Waititi tohu for masterclass performance

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Kiwi expatriate network Kea will this week present film director Taika Waititi a World Class New Zealand Award.

This year’s awards, which celebrate New Zealanders making an impact on the world stage, will be held overseas for the first time on Wednesday.

The event will also raise funds for AUT’s Internz programme which provides scholarships for New Zealand students to complete internships in the United States.

Kea global director Ngapera Riley says as well as telling stories like Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople which shine a positive light on Maori culture in a way that doesn’t gloss over real issues or get weighed down by them, Waititi has also achieved international success helming the latest Marvel blockbuster Thor: Ragnarock.

Nancy Gilbert, the wife of former US ambassador to New Zealand Mark Gilbert, will get an award as founder of the Wahine Toa project, which celebrates the stories of Maori women.

There’s also an AUT Internz Ambassador award to AUT for Toiroa Williams, who as an intern with the Sundance Institute in Park City, Utah, introduced the Maori holistic health and wellness philosophy Te Whare Tapa Wha to Sundance’s programme for Native American and indigenous filmmakers.

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