Lisa-Jane Taouma is a Samoan New Zealand writer, film and television director, and producer.

Background

Taouma grew up

Faleasiu Faleasi'u is one of the largest village settlements on the island of Upolu in Samoa. It is located on the northwestern coast of the island and has a population of 4177. Faleasi'u is part of A'ana Alofi 1 Electoral Constituency (''Faipule District' ...

and Tulaele in Samoa and migrated to Auckland, New Zealand. She has an MA (1st Hons) from the

University of Auckland , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

and lectures there on Pacific arts; the title of her 1998 master's thesis was ''Re-picturing paradise : myths of the dusky maiden''. Taouma is married to fellow writer and comedian

Mario Gaoa Mario Gaoa (born 1971) is a New Zealand actor, writer and director, best known as a member of the Naked Samoans comedy group. He is of Samoan descent. As part of the group he has appeared in the film Sione's Wedding; provided the voices of ...

Career

Taouma began writing for the screen in 1996, for ''Tala Pasifika'', specifically the episodes ''Brown Sugar'' and ''Talk of the Town''. She began working on ''Tagata Pasifika'' as a reporter and senior director. In 2014 she launched Polynesian online community Coconet. and produces a number of programmes for television including the popular 'Fresh TV' for TVNZ. In 2018 she made the award winning documentary 'Marks of Mana' winning best documentary at the ImagineNative festival in Toronto 2018, Best Cinematography at DocEdge Festival in Aotearoa 2019. Taouma has curated a number of exhibitions and written for scholarly publications on representation of Polynesia in art. In 2002, as part of the Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art she curated ''Pasifika Divas,'' an interdisciplinary performance-based project at the

Queensland Art Gallery The Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) is an art museum located in South Bank, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The gallery is part of QAGOMA. It complements the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) building, situated only away. The Queensland Art Gallery ...

. In the

2009 Qantas Film and Television Awards The 2009 Qantas Film and Television Awards were held on Saturday 5 September at the Civic Theatre in Auckland, New Zealand. The craft awards were presented in a separate awards lunch at the Civic Theatre Friday 4 September. Highlights from the ...

Taouma was nominated in the Best Children's/Youth Programme category for her work on ''Polyfest '09.'' Taouma received the Special Recognition Awards at the 2015

Arts Pasifika Awards The Arts Pasifika Awards celebrate excellence in Pacific arts in New Zealand. The annual awards are administered by Creative New Zealand and are the only national awards for Pasifika artists across all artforms. The Arts Pasifika Awards includ ...

. In the

2023 New Year Honours The 2023 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebration ...

, she was appointed an

Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rend ...

, for services to Pacific arts and the screen industry.

Filmography

References

External links

The Coconet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taouma, Lisa Living people University of Auckland alumni Samoan emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand women film directors New Zealand film producers New Zealand television writers People from A'ana Women television writers Year of birth missing (living people) New Zealand women film producers Officers of the New Zealand Order of Merit