About

Libby Hakaraia (Ngati Raukawa au ki te tonga, Ngati Kapu) is a highly experienced storyteller with over 30 years of directing and producing for television and film. Her first short film, “The Lawnmower Men of Kapu” screened at over 30 festivals around the world and led to the establishment of the Maoriland Film Festival (MFF).

Libby has spent the past decade building MFF into the biggest Indigenous festival in the world, while also working to grow the capacity of Maori and international Indigenous screen sector through Maoriland’s year-round initiatives, resulting in over 250 short films, documentaries, animated shorts, television series and music videos.

Many of these works have screened at festivals internationally including Seattle International Film Festival, imagineNATIVE Film Festival, Winda Film Festival, Skabmagovat Film Festival, Hawaii International Film Festival, NATIVE Cinema Showcase, Blackstar Film Festival, Vancouver International Womens Festival, Birrarangga Film Festival.

In March 2023 Libby steps down from the MFF festival director role to work full time on production. At Maoriland Productions, Libby has led the production of 36 short films including directing two more short films. She is also a producer of feature film Cousins (2021) and Koka (2023), NATIVE X (2024).