Manuka Luiten-Apirana is the proud recipient of the 2021 Creative NZ Ngā Manu Pīrere Award, celebrating emerging young Māori artists.
Manuka is an actress, known for Head High (2020), Daughter of God (2022) and Fract (2016). imdb
She writes, acts, produces, and directs...Seemingly obsessively busy, Manuka a is a self-described hustler and to fund her art, she follows the money. “I like to make my own work, but there’s not a lot of money in it, so you also have to do lots of different things. I just go where the money is, so I might get an acting gig here, a writing gig there and a producing gig here. My schedule is all over the place.” Manuka grew up trotting the globe, studying at Ngata Memorial College and Gisborne Girls’ High School and as far away as Alaska. Doing as many youth do, she rebelled against her wandering childhood and decided she would settle in Auckland “for at least ten years” Gisborne Herald, August 2021
