Briar GRACE-SMITH (filmmaker, screenwriter, playwright, fiction writer; New Zealand) is of Ngā Puhi (Māori) descent. In 2018, she was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her contribution to stage, television, and screen; in 2017, she was recognized with Te Tohu Toi Kē a Te Waka Toi for her contribution to Māori arts. She is the author or co-author of eight stage plays, a collaborator on many TV programs and the director or co-director of six short films and features, most recently Cousins (2021). Her participation was made possible by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.