Don Selwyn

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title: "Don Selwyn" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1935-births", "2007-deaths", "new-zealand-male-māori-actors", "new-zealand-film-directors", "new-zealand-male-film-actors", "indigenous-filmmakers-in-new-zealand", "te-aupōuri-people", "ngāti-kurī-people", "officers-of-the-new-zealand-order-of-merit", "people-from-taumarunui", "māori-language-film-directors"] description: "New Zealand actor and filmmaker (1935–2007)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Selwyn" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary New Zealand actor and filmmaker (1935–2007) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
name	Don Selwyn
honorific_suffix
image	Don Selwyn 2002 (cropped).jpg
caption	Selwyn in 2002
birth_name	Don Charles Selwyn
birth_date
birth_place	Taumarunui, New Zealand
death_date
death_place	Auckland, New Zealand
occupation	Actor, filmmaker
::

| name = Don Selwyn | honorific_suffix = | image = Don Selwyn 2002 (cropped).jpg | alt = | caption = Selwyn in 2002 | birth_name = Don Charles Selwyn | birth_date = | birth_place = Taumarunui, New Zealand | death_date = | death_place = Auckland, New Zealand | other_names = | occupation = Actor, filmmaker | known_for = Don Charles Selwyn (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.

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. 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. 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). In 1992 Ruth Kaupua Panapa and Selwyn co-founded He Taonga Films.

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. It had been translated from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice by Pei Te Hurinui Jones in 1945. The film was produced to upskill Māori in the film industry.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Don_Selwyn_honorary_doctorate_capping.jpg" caption="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. He was conferred an honorary DLit degree by Massey University in 2002. In 2003, at the New Zealand Film Awards, Selwyn was presented with a lifetime achievement award. In 2007, the Arts Foundation of New Zealand selected him for an Icon Award, which was awarded to him privately shortly before he died.

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

References

References

1. (13 April 2007). "Veteran Māori film-maker and actor Don Selwyn dies". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
2. Smythe, John. (2004). "Downstage upfront: the first 40 years of New Zealand's longest-running professional theatre". Victoria University Press.
3. (22 Oct 2014). "Feature film".
4. (11 July 2008). "Iconic Maori Film Screens in Hamilton".
5. "Pei Te Hurinui Jones".
6. "Te Tangata Whai Rawa o Weniti (The Maori Merchant of Venice)".
7. "He Tangata Whai Rawa o Weneti / The Māori Merchant of Venice".
8. (31 December 1998). "New Year honours list 1999". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
9. "Honorary degree citations". Massey University.
10. Forster, Tony. (2014-03-27). "Don Selwyn honoured again".
11. "Don Selwyn {{!}} Arts Foundation Icon".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::