Instructor

Photo of Renae Maihi

Renae Maihi
Writer * Director * Producer * Filmmaker


Renae Maihi (Ngāti Whakaue & Ngāpuhi Māori) is an award-winning writer & critically acclaimed director in theatre & film.

After completing a Drama degree in 2005 she went on to only a few years later write her debut play Nga Manurere , starring Keisha Castle-Hughes . NZ Herald Best of 2009 favored Nga Manurere as the “ surprise jewel of the year ” & proclaimed “ More Maihi Mahi please.” The short film Redemption which she co-wrote with Tim Balme & Katie Wolfe travelled to Berlin Film Festival, Sundance & won the Best Short Film at Toronto’s Imaginative Film Festival 2010 . Renae then went on to write & direct her NZFC funded short film Butterfly which garnered a best actress award for Newcomer Jahna Batt at the Wairoa Maori Film Festival. Her play PATUA won Renae the Adam NZ Playwrights award for Best Play by a Maori Playwright. In it debut season directed by Renae, critics called Patua a “NZ Classic” & the NBR noted that it should be “ Studied in every high school in NZ.”

As well as film Renae has written & storylined for television alongside some of the top writers in Aotearoa including Riwia Brown, Briar Grace Smith & Tim Balme on drama series since 2010. Renae’s short film Mannahatta shot entirely on location in New York City premiered in Toronto at ImagineNATIVE Film Festival & was selected for the NZIFF for the Ngā Whanaunga section. In 2017 Renae’s feature film Waru which she wrote & directed in collaboration with 8 other wahine filmmakers has its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival & the world premiered at the NZIFF where a critic named Waru the “Best NZ drama in years” highlighting Renae’s film as “the films best sequence.” The film won best screenplay at the NZ SWANZ awards in 2017, the Grand Jury Award for an Outstanding International Narrative Feature at the 34th Asia Pacific Film Festival in Los Angeles & Renae as well as the other filmmakers was awarded the NZ Film Commission Maori Screen Excellence Award whereby she received $50,000 to support her.  In 2017 she was selected by the DEGNZ for a female Director focused incubator initiative which covered the global film business. Furthermore, Renae, along with two other Directors was selected by the NZFC to attend the 2016 MIFF accelerator program in Melbourne which focuses on up-and-coming film talent & develops their understanding of the business aspects of the Global film Industry.  In 2017 - 2018 Renae has had 4 films travel globally on the international film festival circuit as a Writer, Director & Producer. Her debut feature film that she is writing & directing based on a significant Māori leader will be created with her film company Ms Mana Films.