Hamish Bennett

Director and writer · Born July 18, 1977 (49) · Christchurch - New Zealand

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.

What are Hamish Bennett's films like?

Across a limited sample of 3 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight

Self

37%

Society

25%

Bonds

23%

Survival

15%

Community3 Coming of age2

Moods and endings

endings shown from 5 titles

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Hopeful

3

Warm

1

Melancholic

1

Triumphant

2

Contemplative

1

How their films linger

Hopeful3

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Hamish Bennett's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 2 of their 3 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

UP Faith & Family1 title, show their title on UP Faith & Family

Subscription and free streaming for Hamish Bennett's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.