Riwia Brown
Encyclopedia
Riwia Brown is a playwright and the award winning screenwriter of the cult classic movie Once Were Warriors
(1994) from New Zealand
. The Once Were Warriors screenplay, adapted from the book of the same name by Alan Duff
, gained Brown the Best Screenplay award at the 1994 New Zealand Film and TV Awards. Brown has written for theatre, television and films. Brown is from an creative family. Her brother Apirana Taylor
is a poet, story-teller and musician. Her other siblings Rangimoana Taylor
and Hania Stewart are also theatre practitioners.
and later adapted for television and published in He Reo Hou, a collection of Maori plays. Her play Nga Wahine (The Women) (1997) was adapted from the stage to television and featured Nancy Brunning
in the lead role. In television, she wrote for the supernatural series Mataku and Taonga:Treasures of Our Past. She was a co-writer of the American film The Legend of Johnny Lingo (2003).
Once Were Warriors (film)
Once Were Warriors is a 1994 film based on New Zealand author Alan Duff's bestselling 1990 first novel. The film tells the story of an urban Māori family, the Hekes, and their problems with poverty, alcoholism and domestic violence, mostly brought on by family patriarch Jake...
(1994) from New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The Once Were Warriors screenplay, adapted from the book of the same name by Alan Duff
Alan Duff
Alan Duff is a New Zealand novelist and newspaper columnist, most well known as the author of Once Were Warriors.- Biography :...
, gained Brown the Best Screenplay award at the 1994 New Zealand Film and TV Awards. Brown has written for theatre, television and films. Brown is from an creative family. Her brother Apirana Taylor
Apirana Taylor
Apirana Taylor is a New Zealand poet, novelist, performer, story-teller, musician and painter.-Biography:Born in Wellington, Apirana Taylor is of Pākehā and Māori descent with affiliations to Ngāti Porou, Te Whānau-ā-Apanui and Ngāti Ruanui. He was a prominent member of the Māori theatre...
is a poet, story-teller and musician. Her other siblings Rangimoana Taylor
Rangimoana Taylor
Rangimoana Taylor is a Māori actor, theatre director and storyteller from New Zealand with more than 35 years in the industry. He has performed nationally and internationally including appearances on BBC...
and Hania Stewart are also theatre practitioners.
Playwright
Brown has written a number of plays since she began working in theatre during the 1980s. Her first play was Roimata (1988) which debuted in WellingtonWellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and later adapted for television and published in He Reo Hou, a collection of Maori plays. Her play Nga Wahine (The Women) (1997) was adapted from the stage to television and featured Nancy Brunning
Nancy Brunning
Nancy Brunning is an actress and director who has won awards in film and television and has made a major contribution to the growth of Māori in the arts. Her accolades include Best Actress awards on stage and screen. She won Best Actress at the NZ Film Awards for her lead role in the movie What...
in the lead role. In television, she wrote for the supernatural series Mataku and Taonga:Treasures of Our Past. She was a co-writer of the American film The Legend of Johnny Lingo (2003).