Tearepa Kahi (born 16 March 1978), also known as Te Arepa Kahi, is a New Zealand film director and former actor of

Ngāti Paoa Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

and

Waikato Tainui Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in the Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zeal ...

descent. Kahi is best known for the 2013 drama '' Mt. Zion'' starring

Stan Walker Stan Walker (born 23 October 1990) is an Australian New Zealand singer, actor, and television personality. In 2009, Walker was the winner of the seventh season of ''Australian Idol''. He subsequently signed a recording contract with Sony Mus ...

, and the

Pātea Māori Club Pātea Māori Club is a New Zealand cultural group and performance act formed in the South Taranaki District, South Taranaki town of Patea, Pātea in 1967 as the Pātea Methodist Māori Club. In 1983, the group began to release Māori language, ...

documentary '' Poi E: The Story of a Song'' (2016).

Biography

Kahi grew up in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

in the suburb of

Papanui Papanui is a major suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated five kilometres to the northwest of the Christchurch Central City, city centre. Papanui has a population of 3,645 consisting predominantly of Pākehā (New Zeala ...

, and is of

and

descent. Kahi's father was a musician who toured with

Billy TK Wiremu Te Kahika, better known as Billy Te Kahika or Billy TK Senior (born 1943), is a New Zealand Māori musician, guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. Early work As a child, Billy TK lived in Bunnythorpe, a small town near Palmerston North ...

. As a teenager, he spent two years as a part of a theatre troupe run by actor

Jim Moriarty James Moriarty (born 20 June 1953) is a New Zealand actor and theatre director, who began acting professionally in 1967. He came to national attention and is probably best known for his role as the school teacher Riki Winiata in the 1970s soap ...

. He attended

Burnside High School Burnside High School () is a state co-educational secondary school located in the suburb of Burnside in Christchurch, New Zealand. With a roll of students, it is the largest school in New Zealand outside Auckland, and is among the country's fou ...

. Moving to his grandmother's house in

Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. The town is located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. The hills of Puke ...

, Kahi studied history and Māori at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

. From 1999 to 2002, Kahi acted in minor roles on television shows including ''

Shortland Street ''Shortland Street'' is a New Zealand Prime time, prime-time soap opera centring on the fictitious Shortland Street Hospital. The show was first broadcast on TVNZ 2 on 25 May 1992 and is New Zealand's longest-running drama and soap opera, be ...

'', ''Mataku'' and ''Aroha – Irikura'', and in the

Don Selwyn Don Charles Selwyn (22 November 1935 – 13 April 2007) was a Māori actor and filmmaker from New Zealand. He was a founding member of the New Zealand Māori Theatre Trust and directed the 2002 film '' Te tangata whai rawa o Weneti (The Maori ...

film '' The Maori Merchant of Venice'' (2002). Kahi's co-wrote the short film ''The Speaker'' with rapper

Savage Savage may refer to: * Savage (pejorative term), a derogatory term to describe a member of a people the speaker regards as primitive and uncivilized Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Bill Savage, in the 2000 AD ''Invasion!'' ...

, which won the award for best short film at the

Wairoa Māori Film Festival The Wairoa Māori Film Festival is New Zealand, New Zealand's premiere Māori people, Māori and indigenous film festival. The festival is held annually in the small coastal town of Nūhaka, Hawke's Bay, during the Matariki celebration period. ...

. Kahi's debut wide release feature film '' Mt. Zion'' was one of the most successful New Zealand films of 2013. Kahi debuted as a television director in 2016, with the release of the

Whakaata Māori Whakaata Māori is a New Zealand television channel that broadcasts programmes that make a significant contribution to the revitalisation of the Māori language and culture. Funded by the New Zealand Government, it commenced broadcasting as M� ...

historical drama series ''Kairākau'' (2016). In 2016, Kahi released his second feature film, '' Poi E: The Story of a Song'', a film documenting the story of the

Dalvanius Prime Maui Dalvanius Prime (16 January 1948 – 3 October 2002) was a New Zealand entertainer and songwriter. His career spanned 30 years. He mentored many of New Zealand's Māori performers, and was a vocal and forthright supporter of Māori culture. ...

and the creation of the 1984 hit Māori language single "

Poi E "Poi E" is a song by New Zealand group Pātea Māori Club off the album of the same name. Released in 1983, the song was sung entirely in the Māori language and featured a blend of Māori cultural practices in the song and accompanying music ...

". This was followed by a documentary of New Zealand reggae band

Herbs Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnish (food), garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typi ...

in 2019. In 2022, Kahi released '' Muru'', a dramatisation of the

2007 New Zealand police raids The 2007 New Zealand police raids were a series of armed police raids conducted on 15 and 16 October 2007, in response to alleged paramilitary training camps in the Urewera mountain range near the town of Ruatoki. About 300 police, including m ...

. Kahi is a member of the board of the

New Zealand International Film Festival The New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) () is a film festival held annually across New Zealand. The festival is operated by the New Zealand Film Festival Trust. It programmes international and New Zealand films. History The festiva ...

Personal life

Kahi acted opposite his wife Reikura Morgan in the film '' The Maori Merchant of Venice'' (2002).

Filmography

Films

Television

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kahi, Tearepa English-language film directors Living people New Zealand film directors New Zealand film producers New Zealand screenwriters New Zealand television writers Ngāti Pāoa people People educated at Burnside High School Mass media people from Christchurch University of Auckland alumni Waikato Tainui people Māori-language film directors 1994 births New Zealand male screenwriters