Nancy Brunning
Nancy Brunning | |
---|---|
Born | 1971 New Zealander |
Education | Toi Whakaari |
Occupation(s) | Actor, director, writer |
Years active | 1992–2019 |
Nancy Brunning (1971 – 16 November 2019) was a New Zealand actress, director, and writer who won awards in film and television and made a major contribution to the growth of Māori in the arts.[1] She won the best actress award at the New Zealand Film Awards for her lead role in the film What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? (1999).[2][3] In 2000, she won the Best Actress in Drama award at the New Zealand Television Awards for her lead role in the television series Nga Tohu.
She was the acting coach for the Oscar-nominated short film Two Cars, One Night directed by Taika Waititi. According to friend and frequent collaborator Temuera Morrison, she "paved the way" for Māori actors in New Zealand.[4]
Biography
Brunning grew up in Taupō, and was of Māori descent, from the tribes of Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāi Tūhoe.[5][2]
Brunning attended Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School from 1990,[6] graduating in 1991 with a Diploma in Acting.[7] She lived in Wellington for most of her life.[6]
After graduating, she played many leading roles in theatre, film and television. In 1992, she won the award for Most Promising Female Actor at the
A speaker of the indigenous Māori language, Brunning also worked as a theatre director,[9] cultural advisor and script consultant.[10] She received a best actress nomination at the 2009 Qantas Film & TV Awards for her role in the movie Strength of Water.
Brunning directed theatre and stage dramas from 1995. Her first production was
Brunning directed the short film Journey to Ihipa (2008) which screened at the
Brunning and theatre maker and educator Tanea Heke formed a production company Hāpai Productions in 2013 with a vision to "produce mana enhancing Māori Theatre productions whilst upholding Māori Values."[12][13][14]
The Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival in Gisborne was where Brunning last creative work Witi's Wahine was premiered in 2019. She wrote and directed this play as a tribute to the women characters in the novels of Witi Ihimaera. It has since been performed in Auckland and is programmed in the Kia Mau Festival in 2021 Wellington.[15][16][17][18]
Death
Brunning died on 16 November 2019 at age 48, nine years after being diagnosed with cancer. She posthumously won the Bruce Mason Playwriting Award the following day.[6] Friend and frequent collaborator Temuera Morrison paid tribute to her.[4] In a post on Facebook, New Zealand television and radio host Stacey Morrison wrote that Brunning was "Our māmā, our sister, our aunty, our friend, she has followed the call of her tīpuna. Nancy's passion was to bring unheard stories to the light. To remind our people that our voices are a powerful tool and aroha is the most important thing of all. And while she was loved by the world, she was loved even more by us. She was the person that bound our whānau together."[19] Following her death, there were calls for Pharmac, the national drug funding agency, to be reformed.[20]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1992–1994 | Shortland Street | Jaki Manu | Regular role |
1998 | When Love Comes Along | Fig | |
1999 | What Becomes of the Broken Hearted? | Tania Rogers | |
2001 | Crooked Earth | Marama | |
2002 | Turangawaewae | Rose | Short |
2002 | Der Liebe entgegen | Meri Nahu | TV film |
2004 | Fracture | Doctor | |
2004 | Kerosene Creek | Mu and Sonny Boy's Mother | Short |
2009 | The Strength of Water | Joy | |
2009 | The Cult | Mrs. Thomas | Episode: "The Calling" |
2012 | Korero Mai | Rita | Episodes: "9.16", "9.18" |
2013 | White Lies | Horiana | |
2014 | The Pa Boys | Puti's Mum | |
2016 | Mahana | Ramona Mahana | |
2018 | In Dark Places | Auntie Terry | TV film |
2018 | The Brokenwood Mysteries | Magdalena | Episode: "Scared to Death" |
2019 | Daffodils | ICU Doctor | |
2019 | Daniel | Sister | Short |
2020 | Reunion | Kathy | Post-production (Posthumous release) |
References
- ISBN 978-1-84714-001-2.
- ^ Stuff. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ "Ex-Shortland Street star Nancy Brunning crowdfunding 'life prolonging' drug". The New Zealand Herald. 19 July 2019. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ Stuff. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-203-10590-0.
- ^ Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- ^ "Graduate". www.toiwhakaari.ac.nz. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- ^ a b [1] La Mama Theatre, New York. Retrieved 5 November 2009
- ISBN 978-1-877241-48-2.
- ^ [2] Auckland Actors Agency
- ^ [3] 2009 Vladivostok International Film Festival.Retrieved 7 November 2009
- ^ "Te Hau Tūtū – Independent Māori Theatre Producers' Room". Toi Pōneke. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
- ^ "Hapai Productions". Circa Theatre. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
- ^ "Nancy Brunning". The Court Theatre. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
- ^ "Kia Mau Festival 2021 | Witi's Wāhine". Kia Mau Festival. 22 April 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
- ^ "WITI'S WĀHINE - A truly special night". TheatreView. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
- ^ "Witi's Wāhine". Te Tairawhiti Arts Festival. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
- ^ Live, Auckland. "Witi's Wāhine". Auckland Live. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
- ^ "Former Shortland St star Nancy Brunning passes away". Newstalk ZB. 17 November 2019. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
- ^ James Fyfe (18 November 2019). "Nancy Brunning's death: Calls for Pharmac reform". Newshub. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
External links
- Profile and screenography at NZ On Screen
- Nancy Brunning at IMDb
- Interview with Nancy Brunning on her first play Hikoi, Standing Room Only, Radio New Zealand National, 2015