ScreenTalk: Tainui Stephens

Tainui Stephens (Te Rarawa) is one of our foremost Maori broadcasters. He has worked as a reporter, writer, director, producer and executive producer.

Stephens was a stalwart of TVNZ’s Maori Programmes department in the 1980s and 90s, working on the regular series Koha, Waka Huia, Marae and Mai Time.

His credits include Maori Battalion March to Victory and The New Zealand Wars.

In this interview Tainui Stephens discusses:

• being raised by his Pakeha mother, and his own personal journey “into my Maoridom”

• beginning work at TVNZ Maori Programmes in 1984, and how much he enjoyed his work there

• how he loves all the programmes he has worked on over the years

• the good that Maori broadcasting can do

• the Maori Television Service, its success, and the important role it plays in New Zealand life.

Credits: Interview by Monika Ahuriri, camera and direction by Clare O’Leary. Editing by Leo Guerchmann.

NZ On Screen