Hamish Bennett | |
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 Hamish Bennett in 2019 | |
| Born | 1978 (age 45–46) New Zealand |
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Hamish Bennett is a New Zealand filmmaker born in 1978. [1] He is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed film Bellbird (2019). His second film Uproar was released in 2023.
Bennett is of Māori descent, of the Ngāti Whakaue, Patuharakeke and Kati Waewae peoples. He grew up in a small rural town in Northland. [2]
He earned a BA at Massey University in 1998, majoring in English and Media Studies at the Manawatū, and played rugby for Manawatū in 1998 and 1999. His elder brother, Simon, is a psychology lecturer at the university. [3] As of 2019 [update] , Hamish was working full-time as a school teacher. [2]
Bennett's first short film, The Dump (2012), [4] won Best Short Script at the NZ Writers Guild Awards in 2012. [2]
Hi second short film, Ross & Beth (2014), [4] won many awards, including the Jury and Audience prizes at the 2014 New Zealand International Film Festival. [2]
His first feature film, Bellbird , [4] had its world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival in 2019, won an audience award at the Melbourne International Film Festival and screened in the New Zealand International Film Festival as well as other international film festivals. It screened at Palmerston North on 20 October 2019, as a preview before its nationwide release on 7 November, screening at 70 cinemas around the country. [3] Bellbird won the Jury Grand Prix at the 2021 Antipodean Film Festival in Saint Tropez, France. [5]
He co-directed his second film Uproar with Paul Middleditch. Uproar was released in October 2023, [6] to glowing reviews. [7]
Massey University is a university based in New Zealand, with significant campuses in Auckland, Palmerston North, and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 27,533 students, 18,358 of whom study either partly or fully by distance. Research is undertaken on all three campuses and people from over 130 countries study at the university. Data from the 2017 annual report shows that 42% of the domestic students are based in Auckland, 38% in Palmerston North and 20% in Wellington.
Palmerston North is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manawatu River, 35 km (22 mi) from the river's mouth, and 12 km (7 mi) from the end of the Manawatū Gorge, about 140 km (87 mi) north of the capital, Wellington. Palmerston North is the country's eighth-largest urban area, with an urban population of 82,500. The estimated population of Palmerston North city is 91,800.
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Bellbird is a 2019 New Zealand drama comedy film written and directed by Hamish Bennett, and starring Marshall Napier, Rachel House and Annie Whittle. The film is a story about loss, love and hope in a small rural community where the people are the heroes. It focuses on a father who is a farmer and his adult son, and how they face the bereavement of a wife and a mother respectively. The film also explores men's mental health and importance of community in rural life. It is also a tribute to Bennett's childhood growing up in rural New Zealand. Bellbird is Bennett's feature debut.