Lee Tamahori , the New Zealand director behind acclaimed Kiwi drama “Once Were Warriors” alongside blockbuster Hollywood titles such as the James Bond film “Die Another Day,” has died. He was 75.

Tamahori’s family said the director passed away following a battle with Parkinson’s disease.

“His legacy endures with his whānau, his mokopuna, every filmmaker he inspired, every boundary he broke and every story he told with his genius eye and honest heart,” the family said in a statement to New Zealand public service broadcaster RNZ.

Born in Wellington in 1950, and of Māori descent through his father and British ancestry via his mother, Tamahori made an immediate impact with his directorial debut 1994’s “Once Were Warriors.” An unapologetic and raw portrayal of Māori life, it became a landma

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