30 Mar 2026
Turi Māori filmmaker Jared Flitcroft is the recipient of the $10,000 Whakahoa Kaitoi Whanaketanga Creative New Zealand Deaf and Disabled Artists Fellowship 2026, presented by Arts Access Aotearoa.
Based in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington, Jared (Ngāti Maniapoto) is a writer, actor, director and an award-winning filmmaker. He will use the fellowship to research and explore New Zealand Sign Language as a cinematic language in film – not just a tool for access or translation.
“As a Deaf Māori filmmaker and artist, I’m a native NZSL user,” Jared says. “My storytelling comes from the body, the hands, the eyes and the spaces between people. They are the foundations of how I think, feel and create.
“This Fellowship gives me the space to explore Deaf-led cinematic methodology that is culturally grounded and led by NZSL.”
Leadership, innovation and commitment
Richard Benge, Executive Director, Arts Access Aotearoa says the Fellowship recognises Jared’s leadership, innovation and commitment to developing his artistic practice.
Jared Flitcroft and Jack O'Donnell in animated conversation“Jared is an outstanding filmmaker and writer whose work demonstrates the richness of Deaf-led storytelling in Aotearoa,” Richard says. “This Fellowship gives him the time and space to deepen his artistic practice and explore how New Zealand Sign Language can shape cinematic storytelling in new ways.”
Jared's project was selected by an external assessment panel, who commented on the “outstanding” quality of the applications. It noted the strength and clarity of Jared’s proposal, as well as its potential to contribute new thinking to screen storytelling.
“Jared’s application stood out for its clear artistic vision and its thoughtful exploration of NZSL as a cinematic language,” the panel said. “His project has the potential to open new creative pathways for Deaf storytelling while contributing important ideas about visual narrative and representation in film.”
Trilingual filmmaker and passionate advocate
Jared’s work bridges te ao Māori, the Deaf community and cinematic storytelling. Fluent in NZSL, te reo Māori sign language concepts and the English language, he is a leading trilingual filmmaker and passionate advocate for authentic, inclusive and accessible storytelling.
Jared Flitcroft signing. The caption at the bottom of the screenshot reads "Deaf people really need the communication."What does the narrative look like when it is designed first for the eyes, not the ears? And how do silence, vibration and rhythm operate as emotional language? These are two of Jared’s research questions.
“I create work that centres Deaf ways of seeing and being, not as a limitation but as creative power,” he says. “My kaupapa is to expand what cinema can look and feel like when it is led by Deaf and Māori worldviews rather than shaped by hearing norms.”
Award-winning work
Jared co-directed the internationally recognised short film Tama (2017), the first NZSL film to premiere at the New Zealand International Film Festival’s Show Me Shorts, and at the ImagineNATIVE festival in Toronto. The film won four awards at the Wairoa Film Festival and was widely praised for its visual storytelling and emotional depth.
Jared has collaborated on a range of screen projects that integrate NZSL and tikanga Māori into drama and documentary storytelling. These include The Kids of Kōrero Lane (2023, Attitude TV) and Being Turi (2024, Ingot Film + Whakaata Māori).
Being Turi was accepted into the 2026 LA WebFest and the 2025 Web Fest in New Zealand and Australia, where it won the Best Editing category. It also received an Honourable Mention at the 2025 Sydney Web Fest.
For Jared, the Fellowship represents an opportunity to deepen his creative language and contribute to the future of Deaf-led storytelling in Aotearoa.
“My long-term ambition is to become the first Deaf Māori, filmmaker to lead a feature film grounded in NZSL and a Deaf worldview,” he says. “This Fellowship is the research engine that makes that future possible.”
The $10,000 Whakahoa Kaitoi Whanaketanga Creative New Zealand Deaf and Disabled Artists Fellowship 2026, presented by Arts Access Aotearoa, includes a $5000 access payment to help remove any access barriers.
Jared Flitcroft is a member of Taha Hotu Deaf and Disabled Artists Initiative, facilitated by Arts Access Aotearoa.
Media contact:
Iona McNaughton, Arts Access Aotearoa
iona.mcnaughton@artsaccess.org.nz | 04 802 4349
www.artsaccess.org.nz