fiction.wikisort.org - Director

Vela Manusaute is a Niuean writer and director. He is the creator and writer of New Zealand's first bilingual English-Tongan television series, Brutal Lives - Mo'ui Faingata'a.[1]

Vela Manusaute
Born	Niue
Occupation	Writer, Director

Background

Vela is part-Niuean and part-Samoan; he was born in Niue and lived in his village Mutalau before his family moved to New Zealand in 1979.[2] He graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama Scholl in 1995 with a Diploma in Acting, and was their first Niuean to graduate.[3][4] In 2002 he founded the theatre and music group Kila Kokonut Krew.[4]

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	The Tattooist	Actor - Taxi Driver 2	Television
2010	Matariki	Actor - Russ	Television
2013	The Factory	Executive producer, actor - Mason	Web series
2018	The Messiah	Director	Short film
2020	Educators	Actor - Vela	Television
2020	Brutal Lives - Mo'ui Faingata'a	Director	Television

Awards

In 1997 he won the Best Male Comedy award at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards as one half of comedy duo The Brownies.[5]

With Anapela Polataivao he received the New Generation Award for theatre at the 2014 Arts Foundation Awards.[6]

In 2020 he won the Best Screenplay and Best Art Directions awards for his short film The Messiah at the Pacific Rims Film Festival 2020.[1]

References

External links

• Vela Manusaute at IMDb
• Vela Manusaute in libraries (WorldCat catalog)

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