Katie Wolfe
Katie Wolfe (born 1968) is a New Zealand Māori actor as well as a film and stage director. She has appeared in seminal local television series such as Marlin Bay (1990s), Shortland Street (late 1990s), and Mercy Peak (2000 - 2001). Her screen directing work has won awards, including Redemption at the ImagineNative Film + Media Arts Festival and This Is Her at the Prague International Short Film Festival. More recently she wrote and directed a stage play, The Haka Party Incident, that had its touring schedule affected by the Covid pandemic.
Biography
Katie Wolfe, the daughter of Neil Wolfe and Raewyn Wolfe, was born in New Plymouth in 1968. She has three siblings and is affiliated with the Taranaki iwi Ngāti Mutunga and Ngāti Tama.[1] After enrolling at Victoria University of Wellington in 1986, she graduated with a BA in English, and stayed in Wellington to study at Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Acting School, graduating in 1990.[2]
Career
Acting
Wolfe's first professional acting job was at Dunedin's Fortune Theatre, followed by the role of presenter for several episodes of NHNZ's children's nature series Wild Track.[2]
Her first television role, as Ginny Gannaway on the series Marlin Bay, was in 1992 began in 1992 and lasted three years. Her feature film debut came in the New Zealand film The Last Tattoo (1994), a murder mystery set in Wellington during World War II directed by John Reid and starring Rod Steiger and Tony Goldwyn along with a large cast of established and soon to be established local actors, including Tim Balme, Danielle Cormack, Kerry Fox, and Robyn Malcolm.[2]
Directing and writing
Like other actors associated with Shortland Street, Wolfe directed episodes of that program.[3] Her first two films, the short films This is Her (2008) and Redemption (2010), both premiered at Sundance, and then screened at other international festivals including Telluride (USA), the Berlinale (Germany), the Melbourne International Film Festival, the San Tropez Antipodes Film Festival (France) and the New York Film Festival.[4] Her first feature-length film, titled Kawa (2010), is an adaptation of Witi Ihimaera's book, Nights in the Gardens of Spain.[2]
Wolfe joined seven other Māori women to direct the omnibus film Waru (2017). Each woman contributed a 10-minute segment of events circling around the tangi of a boy named Waru. After its debut at the 2017 New Zealand International Film Festival, Waru screened at the Toronto Film Festival and ImagineNATIVE festivals.[5]
Wolfe's work as a theatre director includes The Haka Party Incident, a play about race relations based on a confrontation that occurred between Māori activists and a group of engineering students doing a mock haka at the University of Auckland in 1979. Wolfe, also the author, presented an early version in 2017, leading to its being programmed by a number of festivals throughout New Zealand (Te Tairāwhiti Festival, Auckland Festival, Tauranga Arts Festival, RESET Festival in Taranaki, Nelson Arts Festival) that were affected by Covid 19 restrictions.[6][7][8][9] It was however able to be produced as part of the New Zealand Festival in 2022.[10][11]
Filmography - screen credits
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | The Last Tattoo | Rose Mitchell | |
| 1994 | La vie en rose | Audrey Foggin | |
| 1995 | Lemming Aid | Short | |
| 1996 | Planet Man | E.T. | short |
| 2000 | The Irrefutable Truth About Demons | Bennie | |
| 2011 | The Off Season | Short | |
| 2016 | Ukaipo Whenua | Short |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Marlin Bay | Ginny Gannaway | TV series |
| 1992 | The Ray Bradbury Theater | Anna (age 18-22) | "Some Live Like Lazarus" |
| 1996 | Cover Story | TV series | |
| 1997-98 | Shortland Street | Dr. Bridget Hastings | Regular role |
| 1999 | Duggan | Brenda Marshall | "Food to Die For" |
| 1999 | Hercules: The Legendary Journeys | Arciana | "Be Deviled" |
| 2001-03 | Mercy Peak | Amanda Masefield | Recurring role |
| 2016 | The Brokenwood Mysteries | Nicole | "The Black Widower" |
Other work
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2003-07 | Shortland Street | Director (3 episodes) |
| 2004 | Living the Dream | Director, TV series |
| 2008 | This Is Her | Director, short film |
| 2009 | Go Girls | Director (4 episodes) |
| 2010 | Redemption | Director & Writer, short film |
| 2010 | Kawa | Director |
| 2010-12 | Shortland Street | Producer (59 episodes) |
| 2017 | Waru | Co-Director & Co-Writer |
Theatre
Directing
Wolfe has directed a number of plays including:
