Ainsley Gardiner

Ainsley Amohaere Gardiner is a film producer from New Zealand.

Early life Gardiner was born in Palmerston North and grew up in the Wellington suburb of Wadestown, attending Wadestown Primary School. Her mother is former MP Pauline Gardiner, and her father was a civil servant and politician, Wira Gardiner. When she was about 12 years old the family moved to Whakatāne. Gardiner is of Te Whānau-ā-Apanui, Ngāti Pikiao, Te Whakatōhea, Ngāti Awa and Tuwharetoa ki Kawerau descent.

Career In 1995, Gardiner completed the Avalon Film and TV production course, and went on to work with producer Larry Parr at Kahukura Productions. She began producing short films, and also co-produced a 26-part series Lovebites. In 2009 Gardiner wrote and directed Mokopuna, a short film about a part-Māori girl who struggles to embrace her roots; the film won the best short film award at the Canadian indigenous film festival Dreamspeakers.

In 2017, Gardiner joined a team of women directors and writers to create the feature film Waru, which focuses on child abuse in New Zealand.

In 2021, Gardiner and Briar Grace Smith co-developed and co-directed the feature film Cousins, an adaptation of the 1992 novel of the same name written by Patricia Grace. With its release, Gardiner and Grace Smith made history as the only Māori women to have directed a feature film since the release of Mauri by Merata Mita in 1988.

In 2023, Gardiner worked as an executive producer on the feature film Red, White & Brass, a Comedy Drama inspired by a true story of a Tongan super fan's attempt to get tickets to the Tonga vs. France Rugby World Cup.

Honours and awards In 2010, Gardiner and Curtis shared the SPADA New Zealand Screen Industry Awards title of Independent Producer of the Year.

In 2019, Gardiner and Briar Grace Smith were the recipients of the Sundance Institute Merata Mita Fellowship.

Filmmaking Method Gardiner describes her approach to filmmaking as collaborative and intuitive, in which community is at the center of both the production and development process. Winner, Best Feature Film Script, New Zealand Writers Guild Awards (SWANZ) 2017 Winner, Mana Wairoa Festival Prize, Wairoa Maori Film Festival 2017 Winner, Grand Jury Award, Asia-Pacific Film Festival 2018 Winner, Best Film, Seattle International Film Festival 2018 Cousins 2021 Co-director and Writer Nominated for Best Film - Giffoni Film Festival 2021 Nominated for Best International Film - Golden Rooster Awards 2021

Nominated for Best Cinematography for a Motion Picture - Sichuan Film Festival 2023 Night Raiders 2021 Producer Red, White & Brass 2023 Executive Producer Nominated for Best Film - Golden Space Needle Award, Seattle International Film Festival 2024