Todd Karehana

Todd is an emerging director with a passion for making bold, innovative work for underserved communities. He graduated from The University of Auckland in 2016 with a first-class Masters in Drama Directing. While there, he was the writer and director of the short documentary The Kweenz of Kelston and short films The Spectacular Imagination of the Pohara Brothers and My Brother Mitchell, which screened at international film festivals. Karehana has worked in various roles at Kura Productions, Pango Productions and Piki Films. He was a storyliner, writer, and script editor on Maori Television's premium drama series Ahikaroa. He was also a storyliner and co-writer on children's animated series The Exceptional Squad for Hei Hei and provided writing support on the indigenous anthology feature film Nga Pouwhenua. He recently directed the short documentary Night Ride for Loading Docs and Young and on the Paepae for TVNZ. In 2021, he is developing scripted queer web series Nga Hau E Wha with the support of NZ On Air, and working as a freelance director.