Quick Facts
Biography
Ainsley Amohaere Gardiner MNZM is a film producer from New Zealand. She is of Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Ngāti Pikiao and Ngāti Awa descent.
Early life
Gardiner was born in Palmerston North and grew up in the Wellington suburb of Wadestown. Her mother is former MP Pauline Gardiner, and her father a civil servant and politician, Wira Gardiner. When she was about 12 years old the family moved to Whakatane.
Career
In 1995, Gardiner completed the Avalon Film and TV production course, and went on to work with producer Larry Parr at Kahukura Productions. She began producing short films, and also co-produced a 26-part series Lovebites.
In 2003, she produced her first feature film, Kombi Nation, and co-produced Two Cars, One Night with Catherine Fitzgerald. The film, directed by Taika Waititi, became the first New Zealand short to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Short Film.
In 2004, Gardiner and actor/producer Cliff Curtis formed a film production company focused on indigenous stories, called Whenua Films. The company received start-up funding from the New Zealand Film Commission. Gardiner worked with Curtis and Waititi to produce Tama Tū, Eagle vs Shark and the highly successful Boy, which set a new record for the highest grossing New Zealand film.
In 2007, Gardiner began co-presenting Iti Pounamu, a Maori Television series showcasing New Zealand short films. In 2009 Gardiner wrote and directed Mokopuna, a short film about a part-Māori girl who struggles to embrace her roots; the film won the best short film award at the Canadian indigenous film festival Dreamspeakers.
In 2017, Gardiner joined a team of women directors and writers to create the feature film Waru, which focuses on child abuse in New Zealand.
Honours and awards
In 2010, Gardiner and Curtis shared the SPADA New Zealand Screen Industry Awards title of Independent Producer of the Year.
In the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours, Gardiner was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to film and television.
Screenography[5][6]
| Film | Year | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Hole | 1998 | Producer | |
| Ouch | 1999 | Producer | |
| Kombi Nation | 2003 | Producer | Nominated for Best Film, 2003 New Zealand Film Awards |
| Ebony Society | 2003 | Co-producer (with Chelsea Winstanley) | Winner, Best Short Film, 2011 Aotearoa Film and Television Awards |
| Two Cars, One Night | 2004 | Co-producer (with Catherine Fitzgerald) | Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film, 2005 Best Short Film – Panorama Section, 2004 Berlin Film Festival Winner, Best Drama, 2004 Aspen Film Festival Prize of the Cinema Jury, 2004 Oberhausen Film Festival Jury Prize, 2004 Newport Film Festival Best Short Film, 2004 Hamburg Short Film Festival Best Short Film, 2004 Seattle Film Festival Best Live Action Short Film, 2004 Melbourne International Film Festival Audience Award, 2004 National Geographic's All Roads Festival Grand Jury Prize for Best International Short Film, 2004 AFI Los Angeles Film Festival Nominated for Best Short Film, 2003 New Zealand Film Awards |
| Tama Tū | 2004 | Producer | Coopers Award for Best Film, 2006 Flickerfest (Australia) Special Jury Prize, Honourable Mention - Panorama Section, 2005 Berlin Film Festival (Germany) Honourable Mention in Short Film Making, 2005 Sundance Film Festival (United States) Best Fiction Short Film, 2005 Melbourne International Film Festival (Australia) First Prize - Short Film Competition, 2005 Stockholm International Film Festival (Sweden) Honourable Jury Mention, 2005 St Tropez Film Festival (France) Best Live Action Short, 2005 Palm Springs International Short Film Festival (United States) Linda Mabalot New Director's/New Visions Award, 2005 VC LA Asian Pacific Film Festival (United States) Special Jury Prize, 2005 Aspen Shortsfest (United States) Grand Jury Prize for Best Short, 2005 Indianapolis International Film Festival (United States) |
| Hawaikii | 2006 | Executive producer | |
| The Speaker | 2006 | Executive producer | |
| Eagle vs Shark | 2007 | Co-producer (with Cliff Curtis) | Nominated for Best Picture - Budget over $1 Million, 2008 Qantas Film and Television Awards |
| Taua - War Party | 2007 | Executive producer | |
| Shadow over the Sun | 2007 | Executive producer | |
| Mokopuna | 2008 | Writer, director and executive producer | Winner, Best Short Film, Dreamspeakers (Canada) |
| Boy | 2010 | Co-producer (with Emanuel Michael and Cliff Curtis) | Winner, Best Feature Film, 2010 Qantas Film and Television Awards Nominated for Best Children's Feature Film, 2010 Asia Pacific Screen Awards |
| The Pā Boys | 2014 | Producer | |
| Fantail | 2014 | Executive producer | |
| Waru | 2017 | Writer and director (with Briar Grace-Smith, Katie Wolfe, Chelsea Winstanley, Renae Maihi, Paula W. Jones, Casey Kaa, Awanui Simich-Pene and Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu) |
