Chelsea Grant is set to bring Maori Myth to Life!
We caught up with the high paced, fast world of film making with Chelsea Grant. Chelsea is an award-winning Maori film maker and actress. She writes, produces, acts, directs and advocates for causes close to her heart.
One issue is that of culture and not having enough of her culture on the big screen and world stage. Chelsea is part Maori, part Yugoslavian and part British. She grew up in rural New Zealand and was fortunate enough to have affluent Grandparents who had a hand in raising her and teaching her the value in hard work, never giving up and standing strong in what you believe in.
Chelsea is probably the most confident and competent woman I have had the pleasure of meeting. She radiates, her charm and her charisma are clearly her gift. It is interesting to note that growing up in small town New Zealand Chelsea always felt more like a big fish (or as I see it Giant!) in a tiny pond. Her dreams of moving to LA or London became a reality. She first moved to Sydney on her own after graduating from university. When I asked her why Sydney her response was “I closed my eyes and pointed to a map of Australia” which is fitting for this independent, competent individual.
Living in Sydney Chelsea modelled and worked in start-ups and tech. Her love of technology is something that goes hand in hand with how she navigates the film space. Overall Australia was not going to be where she created her company, it was challenging because of the racism there. Kiwis often struggle with that in Australia and for Chelsea it was no different. However, when she moved to London, England on her own in 2014 she then networked her way into finding her first investors and Kiwi Film House came to life. It was the same year that the award winning Titiro was produced by Kiwi Film House in which Chelsea wrote, produced, directed and starred in. Titiro set the scene for the feature film War Lands which will be shot later next year. War Lands is a look into Maori mythology but through the eyes of our story-teller Chelsea. So, while it is fiction everything you see has come from her mind and been totally created into existence.
Maori culture is not often seen on the big screen, and this is something Chelsea hopes to change with this story.
If you would like to follow her on Instagram she is @Chelseasummergreen
