susan leonard

Documentary TV Director & Producer. Age 47. Photographed in her Mount Eden home, wearing SAF.

As I walk into 'The Manor', she's in the kitchen brewing us coffee on a Bialetti in her shower hair. I notice she's wearing a sweatshirt embroidered with the image of a hot air balloon, reminding me of the lightness of her character. The same lightness that drew me to her, my cynical mind wondering if that type of energetic joy weighs heavily on people.

She speaks close to a whisper, lightly tiptoeing on the hardwood floors while she gives me a tour of the expansive house. She doesn't want to wake up the flatmates. It's noon and they're all asleep after working the graveyard hours of the hospitality industry. The place is lit up through large windows to plants that welcome it. It has recently been cleansed of its 'bad juju' she tells me, as we walk past the long dining table, shared by the house for elaborate meals paired with fine wines as a daily norm. 

The Leonard family has been referred to as a dynasty. With Susan's late father, Ernie Leonard being the head of the first Maori department at TVNZ and her siblings forming a continuation with their choice to pursue (and excel) in the same industry. Susan is a renowned documentary TV producer/ director, who has worked on shows including The Casketeers and My Maori Midwife. I asked how she felt about the term applied to her family, " I like it if it means that we're all in 80s shoulder pads- if that’s what it means then yes, I'm into it! I'm so proud of my father, he was kind, he was an amazing storyteller and feel like I am carrying on his legacy, along with my brother and sister."

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On being Maori & white-passing

I know that it's a privilege that I have. In every country I went to, the people thought I was from there. I haven't had the disadvantaged lifestyle of growing up on the poverty line. There's a lot of generational trauma within Maoridom that I wasn't affected by. I grew up on the North Shore and then I got the fuck out. 

There are a lot of Maori who struggle with belonging, and I'm one of them. I'm Maori, my great grandfather was the chief of our hapu, my dad was the head of the Maori department at TVNZ but he didn't speak the language. In TV, the people who fund things want everything to be 30% Te Reo or 40% Te Reo and that's great, we need more language but language is not the only taonga. Many Maori people don't speak Maori and I'm all about inclusion. 

I have a great love for being on any Marae. I've filmed on so many, all across the motu, all across New Zealand and I'm still planning my trip back to my Marae to reconnect there. I was there for Dad's tangi and lots of other things and I love it.

There's such a grey area in Maoridom, there's so many urban Maori, so many people who are disconnected from their whenua, their marae and we put a lot of pressure and shame on ourselves if we're not good enough. There's a lot of 'I'm not good enough' if I don’t speak the language, I'm not Maori enough if I have different whakaaro or different thoughts on Moko. What I love about being 47, is knowing that I am good enough myself and I want to take that version of me back onto the marae.

On work & empathy

I got fired off The Real Housewives of Auckland after six weeks and I'm so proud of that! On a show like that, your job is to upset people and get them to be their worst selves and that is the opposite of my skillset.

I focus on the good, I only want to tell positive, human stories, whether they're Maori or Pakeha. When I was making shows like The Casketeers or My Maori Midwife, I had a deep sense of indigenous culture. There's so much togetherness, you're welcomed onto the Marae and after that, you are tangata whenua.

Most of the shows that I've worked on are heart projects and I do get invested in them, that's just who I am. I think it’s what makes me good at my job. 

I worked on a show with a family of 5th generation sheep shearers, with who I spent a lot of time. When they came to Auckland I asked them to stay with me, they are family. While I was making The Casketeers, Koro then had a freak accident and died. I was devastated. I flew to the tangi and that’s when I realised just how close I was to them. I stayed the night at the Marae and Mavis (his wife) made a bed for me right beside her, in the whareunui, beside Koro. We laughed about how she should totally wear the gold heels tomorrow. That's what I love about my job, a lot of it is emotional, a lot of it is trust. Some people become my family.

Observational documentary is my favourite because it’s not contrived.  I like to let people tell their own stories and then it’s the viewer that connects with them. Maybe they feel like they’re not alone in it and feel listened to and held. 

On self-care and boundaries

I was a real people pleaser. I'm sensitive by nature so I understand why I think about how other people feel, more than I ever think about how I feel. Through the course of various relationships and life, I've chosen to think about how I feel. I've done a lot of work on figuring out what my triggers are, what my childhood trauma is and then reparenting myself. I genuinely love people but I'm more discerning now. I used to share my energy with a lot of people and because I'm empathetic, they would share their stories with me and sometimes it was draining but I would take it on. I'm better with boundaries now and don’t attract that as much.

Showering is healing for me, I shower twice a day- in the morning and as soon as I get home from work. I wash it off. I learned to do that when I was single parenting, the transition from work to home was deadly, it was hard. I'd walk in the door as say hello, lovely to see you, I love you guys, I'm just gonna pop in the shower. And then it could be fun, I'd put slippers on, play music, I could make dinner and be my best self. 

On personal style

I love where my style is now, it’s so me. I love clothing, clothing is my art, it’s such an expression of how I feel. I used to dress more for other people, I think, for what would fit in and now I love standing out. Not because I want peoples attention or need validation, I'm standing out because I'm proud of who I am and how I feel. The person that gives the most energy to is me.

Susan’s gift of storytelling, stubborn joyfulness and endearing quirks make her one to love.