Five inspiring women in New Zealand film, TV and theatre

Aotearoa's arts community is rich in multicultural storytelling. This International Women's Day, RNZ reflects on the contributions of five women in New Zealand film, television and theatre.

Chelsea Winstanley (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngai te Rangi)

The award-winning filmmaker and director is a shining example of representing Aotearoa on the global stage. In 2020, Winstanley made history by becoming the first indigenous woman to be nominated for Best Picture, for her work producing Jojo Rabbit. She's also one of the driving forces behind getting popular Disney films like Moana, Frozen, and The Lion King translated into te reo Māori.

In the RNZ podcast It's Personal with Anika Moa, Winstanley recalls wondering: "What kind of contribution could we make towards te reo Māori for our kids, for our mokopuna, for our babies in the future and what do we do in our lives daily that we could enhance that? We work in this industry, what would it look like if we just took product in our sphere... and put te reo Māori into public spaces?"

In 2022, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Merit for her contributions to the film industry and to Māori.

Melanie Lynskey

At just 16, Lynskey captivated audiences with a haunting debut in Peter Jackson's true crime fantasy Heavenly Creatures. She's since gone on to appear in a score of international productions, portraying complex women in shows like Togetherness and Yellowjackets, and stealing scenes as the sweet and slightly delusional neighbour, Rose, in Two and Half Men.

Her command of American dialects and range of roles has earned her Critics Choice, Screen Actors Guild and Primetime Emmy nominations among many others.

Listen back to her 2022 interview with RNZ's Sunday Morning here.

Abba-Rose Vaiaoga-Ioasa

A chemical engineer, a lover of mathematics, and a filmmaker; Vaiaoga-Ioasa is a problem-solver in more ways than one. The Samoan creative entered the industry in 2016 after her brother Stallone, who'd just made his debut film Three Wise Cousins, needed a producer for his second film Hibiscus and Ruthless. She was looking for a career change and jumped headfirst from the known world of engineering to the unknown world of the arts.

In a recent interview with RNZ, Vaiaoga-Ioasa said she wasn't fazed about the change - but her mum took a little convincing: "I definitely had a big talk with my mum to make sure they understood why I was taking a jump into a risky business... I love problem-solving and filmmaking is a series of problems to solve to create amazing films."

Her latest project is the second series of romantic comedy I Got You, starring "Bubbah" Leo'o Olo on RNZ's Tahi platform.

Briar Grace-Smith (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hau)

The acclaimed playwright and screenwriter is a champion of Māori storytelling on stage and screen. In 2017, Grace-Smith co-wrote and co-directed Waru, a film that connected eight stories by eight wāhine Māori directors, all chronicling the same moment in time at the tangihanga of a small boy who had died at the hands of a caregiver. Each 10-minute vignette followed the perspective of a different woman in Waru's community coming to grips with his death. The film was a poignant and brutal look at navigating grief and provided a unique glimpse into a small, rural Māori community.

In 2021, Grace-Smith wrote and co-directed a screen adaptation of the best-selling novel Cousins, written by her mother-in-law Patricia Grace. The film saw 20 Māori women cast in the multi-generational story of three cousins struggling to find their place in a changing world. The project completed pioneering Māori filmmaker Merata Mita's dream of turning Cousins into a movie.

In 2018, Grace-Smith was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to theatre, film and television.

Rina Patel

Patel is a production coordinator and sometimes performer. The Gujarati Takatāpui New Zealander is a Toi Whakaari graduate involved in bringing many South Asian stories to life. In 2008, she featured in A Thousand Apologies, a fast-paced comedy sketch series about Asian New Zealanders - perhaps the first of its kind. She's also performed in theatre works such as Yātra: Journey for Identity, the Lambuji and Tinguji Show, and Ahi Karunaharan's play TEA.

Patel is a stalwart of the arts industry and continues to work behind-the-scenes to enrich the cultural landscape of Aotearoa's film, television and theatre production.