Niki Caro - BFA, MFA

Niki Caro is one of New Zealand's most original and inventive filmmakers. Her work is now known and acclaimed internationally through the film Whale Rider. The film has scooped a sheaf of awards including an Oscar nomination for best actress for 13-year-old leading actor Keisha Castle-Hughes, and eight audience awards at prestigious international film festivals.

Niki directed the film and wrote the screenplay with Witi Ihimaera, based on his book of the same name. She has also been honoured by her peers with a 2003 Humanitas Award, an American-based prize for film and television makers whose work offers insight into contemporary society.

Whale Rider is the culmination of almost 15 years in the film and television industry since her graduation from Elam School of Fine Arts in 1988, during which she has produced a body of outstanding work.

Niki's first feature film, Memory and Desire, was selected for Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998 and voted Best Film in the 1999 New Zealand Film Awards. Niki also received a Special Jury Prize for her work as writer and director. Niki has been a leading contributor to local television content, writing and directing a number of dramas including the award-winning best drama series True Life Stories, Jackson's Wharf and Mercy Peak.

Niki received a Distinguished Alumni Award in 2004.