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Michael Bennett (film director)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Michael Bennett
Born
Michael Te Arawa Bennett

Reefton, New Zealand
Occupation(s)Director, writer
Years active1994 – present
Website[1]

Michael Te Arawa Bennett is a New Zealand writer, scenarist, author and director for film and television.[1]

Career

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Bennett is the co-creator, writer, show-runner and executive producer of TVNZ's Vegas.

He is also the author of In Dark Places, a study of the wrongful conviction of Teina Pora for the 1992 murder of Susan Burdett, which won the 2017 Ngaio Marsh crime writing award.[2] His 2022 crime novel, Better the Blood, was shortlisted for the Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards[3] and for the Best Novel at the 2023 Ngaio Marsh Awards.[4]

Personal life

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Bennett is Maori and is of Te Arawa descent. He resides in Auckland with his partner and three children,[5] and is the head of screenwriting at South Seas Film School.[6]

Bennett is a cousin of actor Manu Bennett.

Partial filmography

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Bibliography

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  • In Dark Places (2016, true crime book) - Won the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Non Fiction
  • Helen and the Go-Go Ninjas (2019, graphic novel illustrated by Ant Sang)
  • Better the Blood (2022, first in the Hana Westerman series of crime novels) - Won the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best First Novel, and also nominated for Best Crime Novel
  • Return to Blood (2024, second Hana Westerman novel)
  • Carved in Blood (TBA, third Hana Westerman novel)[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Michael Bennett". IMDb. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  2. ^ "Michael Bennett". Spinoff. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Ockham NZ Book Awards 2023 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 8 March 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  4. ^ "Ngaio Marsh Awards 2023 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 10 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  5. ^ "Michael Bennett". Simon and Schuster. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  6. ^ "Michael Bennett". Penguin Books New Zealand. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Michael Bennett". IMDb. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  8. ^ "Michael Bennett". IMDb. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Michael Bennett". IMDb. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Carved in Blood". Simon and Schuster. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
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