As CEO Annie leads the operational delivery, guides the strategic policy and provides sector and staff leadership to the NZFC.
Prior to NZFC, Annie was the Head of Sky Originals for three years after starting at Sky TV in 2014 as a Senior Commissioner. Before this, she was Head of External Programming at Māori Television. Annie also served as Interim Co-Chair of the Toi Mai Workforce Development Council Board, a member of Te Kāhui Ahumahi, and as a member of the Bay of Plenty Regional Skills Leadership Group. She was also a Trustee of Ngā Taonga.
Annie also worked in the public sector with the Broadcasting Commission (NZ On Air), Māori Television and had two stints at TVNZ. Academically she holds a Master of Education (First Class Hons) from Waikato University and a Diploma in Bicultural Journalism from Waiariki Institute of Technology.
To contact Annie email karen.anslow@nzfilm.co.nz
Dana Youngman
Strategic Advisor to the CE
As Strategic Advisor to the CEO, Dana has a problem-solving focus, working on behalf the CEO across the New Zealand Film Commission.
Dana (from Lotopa, Lalomanu, Afega) is an award-winning content executive and board director, with 25 years of leadership experience in New Zealand.
A respected Television Director, Writer, Producer and Executive Producer, her screenwork includes a bafta nominated documentary series and dozens of prime time successes.
Dana served as the Head of Production at TVNZ and was most recently the network executive and content commissioner at Sky, TVNZ and Streaming service NEON.
She became a Member of the International Academy for Television Arts and Sciences in 2021 (International Emmys) and was awarded the NZ Women of Influence Award in 2023.
Karen Larsen
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Karen moved to Wellington to study tourism. Post study, she landed a role with the Plaza Corporation quickly becoming known as the bean counter, this beginning a journey to lead finance teams. She joined Ernst & Young and trained as an accountant in the 90s. Since then she has headed corporate teams, finance, IT, HR, property etc within not for profit or Government organisations. Prior to the NZFC, Karen was CFO at Radio New Zealand (RNZ). She loves to demystify the complexity of numbers and support teams to succeed.
Marion Heppner
Head of Legal and Business Affairs
Marion and her team are responsible for enabling the NZFC to achieve its strategic objectives by balancing opportunity and risk.
They lead film finance closing transactions, negotiate and contract other commercial relationships, manage film rights, licensing and royalties, manage data and generate insights into the financial performance of NZFC’s investments, and provide legal and commercial advice and support to the Board, Chief Executive and other teams within the NZFC.
Before joining the NZFC, Marion worked in legal and commercial roles in the media industry in Aotearoa, the UK and Europe, including with the BBC, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., Sky TV and South Pacific Pictures.
Philippa Mossman
Head of International Attraction and Marketing
Philippa is the lead contact for major international screen productions considering New Zealand and manages key relationships with studio production executives and independent producers. She is responsible for New Zealand’s provision of an international enquiry service and has wide-ranging expertise across screen production and the media sector. In December 2022 Philippa was elected as a director on the board of Association of Film Commissioners International (AFCI).
Te O Kahurangi is responsible for guiding the effective implementation of the NZFC’s Te Rautaki Māori. She is a producer with extensive experience in governance, culture, intellectual property rights, iwi and community organisations as well as active involvement in Māori screen issues. Prior to joining the NZFC in 2018, she worked for 15 years at Kura Productions, producing with Quinton Hita a range of television productions in te reo Māori. She has served as a board member of Ngā Aho Whakaari - the Māori in Film & Television legacy collective and prior to her screen industry career, she worked extensively in the tourism industry in Rotorua.
rautaki@nzfilm.co.nz
Chris Payne
Head of Co-Production and Incentives
Chris oversees the Co-Production and Incentives team’s work administering New Zealand’s official co-production programme and the New Zealand Screen Production Rebate (NZSPR), both on behalf of the New Zealand Government. His team is responsible for forging and supporting pathways for creative and commercial collaboration between New Zealand film and TV producers and the international marketplace. Chris and his team work closely with government agencies (including the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and others) along with officials from other countries including the NZFC’s key sister agencies around the world.
