Māoriland Filmmakers Residence
The first residence of its kind for New Zealand, the Māoriland Filmmakers’ Residency hosts international and national Indigenous artists for up to three months at the Māoriland Hub in Ōtaki.
The Māoriland Filmmaker’s Residency is a four-room villa within the Māoriland Hub.
The Residency has been designed to be a place of retreat for busy creatives as they work towards their next project or complete work on existing ones.
The residency is supported by the Māoriland Charitable Trust.
During their stay, Indigenous filmmakers are encouraged to collaborate with Māori filmmakers and other artists.
The Filmmaker in Residence will also share their skills and knowledge through masterclasses with Māoriland filmmakers, particularly with rangatahi participating in Māoriland projects.
MĀORILAND FILMMAKERS IN RESIDENCE
2024
Jana Schmieding
Jana Schmieding is a Cheyenne River Lakota Sioux multihyphenate bringing Native characters to mainstream audiences. She wrote on and co-starred alongside Ed Helms in Rutherford Falls (Peacock), and is known for her comedic roles on Reservation Dogs (FX on Hulu), Clone High (Max), The Great North (Fox), Echo (Marvel) and Spirit Rangers (Netflix). Jana is currently developing a multicam sitcom for CBS and a feature film directed by Tazbah Chavez.
Tazbah Chavez
Tazbah Rose Chavez (Dinè, Nüümü, San Carlos Apache) is a performance poet turned WGA-nominated television writer and director from the Bishop Paiute Reservation. Tazbah is a co-executive producer, writer and episodic director on FX’s Reservation Dogs. She has worked on Resident Alien (SyFy), Rutherford Falls (Peacock), Sex Lives of College Girls (HBOMAX) and Accused (FOX).
In January Tazbah was named the inaugural Graton Fellow at the Sundance Film Festival.
Tazbah is currently developing new series for Universal, FX and FOX, and is attached to directed Jana Schmieding’s feature film debut Auntie Chuck
2022
Leah Purcell AM
2022 CREATIVE DIRECTOR, OOMBARRA PRODUCTIONS
Leah Purcell is a proud Goa-Gunggari-Wakka Wakka woman born and bred in Murgon, Queensland. Leah is a multi-award-winning director, actor, writer, producer and showrunner. She has written and directed landmark film, TV and theatrical works such as; Box the Pony, Redfern Now, Cleverman, The Secret Daughter, My Life is Murder, The Twelve and The Drover’s Wife.
She is an AACTA, Helpmann, The Deadly’s, Australian Directors Guild, AWGIE, IF, AFI, Matilda and Logie award-winning and nominated artist for her outstanding work on iconic feature film, TV and theatre such as Lantana, Jindabyne and The Proposition; Police Rescue, Janet King and Wentworth; Box the Pony, The Story of the Miracles at Cookie’s Table and The Drover’s Wife.
Her writing has been recognised with NSW Premier’s Literary Awards, a Queensland Premier’s Literary Award, and the Victorian Prize for Literature. In 2017, she received the Sydney UNESCO City of Film Award and in 2021 was made a member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the Performing Arts, to First Nations Youth and Culture, and to Women.
Most recently, she was the 2021 Winner Asia Pacific Screen Awards Jury Grand Prize for her multifaceted role in her directorial debut, writer, producer and lead actor of the feature film, The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson.
In April 2022 at the QLD Gala Industry Awards Leah was the recipient of the 2022 Chauvel Award for her contribution to Australian Film, TV and the Arts, especially in the genre of Women’s and First Nations storytelling. Former Chauvel Awards recipients have been Academy Award winner’s Heath Ledger, George Miller and Dean Semler and Australian producer legends Jan Chapman and Sue Maslin.
Currently, Leah is starring opposite Sigourney Weaver in Amazon Originals, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart produced by Bruna Papandrea and Made Up Stories, and in development on the premium limited series based on The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson novel and film.
2019
Anne Lajla Utsi
Anne Lajla Utsi, CEO of the International Sami Film Institute (ISFI) since 2009, has been a driving force for the rise of Sámi cinema. Utsi has guided ISFI from a modest film output to a substantial portfolio, soon reaching 30 million euros. Notably, 70% of directors and producers during this period were women, underscoring her dedication to gender diversity.
She belongs to the Indigenous Sámi people, and is based in the village Guovdageaidnu, above the Arctic Circle in Norway.
As ISFI CEO, Utsi, a member of The Academy, forged an extensive film network, partnering with Sundance Film Institute, Netflix, European Film Academy, and others. She champions excellence in motion pictures, including the establishment of the Arctic Indigenous Film Fund. With 25 years in the industry, she advised Walt Disney Animation Studios on the Frozen 2 production. She also holds distinguished membership in the European Film Academy, and actively contributes to international film initiatives.
“Storytelling has been a survival tool for Sámi people in the harsh Arctic landscapes for centuries, and the power of telling our own stories is relevant and urgent. We can create exciting job opportunities for generations to come with our own stories,” says Utsi.