Congratulations to Kay Ellmers on her new role as joint Head of Te Puna Kairangi the Premium Productions For International Audiences Fund, along with Polly Fryer.
Kay (Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Raukawa) currently Managing Director of Tūmanako Productions, is an award-winning filmmaker and past recipient of the WIFT Mana Wāhine award, and Te Taura Whiri i te reo Māori Award for broadcasting Ngā Tohu Reo Māori - Te Ao Pāpāho. She has been a Consultant Commissioner Documentary and Factual programmes for Māori Television, and mentored filmmakers through WIFT's mentorship programme.
Polly Fryer has recently returned to New Zealand from a two-year stint in Los Angeles as Production and Post Executive at Netflix. Originally from the UK, Polly worked on various productions before moving to New Zealand in 2006. She produced Emmy nominated docu-drama The Golden Hour whilst Head of Production at Desert Road and in 2017-18 produced David Farrier's Netflix Original series Dark Tourist.
Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC), Irirangi Te Motu New Zealand On Air (NZ On Air) and Te Māngai Pāho (TMP) announced the appointment, with CEOs Annabelle Sheehan, Cameron Harland and Larry Parr saying the decision to appoint Joint Heads was an easy one as both women share a passion and advocacy for New Zealand film.
The $50 million Fund supports Aotearoa New Zealand production of high-quality productions that tell New Zealand stories for global audiences.