Dana Leaming

Guest writer

Dana (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa) is a wāhine Māori filmmaker living in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Dana gained her MA at the International Institute of Modern Letters where she won the David Carson-Parker Embassy Prize for best script. Her award winning debut series Not Even premiered in early 2023 with Season 2 released in September 2024. Most recently she has been working on writers tables in Aotearoa.

The cast of Tangata Pai. (Image: Supplied).

Tangata Pai is an ambitious drama that excels beyond its heavyhandedness

A groundbreaking primetime drama weaves protest, politics and 30% te reo Māori.

By Dana Leaming | 24th September, 2025

Motuhaketanga follows three wāhine Māori as they reenter society after prison. (Image: Supplied).

Motuhaketanga: The long road home for wāhine Māori after prison

The new documentary is an exploration of how New Zealand values wāhine Māori.

By Dana Leaming | 4th August, 2025

The cast of Not Even (Photo: Supplied)

‘I approached writing a TV series the same way I approached writing my Tinder profile’

Not Even is about Māori and Pasifika 20-somethings floating around Wellington failing spectacularly at being adults. And yes, it's written from experience.

By Dana Leaming | 10th January, 2024

The cast of Not Even (Photo: Supplied)

‘I approached writing a TV series the same way I approached writing my Tinder profile’

Not Even is about Māori and Pasifika 20-somethings floating around Wellington failing spectacularly at being adults. And yes, it's written from experience.

By Dana Leaming | 6th February, 2023