Briar Grace-Smith is of Ngā Puhi descent and a writer of short fiction, stage plays and feature films. Her plays include Ngā Pou Wāhine, Purapurawhetū and When Sun and Moon Collide. She is an Arts Foundation Laureate and was recently made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to film, television and theatre. She has worked as a Development Executive for the New Zealand Film Commission and taught ‘Writing for Theatre’ at IIML (2015).
Her television credits include Fishskin Suit, Being Eve, Kaitangata Twitch and the Australian children’s television series, Grace Beside Me (2017). She was a director and co-writer of the short film, Nine of Hearts, and wrote and directed Charm for the feature project Waru (2017). She collaborated with Toi Whakaari, directing Krystal, a short film by Josephine Stewart-Te Whiu.
Briar is a Sundance alumni and the writer of the feature films The Strength of Water and Fresh Meat. She is a recipient of The 2019 Merata Mita Fellowship, alongside Ainsley Gardiner.
She was the writer and Co-Director (with Ainsley Gardiner) of the feature film Cousins to be released in 2021. This was adapted from the novel written by Patricia Grace.
