Hamish Bennett is a New Zealand Maori writer/director (Te Arawa, Patuharakeke, Kai Tahu). He has made two award winning shorts, The Dump (2011) and Ross & Beth (2014). Bellbird (2019) was Hamish's first feature film. It expanded on the world established in the two shorts, and was filmed in the small rural Northland community where he grew up. Described by Variety as "exquisitely tuned" and by Screen International as a "deeply felt slice-of-life delight", Bellbird had its world premiere as one of 12 films in competition at the 2019 Sydney International Film Festival. It completed a successful Australasian theatrical run in 2020 and received acclaim on the international festival circuit, most recently picking up the Best Screenplay award at the Macao International Film Festival. Hamish has been a school teacher for over 20 years, and continues to juggle filmmaking with part time teaching. He is the father of two boys.