• Film Auckland - About
• Biographies
• Current Media Releases

Michael Brook – Executive Manager

Michael’s career in the film and television industry has spanned over twenty years. The first half of his career was in the production and post-production fields, with a particular focus on animation and visual effects. This included stints at Vid-com, Images, Electric Pencil and being a partner in animation and vfx company Pencil Shavings.

Over the past ten years, Michael has organised film festivals, curated moving image related exhibitions and screening programmes and has been a guest lecturer at the University of Auckland. Before coming to Film Auckland he was Manager, Auckland Operations for the New Zealand Film Archive, an office which he established.

Michael is also an active moving image artist and is a founder of Unguarded Intersection, a collaborative group that specializes in exploring new and innovative ways of presenting moving image through large scale public installations.

Roimata MacGregor - Film Auckland Chair

Producer Roimata Macgregor has worked in the New Zealand film industry for over 30 years. In the mid-1970's Roi started work with the then-new production company, Silverscreen Productions (Wellington). For a brief sojourn in the 80's she worked as location, casting & production manager for a very successful German stills photographer in Europe. She returned to New Zealand and production managed a feature film Among The Cinders for John O'Shea and then returned to Silverscreen as a Producer. She moved to Auckland and set up the Silverscreen office here, raising several noteworthy Directors. Roi is currently freelance and has worked on several local productions as Producer and two offshore productions as Line Producer.

Peter Parnham - Deputy Chair

Until recently Peter Parnham was the Managing Director of Panavision NZ Ltd. Peter has now established his own consultancy, Paraphrase. He brings to the Film Auckland Board a wealth of business experience and a particular interest in the strategic development and expansion of the industry in a sustainable and managed way.

Garry Little - Secretary

Garry Little is the Managing Director and founder of Digipost, New Zealand's first Component Digital Film and Television Post Production Facility. His background in electronics engineering saw him work in sound, film, and video editing around the world, including TVI (London) and ABC Television (Sydney). On his return to New Zealand in 1977, Garry worked briefly as an editor for TV2, then as Senior Editor/Operations Manager of New Zealand’s first video post facility, Vid-com, until he left to establish Digipost in 1990.

David Rowell - Treasurer

David Rowell has worked in the Film Industry since 1985. His focus is Production Finance, and he has worked on many US, Canadian, New Zealand, Australian, and French productions for major US studios including Paramount, Disney, Columbia Tristar and 20th Century Fox. A graduate of Simon Fraser University (BBA, Finance and Economics) in Vancouver, David's principal expertise is in production accounting, cost analysis and estimating. David is also a Partner and Director of Studio West, a motion picture production facility in West Auckland.

Paul Charles Carran

Paul Carran has a wide range of experience at all levels of the industry. He is the founder and CEO of production service company, Film Factory and development and financing company Global Entertainment Fund Limited.

He has practiced as an entertainment lawyer, corporate and tax film financier and executive producer for New Zealand and international productions and currently operates Film Factory, a successful production services company operating in NZ and Fiji. Paul holds three law degrees and has worked in the film industry in London, Europe, New York and Los Angeles. He has been involved in over 50 feature film and television movies, series or programmes. He has provided services on the following US productions: Ready To Run, Zenon: The Zequel, Her Majesty, Atomic Twister, Global Ecochallenge, Blood Crime, Murder in Greenwich, Lucy, Raising Waylon, Deceit, Emmy nominated Ike-Countdown to D Day, Fatal Contact-Bird Flu in America, Mick Jagger pilot Knights of Prosperity.

He visited China and Korea in 2007 and is developing several projects, including co-production Asia/New Zealand movies.

Tim Coddington

Nukuhau Productions' Tim Coddington is one of New Zealand’s most experienced Producers and is well recognized internationally. In the 80’s, he started out as Assistant Director on a number of features and tv series, including Worzel Gummidge and No Way Out. He continued on to Production Manage films Vertical Limit, The Other Side of Heaven and Superfire. More recently his credits include the Chronicles of Narnia series; Lion, Witch & the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian and Co-Producer on box-office success Bridge to Terabithia. Tim is one of the founding members of Film Auckland and is committed to building and promoting the talents of our Auckland industry.

Patrick Cox

Producer Patrick Cox is an Independent Producer of TV commercials, short films and the occasional feature film. Over a career of 30 years he has been a Producer with The Partners Film Co, Colenso Advertising Wellington and Saatchi& Saatchi Auckland. He also Co Produced the animated feature film Footrot Flats a big box office success in NZ and Australia. He has a continuing interest in animation.

David Donaldson

David Donaldson is the General Manager of Deluxe Auckland, a motion picture film processing and printing laboratory, and, a member of the Deluxe group of companies. David started in the film industry back in 1980 at the then National Film Unit in Wellington as a printer, moving up to Auckland in 1983 when Colorfilm NZ was established. Colorfilm later became Atlab NZ, then Deluxe Auckland, where he was the assistant manager from the mid 80's. In 2003 he was appointed General Manager.

Atlab have provided services to a wealth of features, commercials and documentaries over the years consisting of the likes of The Piano, Hercules, Xena, Narnia, Worlds Fastest Indian and Sione's Wedding.

