Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne

Last updated

Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne
Born (1999-10-21) 21 October 1999 (age 24)
East Coast, New Zealand
Occupations
  • Actress
  • director
  • playwright
Years active2016–present

Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne (born 21 October 1999) is a New Zealand actress, director, and playwright. She made her acting debut in Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), and came to prominence for her role in The Convert (2023), for which she was named a Rising Star at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Contents

Life and career

Ngatai-Melbourne was raised in Te Araroa, where she attended Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Kawakawa mai Tawhiti, a Māori-language immersion school. [1] [2] She is affiliated with Ngāti Porou and Tūhoe iwi, and is fluent in Te Reo Māori. [3] As a teenager, she starred in a minor role in Taika Waititi's 2016 film Hunt for the Wilderpeople , following a casting call across schools in the East Cape region. [4] Since 2016, she has also starred in the period drama series Kairākau, produced by Whakaata Māori. In 2020, Ngatai-Melbourne graduated from Toi Whakaari, the national drama school of New Zealand, with a BA in Acting. [3] Following her graduation, she found starring roles as younger versions of main characters in both Cousins (2021) and Whina (2022). Ngatai-Melbourne made her directorial debut with the short film E Rangi Rā, which premiered at the 2022 Māoriland Film Festival. [5] In 2023, she appeared in her most prominent role to date, as the daughter of a prominent rangatira in The Convert . The film premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, where she was named a Rising Star. [6] A play written by Ngatai-Melbourne, Out of the Ashes, premiered at the Kōanga Festival in 2023. [7]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2016 Hunt for the Wilderpeople Kahu
2021 Cousins Makareta
2022E Rangi RāDirector; short film
We Are Still Here Te MaunikoAnthology film
Whina Whina Cooper
2023 The Convert Rangimai

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2016-presentKairākauRuamahuMain role
2022 Mystic MaiaSeason 3

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand literature</span> Literature of the people of New Zealand

New Zealand literature is literature, both oral and written, produced by the people of New Zealand. It often deals with New Zealand themes, people or places, is written predominantly in New Zealand English, and features Māori culture and the use of the Māori language. Before the arrival and settlement of Europeans in New Zealand in the 19th century, Māori culture had a strong oral tradition. Early European settlers wrote about their experiences travelling and exploring New Zealand. The concept of a "New Zealand literature", as distinct from English literature, did not originate until the 20th century, when authors began exploring themes of landscape, isolation, and the emerging New Zealand national identity. Māori writers became more prominent in the latter half of the 20th century, and Māori language and culture have become an increasingly important part of New Zealand literature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ōtaki, New Zealand</span> Settlement in Wellington Region, New Zealand

Ōtaki is a town in the Kāpiti Coast District of the North Island of New Zealand, situated half way between the capital city Wellington, 70 km (43 mi) to the southwest, and Palmerston North, 70 km (43 mi) to the northeast.

Ramon Te Wake is a New Zealand trans woman documentarian, singer-songwriter and television presenter. Her first presenting job was for Māori Television, where she was one of three people fronting Takatāpui, which is Maori Television's first ever LGBT show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rena Owen</span> New Zealand actress

Maria Makarena Owen, known professionally as Rena Owen, is a New Zealand actress in theatre, television and film. Owen is best known for her leading role as Beth Heke in Lee Tamahori's Once Were Warriors and as Taun We in George Lucas's Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones.

Toa Fraser is a New Zealand born playwright and film director, of Fijian heritage. His first feature film, No. 2, starring Ruby Dee won the Audience Award at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival. His second, Dean Spanley, starring Sam Neill, Jeremy Northam and Peter O'Toole, premiered in September 2008. His third film Giselle was selected to be screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. His fourth, The Dead Lands, a Maori action-adventure film, was released in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taika Waititi</span> New Zealand filmmaker, actor and comedian (born 1975)

Taika David Cohen, known professionally as Taika Waititi, is a New Zealand filmmaker, actor and comedian. He is known for directing quirky comedy films and has expanded his career as a voice actor and producer on numerous projects. He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award and a Grammy Award, as well as two nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022.

Vaosa ole Tagaloa Makerita Urale is a documentary director and playwright, and a leading figure in contemporary Polynesian theatre in New Zealand. She has produced landmark productions in the performing arts. She is the writer of the play Frangipani Perfume, the first Pacific play written by a woman for an all-female cast. Working in different art mediums, Urale also works in film and television. She is the director of the political documentary Children of the Revolution that won the Qantas Award (2008) for Best Māori Programme.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Briar Grace-Smith</span> New Zealand Māori scriptwriter

Briar Grace-Smith is a screenwriter, director, actor, and short story writer from New Zealand. She has worked as an actor and writer with the Maori theatre cooperative Te Ohu Whakaari and Maori theatre company He Ara Hou. Early plays Don't Call Me Bro and Flat Out Brown, were first performed at the Taki Rua Theatre in Wellington in 1996. Waitapu, a play written by Grace-Smith, was devised by He Ara Hou and performed by the group on the Native Earth Performing Arts tour in Canada in 1996.

