Esther Cahill-Chiaroni is the Film Development Lead at New Zealand Film Commission. Over the past 15 years, she has been instrumental in supporting the filmmakers and screenwriters of Aotearoa. Executive Director of Script to Screen for eight years from 2011, she co-created and directed Big Screen Symposium and created a number of high impact filmmaker development programmes, including Story Camp Aotearoa – which she led until 2024. In 2019 Esther was the director of Raupapa Whakaari Series Drama Lab for NZ Film Commission and NZ On Air, and programmed the Power of Inclusion Summit for NZ Film Commission and Walt Disney Studios. Esther co-directed Te Taumata Toi A-Iwi Creative Leadership Programme with poet Anahera Gildea (2021-2023), and founded and helmed Rupture: a development programme for series writers funded by NZ On Air. Esther is an alumnus of the Art Venture programme for creative entrepreneurs, and has a first-class Honours and Masters Degree in Screen Production from the University of Auckland. She lives in Tāmaki Makaurau with her partner and 3 children.