Prior to NZFC, Chris worked in development and production at 100 Meter Films in Tokyo. In New Zealand he worked in screenwriting/development and production and as business development manager at a commercial law firm.
co-productions@nzfilm.co.nz
nzspr@nzfilm.co.nz
Ainsley Gardiner
Head of Funding
Ngāti Awa, Te Whānau-a-Apanui, Ngāti Pikiao, Te Whakatōhea
Ainsley is a seasoned producer and director of more than two dozen short and feature films, documentaries and television drama. She was one of nine wåhine Måori filmmakers to write and direct the acclaimed feature film Waru, selected for the Toronto Film Festival in 2017. She co-directed her second feature, Cousins, the top grossing NZ feature in 2020. Other projects include Taika Waititi's Eagle vs Shark in 2005 and his first No. 1 Box Office hit, Boy, in 2009, as well as The Breaker Upperers. Ainsley has hosted a short film programme on Māori Television, previously sat on the Māori development arm of the NZ Film Commission, Te Paepae Ataata, and as an Advisory Board member of Script-To-Screen’s Story Camp. In 2018 she was awarded the Mana Wåhine award at the Wairoa Film Festival and also made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her services to film.
development@nzfilm.co.nz
Corporate Support
General enquiries: reception@nzfilm.co.nz Legal and Business Affairs enquiries: businessaffairs@nzfilm.co.nz Diversity and Inclusion enquiries: diversity.inclusion@nzfilm.co.nz IT enquiries: BusinessTechologyServices@nzfilm.co.nz Media enquiries: media@nzfilm.co.nz (any email sent to this address that is not from media may not be responded to).
Strategy and Research
Staff Profile: Tayla Hancock
Senior Advisor, Policy and Performance
Chair, NZFC Staff Diversity and Inclusion Committee
As a Crown Entity accountable for government expenditure and service delivery, the New Zealand Film Commission has important legislative responsibilities. The purpose of Tayla’s role is to ensure we are meeting these requirements through our strategy, planning, reporting and accountability processes.
Tayla works closely with key government agencies such as Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Her role includes the production of our Statement of Intent, Statement of Performance Expectations, Annual Report, and operational policies. She manages responses to Official Information Act requests, Select Committee questions, coordinates Ministerial enquiries and provides policy advice to our team. These all share the same key objectives of telling our performance story, keeping our Ministers informed, and complying with key legislation such as the Crown Entities Act, Public Records Act and Official Information Act.
Tayla is also the Chair of our Diversity and Inclusion Committee, leading the implementation of He Ara Whakaurunga Kanorau Diversity and Inclusion Strategy. The purpose of this strategy is to foster a diverse and inclusive environment for everyone working in the Aotearoa screen sector, attracting and empowering stories and storytellers that are fully reflective of Aotearoa. On-screen representation and supporting diverse filmmakers are key objectives of this Strategy - but the work is much broader, it’s also about accessibility, flexible working, pay equity, parental support, mental health and wellbeing, cultural safety, skills development and regional diversity.
Tayla has a Master’s Degree in Cultural Anthropology, specialising in Visual Anthropology – this examines how visual storytelling is a product of cultural norms and values, and involves the production of visual media in ethnographic research. Her academic research focuses on the representation of marginalised communities on screen and in the media, and she has used documentary and photography as research methods.
Prior to her role at the NZFC, Tayla has worked in Senior Policy, Senior Project Consultant and Ministerial and Executive roles for government agencies in Australia and New Zealand. She worked as a Teaching Fellow in Cultural Anthropology at Victoria University of Wellington, lecturing papers ‘Ritual in the Modern World’ (focusing on political and media rituals) and ‘Identity and Inequality.’
Tayla is passionate about fostering inclusive spaces and championing wellbeing. She was a finalist in the 2022 Diversity Works Awards for the ‘Diversity Champion’ Award – recognising her work and advocacy for building a more inclusive Aotearoa. She is trained in Mental Health First Aid and is currently learning NZ Sign Language.
