We’re delighted to congratulate Fiona Samuel MNZM, announced as the 2025 Katherine Mansfield Menton Fellow!
An award-winning writer, director, and 2012 Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Laureate, herwork has shaped the way women’s stories are told on stage and screen. Her film Pike River has just been released in NZ cinemas, going straight to the top of the box office in it's opening weekend.
From her groundbreaking early TV series The Marching Girls (1987) to acclaimed works including Bliss - The Beginning of Katherine Mansfield (2011), Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story (2014), and most recently, Pike River (2025), Fiona’s ability to tell stories with empathy, intelligence and wit make her a perfect choice for this iconic residency.
As she prepares to live and write at Menton’s historic Villa Isola Bella – once a workplace for Katherine Mansfield herself – Fiona says: “I am excited for this opportunity for creative voyaging, and honoured to walk in the footsteps of the brilliant writers who have worked at the Villa Isola Bella over the last hundred years.”
You're amazing Fiona - congratulations!