Katie Wolfe is an actor, film and stage director from New Zealand. She appeared in television series including Marlin Bay (1990s), Shortland Street, and Mercy Peak. Her screen directing work has won awards, including Redemption at the ImagineNative Film + Media Arts Festival and This Is Her at the Prague International Short Film Festival. Wolfe wrote and directed a stage play, The Haka Party Incident that was presented in 2023 in New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel House (actress)</span> New Zealand actress and director

Rachel Jessica Te Ao Maarama House is a New Zealand actress and director. She has received numerous accolades including an Arts Laureate, NZ Order of Merit, 'Mana Wahine' from WIFT NZ and Te Waipuna a Rangi for her contributions as an actor and director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Dennison</span> New Zealand actor

Julian Dennison is a New Zealand actor. He debuted in the 2013 film Shopping, for which he won the English Film and Television Award for Best Supporting Actor. He is known for his roles as Ricky Baker in Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), the highest-grossing New Zealand film in history, as Russell "Firefist" Collins in Deadpool 2 (2018), and as Belsnickel in The Christmas Chronicles 2. In 2021, Dennison starred as Josh Valentine in Godzilla vs. Kong. and in 2023 he played the lead role in Uproar as Josh Waaka.

<i>Hunt for the Wilderpeople</i> 2016 New Zealand film by Taika Waititi

Hunt for the Wilderpeople is a 2016 New Zealand adventure comedy-drama film written and directed by Taika Waititi, whose screenplay was based on the book Wild Pork and Watercress by Barry Crump. Sam Neill and Julian Dennison play "Uncle" Hector and Ricky Baker; a father figure and foster son who become the targets of a manhunt after fleeing into the New Zealand bush. Carthew Neal, Leanne Saunders, Matt Noonan, and Waititi produced the film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rima Te Wiata</span> New Zealand singer, comedian and actress

Heather Rima Te Wiata is a British-born New Zealand singer, comedian and stage, film and television actress.

Renae Maihi is a New Zealand film director and screenwriter. She is best known for her work on the films Waru and We Are Still Here, both of which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017 and 2022 respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonia Snowden</span> New Zealand weaver

Sonia Armana Snowden is a New Zealand Māori tohunga raranga who tutored in arts and weaving at Te Wananga o Raukawa. She identifies with the Ngāpuhi iwi. Her works are held in the collection of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Māoriland Film Festival</span> Māori/international Indigenous filmmakers festival in New Zealand

The Māoriland Film Festival is a festival of film and creative endeavours that supports and hosts Māori and international Indigenous filmmakers and creatives. It is held annually in the Kāpiti Coast community of Ōtaki, in the North Island of New Zealand.

<i>Whina</i> (film) 2022 New Zealand film

Whina is a New Zealand biographical film about the life of Whina Cooper. Written by James Lucas, James Napier Robertson and Paula Whetu Jones, and directed by Robertson and Jones, the film stars Rena Owen, Miriama McDowell and Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne as Cooper in different stages of her life.

Amber Curreen is an actress and theatre producer based in Auckland, New Zealand. She played character Shannon Te Ngaru on Shortland Street. She is a producer with Auckland theatre companies Te Rēhia Theatre Company and Te Pou Theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Libby Hakaraia</span> New Zealand film producer and director

Elizabeth Anne Hakaraia is a New Zealand film producer and director.

<i>The Convert</i> 2023 film Lee Tamahori

The Convert is a 2023 film directed by Lee Tamahori, and starring Guy Pearce and Te Kohe Tuhaka. The script is by Shane Danielsen and Tamahori, from a story by Michael Bennett, and produced by Jump Film & Television and Brouhaha Entertainment

References

  1. Tailor, Leena (17 March 2024). "Māori actress Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne's career triumph". Now To Love. Archived from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  2. "Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne". Gail Cowan Management. Archived from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne". NZ On Screen. Archived from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  4. Ritman, Alex (7 September 2023). "Toronto Rising Star Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne on Embodying Her Maori Ancestors in 'The Convert'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  5. "MFF2022 Programme by Māoriland Film Festival". 2 June 2022. Archived from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  6. Tang, Eda (2 September 2023). "Tioreore Ngatai-Melbourne's star is on the rise but her whānau keeps her grounded". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  7. "13 Māori and Pacific playwrights showcase new work at Kōanga Festival". NZ Herald. 15 August 2023. Archived from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.