KIEL MCNAUGHTON

Kiel McNaughton, a dynamic force in narrative content creation, has carved a niche for himself with his innovative and diverse storytelling. Raised in South Auckland within a multicultural family, Kiel's upbringing among many siblings and cousins instilled in him a rich appreciation for diverse narratives. After earning a Bachelor's degree in Performing and Screen Arts, Kiel began his career as a stunt performer before securing a core cast role on New Zealand’s most-watched soap, Shortland Street. Following four and a half years in front of the camera, he transitioned behind it to direct and executive produce the award-winning comedy series Auckland Daze.

Kiel's directorial portfolio has expanded to include full seasons of Find Me A Māori Bride, This Is Piki, and most recently, the acclaimed comedy series Good Grief (Sundance Now/AMC/IFC). Between 2016 and 2022, he produced the ground-breaking and award-winning feature trilogy Waru, Vai, and Kāinga, collaborating with a total of 29 women filmmakers. Building on this success, Kiel is now executive producing feature films RED, featuring eight female Australian Aboriginal writer/directors for ScreenWest, and MAKAWALU, featuring eight Native Hawaiian filmmakers for HIFF.

Kiel's directorial debut, The Legend of Baron To’a, an action/adventure film set in an urban cul-de-sac in Aotearoa, was acquired for US release in December 2020 by Gravitas Ventures. The film was the closing night feature at the 2020 Fantasia Film Festival and won Best Dramatic Feature at the ImagineNative Film Festival. Kiel has also led the direction of the gangland drama series Vegas and is a recurring director on Lucy Lawless' Acorn series My Life is Murder. In 2023, he was honored with the NZTV Best Director Award for the telefeature Princess of Chaos.

Currently, Kiel is showrunning an 8 part drama series for Warner Bros Discovery/Three in NZ called Tangata Pai (“Good People” in Māori) which he created.

Looking ahead, Kiel's next feature is the horror/thriller film Whyte Xmas, starring Frankie Adams (The Expanse) and written by John Argall (The Legend of Baron To’a), slated for 2025.

Kiel is represented by IAG and Gotham Group.