MĪRIA GEORGE
Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa, Tumutevarovaro, Enuamanu
Mīria is an award-winning poet, playwright, film director, producer, and the co-Director of Tawata Productions. Dedicated to elevating Indigenous voices through powerful narratives, she has shaped the landscape of contemporary performance across Aotearoa and globally. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Film and Theatre from Victoria University of Wellington, as well as a Master’s in Scriptwriting from the International Institute of Modern Letters. Her distinct creative voice has earned her several prestigious fellowships, including the Bruce Mason Playwriting Prize, the Fulbright-Creative New Zealand Pacific Writer in Residence at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, and the International Indigenous Screenwriters’ Residency at Canada’s Banff Arts Centre.
Her storytelling journey began on the stage with her first play, the award-winning Oho Ake, which premiered in Wellington through Tawata Productions. She subsequently made her international playwriting debut, expanding her celebrated stage repertoire to include works such as and what remains, Urban Hymns, Sunset Road, and The Vultures. Moving her literary practice into print, Mīria is also a published poet who released her debut collection, The Wet Season, through Wai-te-ata Press.
Mīria later made film history as a writer and director for the landmark portmanteau feature film VAI. Premiering at the Berlin International Film Festival, VAI was the first feature film written, directed, and produced entirely by Pacific women, going on to screen globally at SXSW, ImagineNATIVE, Sydney Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival. Her filmmaking success continued with her award-winning short film fire in the water, fire in the sky, which received Special Recognition for Cinematography at the New Zealand International Film Festival and made its European premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Her subsequent short film, Open Looks, was filmed in Ōtaki and premiered locally at the Māoriland Film Festival before screening across Aotearoa, Australia, and North America. Dedicated to community representation, she also created and directed Big Hair, Don’t Care, a web-series featuring vital conversations with women of Indigenous and POC heritage who are artists.
Beyond her personal creative practice, Mīria is a driving force and leader in the arts sector. Alongside Hone Kouka, she co-founded Tawata Productions as an artist-led creative platform specialising in new performance experiences by artists of tāngata whenua and tāngata moana heritage.
Mīria and Hone also co-founded the Kia Mau Festival, a premier contemporary arts platform for Māori, Pacific, and international Indigenous artists, where she serves as Executive Director. Mīria is part of the Leadership Team for Pasifika Festivals Aotearoa Inc as well as the recipient of the 2027-2029 Aotearoa New Zealand Fellowship from the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA).
