Don Selwyn

Don Charles Selwyn ONZM (22 November 1935 – 13 April 2007) was a Māori actor and filmmaker from New Zealand. He was a founding member of the New Zealand Māori Theatre Trust and directed the 2002 film Te tangata whai rawa o Weneti (The Maori Merchant of Venice), the first Māori language feature film with English subtitles.^[1]

Don Selwyn ONZM
Selwyn in 2002
Born	Don Charles Selwyn (1935-11-22)22 November 1935 Taumarunui, New Zealand
Died	13 April 2007(2007-04-13) (aged 71) Auckland, New Zealand
Occupation(s)	Actor, filmmaker

Life

Born of Ngāti Kurī and Te Aupōuri descent, Selwyn grew up in Taumarunui and began his professional life as a teacher.

In 1967, Selwyn acted in The Golden Lover at Downstage Theatre directed by Richard Campion alongside Wi Kuki Kaa and Bob Hirini.^[2] Also on stage produced by Downstage Theatre and directed by Campion and designed by Raymond Boyce, Selwyn was in Othello with a cast of 17 including Peter Vere-Jones and Elric Hooper in 1976. It was so popular it transferred to the Opera House.^[2] He appeared in an episode of Ngaio Marsh Theatre in 1977. In 1984, he began a film and television training course for Māori and Pacific Islanders He Taonga i Tawhiti (Gifts from Afar).^[3] In 1992 Ruth Kaupua Panapa and Selwyn co-founded He Taonga Films.^[4]

Te tangata whai rawa o Weneti (The Maori Merchant of Venice) (2002) directed by Selwyn was the first Māori language feature film, it was produced by He Taonga Films. He had previously staged it as a play in 1990 at the Koanga Festival.^[5][6] It had been translated from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice by Pei Te Hurinui Jones in 1945.^[7][8] The film was produced to upskill Māori in the film industry.^[9]

Selwyn being conferred an honorary doctorate by Massey University chancellor Morva Croxson in May 2002, while vice-chancellor James McWha looks on

In the 1999 New Year Honours, Selwyn was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to theatre, film and television.^[10] He was conferred an honorary DLit degree by Massey University in 2002.^[11] In 2003, at the New Zealand Film Awards, Selwyn was presented with a lifetime achievement award.^[4] In 2007, the Arts Foundation of New Zealand selected him for an Icon Award, which was awarded to him privately shortly before he died.^[3]

Selected filmography

• Rangi's Catch (1973) as Mr. Rukuhia
• Sleeping Dogs (1977) as Taupiri
• Came a Hot Friday (1985) as Norm
• My Letter to George (1986) as Joseph
• The Last Tattoo (1994) as Bill Davin
• Te tangata whai rawa o Weneti (The Maori Merchant of Venice) (2002) - director