Lee Tamahori, the acclaimed New Zealand filmmaker best known for directing Die Another Day and Once Were Warriors, has passed away at the age of 75. His family confirmed that he died at home following a battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Tamahori’s family, in a statement shared with New Zealand’s public broadcaster RNZ, described him as an artist whose impact went far beyond his filmography. “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," they said.

Born in Wellington in 1950, Tamahori began his career as a commercial artist and photographer before moving into the film industry. In the late 1970s, he worked as a boom operator and later became an assistant director. During

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