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Taika Waititi
Te-Whānau-a-Apanui
2006 New Generation artist
Filmmaker, Performer, Comedian, Visual Artist
Born in 1975, Taika Waititi also goes under the surname Cohen. He comes from the Raukokore region of the East Coast and has been involved in the arts for several years, as a visual artist, actor, writer and director.
As a performer and comedian, Taika has been a driving force iin some of New Zealand’s most innovative and successful productions. With a strong background in comedy writing and performing (with fellow comedian Jemaine Clement), Taika has won New Zealand’s top comedy awards, the Billy T Award and the Spirit of the Fringe Award in Edinburgh. Taika regularly does standup gigs around the country and in 2004 launched his solo production, Taika’s Incredible Show which he says “wasn’t that incredible but had a cool poster which I drew myself”. Taika has been critically acclaimed for his dramatic abilities being nominated for Best Actor at the 2000 Nokia Film Awards for his role in the Sarkies Brothers’ film Scarfies.
Taika directed two episodes of Flight of the Conchords a twelve-part comedy series, created by and starring his friends Jermaine Clement and Brett McKenzie, for the American cable challen HBO.
Taika’s short film, Two Cars, One Night, was nominated for an Academy Award in 2005. His next short, Tama Tu, about a group of Māori soldiers in Italy during World War II, won a string of international awards, and became eligible for Oscar nomination. Taika's most recent production and first feature, Eagle vs. Shark, was released in 2007 with a video release early in 2008. Taika won best screenwriter for the film at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. On the eve of the film's debut screening at the Sundance Film Festival and was named as one of 10 directors “to watch” by Variety magazine. Taika directed two episodes of the twelve part half-hour comedy show featuring New Zealanders the Flight of the Conchords for American cable channel HBO.
Taika spent two years in Berlin working and exhibiting in the Schliemann 40 House and spent several years experimenting with photography and painting. He illustrated Jo Randerson’s book of short stories The Keys to Hell and collaborated with the architectural firm Wraight & Associates on a proposal for Wellington City Council’s Wellington Gateway project.
Taika's new feature length film, Volcano, will be an exploration of some of the characters and ideas introduced in his Oscar-nominated debut short Two Cars, One Night and will be shot in the Bay of Plenty. |
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