Miki Magasiva
Director, Writer
Samoan-born Miki Magasiva — brother of actors Robbie and Pua Magasiva — has directed everything from movies to commercials for major brands. He directed his first short film in 2005, Rites of Courage, followed by Uso. Alongside Mario Gaoa, Magasiva co-founded company The Brown Factory, which champions Pasifika stories. His work on miniseries The Panthers won a Best Director award at the 2022 NZ TV Awards. Magasiva has contributed to two indigenous anthologies, horror web series Teine Sā and movie We Are Still Here. He made his feature directorial debut with Tinā (2024), which follows a Samoan teacher at a private school.
I think there is something intrinsic about islanders that is able to marry drama, the seriousness, the harshness that we go through in life and make it more funny. See it through kind of a funny lens, or a more upbeat lens. I think that's probably just come through our storytelling, and we want our filmmaking to come through that as well. Miki Magasiva on producing Pasifika stories through company The Brown Factory, The NZ Herald, 11 December 2021