Graham Dunster

Graham grew up in London, and has had an extensive background in the media working for HTV (formerly Harlech Television) STV (Scottish Television) and TTT (Tyne Tees Television), all in London’s West End, and Gibson Group in New Zealand.

In 1989 he set-up Auckland Actors. The agency has been fortunate to be involved with most of the successful NZ films and television dramas since then, providing half the core cast for the first series of Shortland Street. Becoming an actors agent has given Graham the opportunity to work with innumerable talented individuals across the industry and to represent many actors and actresses, some of whom have been fortunate to go on to reap national and international acclaim. Amongst these are Lucy Lawless, Karl Urban, Erik Thomson, Antony Starr and Jodie Rimmer. Graham was privileged to be working with Keisha Castle-Hughes at the start of her career and experienced the Oscar madness surrounding her nomination.

Alex Lee

Alex Lee is an entertainment lawyer/filmmaker/creative entrepreneur/arts and cultural advocate. Previously, also an on-screen TV presenter in Hong Kong, Alex has produced and directed various documentary and dramatic films. Most recently, he produced an independent feature film, The Last Magic Show, which won awards in New Zealand and Los Angeles and has been picked up by Arkles Distribution. He also runs Tsunami Actors & Talent, an actors agency as well as Tamarillo Films Limited, his production company. Alex also co-founded the Documentary New Zealand Trust which runs DOCNZ Festival and Summit, the largest annual international documentary film festival and industry summit in the Southern Hemisphere, the Asia NZ Film Foundation and the Oryza Foundation for Asian Performing Arts. Alex taught Production to the postgraduate film and TV students at the University of Auckland. He also sits on the National Executive of the Screen Directors Guild of New Zealand. Alex is passionate about story telling as well as New Zealand's screen industry and its talent. Currently, he is developing new screen projects as well as cross over projects that embrace new and emerging media. Auckland is his city of choice.

Pete Rive

Pete Rive has worked in the Film and Television industry for twenty years across a range of industry roles from producer and director to post-production supervisor. He founded Auckland-based post-production facility, The Original Cut, in 1993. Prior to this, Pete freelanced and worked for TVNZ, South Pacific Pictures and Screentime Communicado. His credits include: New Zealand at War; Neil Finn music documentary Live at the Saint James and post production work on Anne Geddes TVCs destined for the US market. Pete has a BA in English and Politics at Auckland University, a MA(hons) in Political Studies and a Post-graduate Diploma in Broadcast Communications. He is currently a PhD candidate with Victoria University's Digital Design School, researching knowledge transfer and creative collaboration in the virtual world, Second Life. His company, LaunchSite, is a consultancy specialising in virtual worlds and is a reseller of virtual reality for the VR studio de pinxi based in Belgium. Pete's wife Sarah works with him at The Original Cut. They have two children, Sophia and Lucia.

Clayton Tikao

Clayton is a freelance Location Manager and Location Scout and has worked on a number of Feature Films, TV Drama's, TV Commercials and Stills Shoots and runs his own company, Filmscouts NZ. He has an extensive knowledge of locations in the Auckland region as well as the rest of New Zealand. Clayton has a business degree from Massey University and is actively involved in his Iwi/tribe (Ngai Tahu).

Melissa Lee - Advisory Member

Melissa Lee holds an MA Hons (First Class) and is an experienced journalist with over 14 years focused in the television arena. She is also a successful presenter, voice-over artist, director and producer and has written a feature film about Korean Comfort Women. Melissa’s production company, Asia Vision Ltd, has produced TV One's Asia Downunder series for the past 12 years. She is mother to 9 year old Ethan.

Tara Pradhan - Advisory Member

Tara is the Manager Economic Sectors in the Economic Development Group at Auckland City Council. Tara's role is to foster the growth of the creative industries, biotechnology, ICT and other key economic sectors for Auckland city, including managing the council's sponsorship of business and industry organisations and events. She undertakes strategic planning, research, policy development, business growth initiatives and project management. Before her current role, Tara established and managed the Events and Film Facilitation team at Auckland City Council and has been involved in the management of some of the city's largest events, events including the Millennium events, Volvo Ocean Race Auckland stopover and the America's Cup. Tara has been a board member of Film Auckland since its inception in 2003 and an advisory member from 2008. She chaired the Film Auckland Local Authorities and Industry Group from 2003 to 2005, the regional forum to co-ordinate local authority initiatives to ensure the growth of screen production in the Auckland region. Tara is an alumni member of Leadership New Zealand and a board member of Massive Theatre Company.

Frances Walsh - Advisory Member

Frances Walsh joined NZ Equity as the union’s industrial organiser in 2008. Before that Frances worked as a journalist on Metro magazine, where as well as writing features, she edited the books and arts pages. Her book on the history of the 'New Zealand housewife from 1890 to 1975' is to be published by Random House in 2010 – in time for Mother’s Day.

Jennifer Butcher - Advisory Member

Jennifer Butcher is a freelance 1st Assistant Director. She has worked in the New Zealand Film and Television industry since graduating from The University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1995. She has worked on television drama, television commercials, short films and feature films as well as documentaries, music clips and live broadcast events. As well as serving as an Advisory Board member to Film Auckland, Jennifer is the current chair of the Auckland Committee of the New Zealand Film & Video Technicians Guild and is a Guild National Executive Board Member.