Michael Te Arawa Bennett is a highly accomplished screenwriter, director, and author from Aotearoa, New Zealand. He is of Ngāti Pikiao and Ngāti Whakaue descent, and his works have been recognized and awarded both domestically and internationally. In 2008, Bennett was the first recipient of the Writers Award from the New Zealand Film Commission, and in 2011, his film Matariki won Best Feature Film Screenplay at the New Zealand Screenwriting Awards. He has also been a prominent figure in addressing miscarriages of justice in New Zealand, as evidenced by his award-winning documentary on the Teina Pora case, The Confessions of Prisoner T, and his book In Dark Places, which won Best Non-Fiction Book at the Ngaio Marsh Awards and Best Biography/History at the Nga Kupu Ora Awards in 2017.
Bennett's work spans various genres and mediums, from detective stories to time-travel graphic novels. His first book, In Dark Places, is a non-fiction novel that tells the true story of New Zealand's worst miscarriage of justice. His second book, Helen and the Go-Go Ninjas, is a time-travel graphic novel co-authored with Ant Sang. In addition to his work in literature, Bennett's short films and feature films have received critical acclaim and have been screened at numerous international film festivals, including Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, Locarno, New York, London, and Melbourne.
Bennett's contributions to screen storytelling have been recognized with the 2020 Te Aupounamu Māori Screen Excellence Award, an honor given to members of the Māori film-making community who have made high-level contributions to the field. He currently resides in Auckland, Aotearoa, with his partner Jane and their children Tīhema, Māhina, and Matariki, where he serves as the Head of Screenwriting at South Seas Film School.
Readers who enjoy detective stories and thrillers may be familiar with James Patterson's Michael Bennett series, but Michael Bennett is also a distinguished author and screenwriter in his own right. With his award-winning films, documentaries, and books, Michael Te Arawa Bennett has made significant contributions to the New Zealand film and literature scenes, and his work continues to inspire and captivate audiences worldwide.