Anzac Hohepa Wallace, [1] also known as Zac Wallace, born Norman Pene Rewiri [2] (1943 – 8 April 2019), [3] was a New Zealand actor and former trade union delegate. [4] He is best known for his role as Te Wheke in the 1983 New Zealand film Utu . [5] [6] [7]
Wallace grew up in Mission Bay, Auckland. His iwi affiliation was Ngāpuhi. [8] As a youth, he was involved in petty crime, eventually escalating to armed robbery, for which he spent several years in prison until 1974. During his time in prison, he taught himself to read. [9] [2] He then went to work in earthmoving, working as part of the Auckland Mangere Bridge project. [4]
Despite having minimal acting experience, Wallace was cast in the lead role of Te Wheke in Geoff Murphy's acclaimed 1983 film Utu . [2] In 1985 he appeared in The Silent One , The Quiet Earth and Dangerous Orphans . [4] Shortly afterwards, he departed for Australia, returning to New Zealand in 2013. [4] He appeared in Shortland Street as Rocky Hannah in 2016. [4]
Wallace died on 8 April 2019 from cancer. [10] [11] He was survived by his wife, Deidre Nehua. [12]
Vincent Ward is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and artist. His films have received international recognition at both the Academy Awards and the Cannes Film Festival.
New Zealand cinema can refer to films made by New Zealand-based production companies in New Zealand. However, it may also refer to films made about New Zealand by filmmakers from other countries. Due to the comparatively small size of its film industry, New Zealand produces many films that are co-financed by overseas companies.
Utu is a 1983 New Zealand film directed and co-written by Geoff Murphy; starring Anzac Wallace as Te Wheke, a warrior who sets out to get vengeance after British forces kill his people, Bruno Lawrence and Kelly Johnson. Sometimes described as "a Maori Western", Utu was reputed to have one of the largest budgets for a New Zealand film up until that time.
Geoffrey Peter Murphy was a New Zealand filmmaker, producer, director, and screenwriter best known for his work during the renaissance of New Zealand cinema that began in the second half of the 1970s. His second feature Goodbye Pork Pie (1981) was the first New Zealand film to win major commercial success on its own soil. Murphy directed several Hollywood features during the 1990s, before returning to New Zealand as second-unit director on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Murphy was also at different times a scriptwriter, special effects technician, schoolteacher and trumpet player. He was married to Merata Mita, also a film director, actor, writer.
David Charles Lawrence known as Bruno Lawrence was an English-born musician and actor, who was active in the industry in New Zealand and Australia.
The Quiet Earth is a 1985 New Zealand post-apocalyptic science fiction film directed by Geoff Murphy and starring Bruno Lawrence, Alison Routledge and Peter Smith as three survivors of a cataclysmic disaster. It is loosely based on the 1981 science fiction novel of the same name by Craig Harrison. Other sources of inspiration have been suggested: the 1954 novel I Am Legend, Dawn of the Dead, and especially the 1959 film The World, the Flesh and the Devil, of which it has been called an unofficial remake.
Dame Gaylene Mary Preston is a New Zealand filmmaker with a particular interest in documentary films.
Miriama Te Rangimarie Smith is a New Zealand film and television actress who has played roles in various TV shows such as Xena: Warrior Princess, Karaoke High and Shortland Street. Her best-known roles, however, were the role of Moz in the third season of The Tribe, and also the role of Elsa / Principal Randall in the 2004 Power Rangers series, Power Rangers Dino Thunder. She was one of the three judges on the first season of entertainment show New Zealand's Got Talent that aired on Prime TV in 2008. She starred as Brady Trubridge on the TVNZ 2 drama series Filthy Rich.
Paolo Rotondo is a New Zealand director, writer and actor of stage and screen.
Peter Northe Wells was a New Zealand writer, filmmaker, and historian. He was mainly known for his fiction, but also explored his interest in gay and historical themes in a number of expressive drama and documentary films from the 1980s onwards.
The Maori Merchant of Venice is a 2002 New Zealand drama film in the Māori language, directed by Don Selwyn.
Wi Kuki Kaa was a New Zealand actor in film, theatre and television. He was from the Māori iwi of Ngati Porou and Ngati Kahungunu.
Merata Mita was a New Zealand filmmaker, producer, and writer, and a key figure in the growth of the Māori screen industry. She was from the Māori iwi of Ngāti Pikiao and Ngāi Te Rangi.
Martyn Sanderson was an New Zealand actor, director, producer, writer and poet.
Heather Rima Te Wiata is a British-born New Zealand singer, comedian and stage, film and television actress. She is of the Ngāti Raukawa tribe.
Vanessa Rare is a New Zealand film and television actress, screenwriter and director. She is of Ngāti Pu, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Pukenga and Ngāpuhi iwi descent.
Hinemoa Elder is a New Zealand youth forensic psychiatrist and former television presenter. She is a professor in indigenous research at Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi, a fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, and sits on the Māori Advisory Committee of the Centre for Brain Research - Rangahau Roro Aotearoa. She is of English and Māori descent, from Ngāti Kurī, Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri and Ngāpuhi iwi.
Jackie van Beek is a New Zealand film and television director, writer and actress.
Warrick 'Waka' Attewell is a New Zealand cinematographer who over a long career has worked on many notable film and television productions. He joined John O'Shea's Pacific Films early in his career where he worked on Tangata Whenua - the People of the Land (1974), directed by Barry Barclay, and written and presented by Michael King. Independently and through his production company Valhalla Films, Attewell has filmed and directed short films, features, documentary, music video's and commercials. Developing future film makers has been part of Attewell's career, teaching cinematography at various film schools in New Zealand. Attewell has also worked with many well known New Zealand personalities and entertainers including briefly with Billy T James on a commercial. Attewell was director of photography on the documentary about Billy T James called Billy T: Te Movie (2011). Most recently Attewell was cinematographer and concept director on the Undertow (2019) television series screened on Māori Television in New Zealand.
Vincent Burke was a New Zealand television and film producer. Burke was the founder of Top Shelf Productions which was established in 1988. With a career spanning thirty years, Burke was noted for his documentary work and television productions which addressed social issues and everyday life.