Tusi Tamasese is a Samoan born and bred New Zealander. His first two feature films THE ORATOR (2011 Venice Orizzonti) and ONE THOUSAND RPES (2017 Berlinale – Panorama) and his short film VA TAPUIA all had strong festival lives, and significant cultural impact in NZ and Australia. He has several projects in development, commissioned and his own. Tusi has an MA in screenwriting from Victoria University of Wellington, having graduated from the NZ Film School, and prior to that, with a BA degree in Screen and Media Studies (Waikato). He now lives in Wellington with his wife and three children.