel about a Māori family struggling with domestic violence, gang culture and urban alienation.

She is currently living and working in Los Angeles and and is developing an adaptation of the novel, Behind the Tattooed Face by Heretaunga Pat Baker. Behind the Tattooed Face was the first novel written by a Māori about pre-European Māori. Owen hopes to return to NZ to film it once the financing is in place.

Owen was back in New Zealand recently to work on Vincent Ward‘s Rain of the Children and Fiona Samuel’s upcoming TV drama, Piece of My Heart.

In this interview she talks with Clare O’Leary about:

her beginnings in theatre as an actor and playwright;
her many television drama roles and how she got her break on the landmark drama series, E Tipu E Rea;
her role as Beth in Warriors;
making a living as a Kiwi actor overseas;
working on New Zealand stories (Behind the Tattooed Face, Piece of My Heart);
the significance of working with Māori creative teams and crew.

Find out more about Rena Owen on NZ On Screen.

This interview is available to download and distribute in two parts (Part One and Part Two) on YouTube.

Credits: Direction and Interview – Clare O’Leary, Camera and Editing – Leo Guerchmann