- Luncheon (2014) by Aroha Awarau, at the Basement Theatre, Auckland.[12] Starring Jennifer Ward-Lealand[13]
- The Haka Party Incident (2017) written and directed by Katie Wolfe. Verbatim theatre, produced by Auckland Theatre Company.[11]
- Anahera (2017) by Emma Kinane. Circa Theatre, Wellington.[14]
- The Haka Party Incident (2020) (revision) written and directed by Katie Wolfe. Produced by Auckland Theatre Company.[15]
Acting Roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | The God Boy | Molly | Downstage Theatre |
| 2000 | Haruru Mai | Paloma | NZ International Festival |
| 2001 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Hermia | NZ Actors Company |
| 2002 | Queen Leah | Edgmar | NZ Actors Company |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | New Zealand Film and TV Awards | Best Female Performance in Supporting Role - Film | The Last Tattoo | Nominated |
| 1995 | New Zealand Film and Television Awards | Best Female Performance in a Supporting Role - Television | Marlin Bay | Nominated |
| 1997 | TV Guide Television Awards | Best Actress | Cover Story, episode 7 | Won |
| 2008 | New Zealand Film and TV Awards | Film Award for Best Short Film | This Is Her | Nominated |
| 2008 | Antipodes Film Festival, St Tropez | Nicolas Baudin Award for Best Short Film | This Is Her | Won |
| 2008 | Prague International Short Film Festival | Best Audience Film Award | This Is Her | Won |
| 2009 | Filmets - Badalona Short Film Festival | Venus de Badalona for Best Short Film | This Is Her | Won |
| 2009 | Aspen Shortsfest | Jury Award for Best Comedy | This Is Her | Won |
| 2009 | Hamptons International Film Festival[16] | Audience Award for Best Short | This Is Her | Won |
| 2009 | Palm Springs Shortfest | Future Filmmaker Award | Won | |
| 2010 | Show Me Shorts Film Festival | Best Film | This Is Her | Won |
| 2010 | ImagineNative Film + Media Arts Festival | Jury Award for Best Short Drama | Redemption | Won |
| 2010 | ImagineNative Film + Media Arts Festival | Cynthia Lickers-Sage Award for Emerging Talent | Redemption | Won |
| 2011 | Sundance Film Festival | Short Filmmaking Award in International | Redemption | Nominated |
Personal life
Wolfe married fellow actor Tim Balme in 1994, and together they have two children. Wolfe also has a step-son.[17]
References
- ^ Dann, Jennifer (25 September 2017). "Twelve questions: Why Katie Wolfe left Shortland Street - and what she's doing now". NZ Herald. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ a b c d "NZ on Screen". NZ on Screen.com. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
- ^ "Katie Wolfe: Biography". NZ on Screen. 19 December 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
- ^ "Other Short Film Highlights". NZ Film Newsletter. NZ Film Commission. December 2008. p. 10.
- ^ "Waru". NZOnScreen. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ^ "The Haka Party Incident ⋆ Te Tairawhiti Arts Festival 2021". Te Tairawhiti Arts Festival 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "The Haka Party Incident | 30 March - 10 April, ASB Waterfront Theatre". ASB Waterfront Theatre. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "The Haka Party Incident". RESET 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "THE HAKA PARTY INCIDENT | By Katie Wolfe". Nelson Arts Festival. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "The Haka Party Incident". Aotearoa New Zealand Festival of the Arts. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ a b "The Haka Party Incident". Auckland Theatre Company. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ "Aroha Awarau". Playmarket. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ "Interview: Jennifer Ward-Lealand and Katie Wolfe on the play Luncheon". Now To Love. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ Smythe, John (10 September 2017). "ANAHERA - Inescapable truths honoured with compelling integrity". www.theatreview.org.nz. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ Zealand (www.bka.co.nz), Site designed and developed by bka interactive ltd, Auckland, New. "The Haka Party Incident". www.atc.co.nz. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Hamptons International Film Fest winners announced". 27east.com. 13 October 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
- ^ Virginia Winder (12 December 2003). "Katie Wolfe's Dramatic Life... So Far". Pukeariki.com. Archived from the original on 12 December 2010. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
External links
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| National | |
