Hamish Bennett

Hamish Bennett is a New Zealand Maori writer/director (Ngati Whakaue, Patuharakeke, Ngati Waewae). He has made two award winning shorts, The Dump (2011) and Ross & Beth (2014). Bellbird (2019) is Hamish's first feature film. It expands on the world established in the two shorts, and was filmed in the small rural Northland community where he grew up. Described by Variety as "exquisitely tuned" and by Screen International as a "deeply felt slice-of-life delight", Bellbird had its world premiere as one of only 12 films in competition at the 2019 Sydney International Film Festival, alongside Academy Award winner Parasite and Pedro Almodovar's Pain & Glory. It completed a successful Australasian theatrical run in 2020 and received acclaim on the international festival circuit, most recently picking up the Best Screenplay award at the Macao International Film Festival. Hamish has been a full time school teacher for 20 years, and is the father of two boys.