Heperi Mita

Filmmaker and Funding Advisor, NZ on Air

Aotearoa, New Zealand

Heperi Mita is a Māori filmmaker and funding advisor for NZ on Air, an independent government funding agency delivering quality and diverse public media throughout New Zealand. Heperi works to affect change from within the system, advocating for representation and equity in the telling of Māori and Polynesian stories. He focuses on the representation and portrayal of Indigenous identity and intellectual property ownership. Born to a family of filmmakers, Heperi saw firsthand the lack of ownership and autonomy given to Indigenous creatives. This experience drives his passion for challenging colonial dominance and for promoting the proliferation of Indigenous stories through cinema in order to promote awareness and understanding of minority perspectives.