Michael Bennett

Michael Bennett (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Whakaue) is an award-winning New Zealand screenwriter, director, and author whose films have been selected for major festivals including Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, and New York. He is the first writer to win Ngaio Marsh Awards in all three categories—fiction, non-fiction, and first fiction—with works including the crime novel Better the Blood and the nonfiction book In Dark Places about New Zealand's worst miscarriage of justice. He is Head of Screenwriting at South Seas Film School in Auckland and has devoted years to justice advocacy.