Ngāpuhi, Ngāi Takato, Ngāti Hine

Intern at:

Growing up, the creative arts gave me the means to express myself and explore the world around me. Storytelling, acting, creating characters and using my imagination helped to create purpose and meaning in my life.

I fell in love with filmmaking in primary school and have been making films ever since. Wanting to hone my craft as a filmmaker, I studied for a Bachelor of Creative Media Production at Massey University in Wellington. For my final major project at University, I made a short horror film called ‘The Feast’ which is currently making its rounds in the international horror film festival circuit.

After graduating, I moved to Tamaki Makaurau after being selected to be a part of the Auckland Theatre Youth Company, where I am learning all aspects of acting and creative collaboration for theatre.
I am so honoured that I have been offered this opportunity with the MAI programme to grow and learn as a young Maori creative in Aoetoeroa with the NZ Comedy Trust. I am looking forward to learning about what it takes to put on a large-scale festival and how to help nurture and provide support for those involved in the NZ comedy scene.

I am interested in content creation, marketing, and producing, but my goals for this internship are to stay open-minded about trying new and different things; to stay curious about all the different aspects and roles, to learn as much as possible, and to have fun and make meaningful connections along the way.

In partnership with Creative New Zealand, Toi Māori Aotearoa has delivered the Māori Art Internship Programme (MAI) since 2014.