Ms Anapela Polataivao, of Auckland, ONZM, for services to Pacific performing arts
Anapela Polataivao is an actor, director, writer and dramaturg whose work has brought the voice of South Auckland women to stages and screens around the world. She won several awards and international acclaim for her performance in the short film ‘Night Shift’. For her work as co-founder of the Kila Kokonut Krew theatre collective, which serves to give South Auckland performers a platform, she was named a New Generation Arts Laureate. She has directed multiple works, including Sole Mio’s original opera ‘Alofagia: Le Opera’ and Tusiata Avia’s ‘Wild Dogs Under My Skirt’, some of which have toured in New Zealand and internationally. Ms Polataivao was a tutor at the Pacific Institute of Pacific Arts, inspiring a new generation of Pacific performers.