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Lala Rolls

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lala Rolls (born 1963 or 1964) is a Fijian-born New Zealand film director, producer and editor.[1] Much of her work explores Polynesian and Māori culture.

Biography

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Rolls was born in Fiji to Australian and Dutch parents, and immigrated to New Zealand in 1981, aged 17 years old. She studied psychology at the University of Otago, completing a bachelor of arts degree. She worked in early childhood education and travelled overseas, including to study scriptwriting at London's Royal College of Art.[2]

In 1992, Rolls returned to New Zealand and worked on a number of short film productions, including a series of six shorts, Tall Stories, and her first short film, Olives, which she wrote and directed in 1994.[2][3] In 2006 she worked on a children's science show, QTV, for the Ministry of Education. Her largest project has been Tupaia's Endeavour, a documentary film which traces the journey of Tupaia, the Tahitian high priest navigator who agreed to navigate for Captain Cook and came to New Zealand in 1769.[4]

In 2021, Rolls directed a digital animation experience, Ngā Tohunga Whakatere: The Navigators, telling the story of New Zealand’s early navigators. The production was shown on the dome screen at Space Place at Carter Observatory in Wellington.[5]

Rolls is the founding director of film company Island Productions Aotearoa.[2]

Awards and recognition

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  • International Jury Prize: Tupaia's Endeavour at 2013 FIFO – Oceanian International Documentary Film Festival (Tahiti)[2]
  • Nominated for Best Editing, Documentary/Factual Programme: for Lovely Rita at 2008 Qantas Film and Television Awards[2]
  • Nominated for Best Editing – Non-Factual: for The Hothouse, episode 3 at 2007 Qantas Television Awards[2]
  • Nominated for Best Editing – Factual: for Flight Of The Conchords: A Texan Odyssey at 2007 Qantas Television Awards[2]
  • Nominated for Best Editing: for The Insiders Guide to Love at 2006 Qantas Television Awards[2]
  • Special Mention: Children of the Migration at 2005 DOCNZ Documentary Film Festival[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Lala Rolls". Ramp Festival. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Lala Rolls". NZ On Screen. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Olives". New Zealand Film Commission. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Tupaia's Endeavour". RNZ. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Ngā Tohunga Whakatere: The Navigators". Stuff. 1 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
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