THE RIDGE with Dream Chambers (Series) d. Douglas MacKinnon & Robyn Grace (2025)
KŌKĀ (Film) d. Kath Akuhata-Brown (2025)
KA WHAWHAI TONU / STRUGGLE WITHOUT END (Film) d. Mike Jonathan (2024)
THE MOUNTAIN (Film) d. Rachel House (2024)
STYLEBENDER (Documentary) d. Zoë McIntosh (2023)
SAVAGE (Film) d. Sam Kelly (2019)
DAME VALERIE ADAMS: MORE THAN GOLD (Documentary) d. Briar March (2022)
TRACES with Rhian Sheehan (Loop Electronic) 2025
Arli Liberman is an award-winning screen composer, producer and guitarist who creates vibrant, immersive music for Film, TV, multimedia and live experiences.
With an unwavering dedication to his craft, Arli's approach to music serves as a transformative force that resonates both on and off the screen.
In 2024 he collaborated with Tiki Taane (Ngāti Maniapoto) to create the soundtrack to the historical drama in te reo Māori 'Ka Whawhai Tonu - Struggle Without End' (2024) directed by Mike Jonathan (Tainui, Mātaatua, Te Arawa). Their approach was to make an "invisible sonic character", and they experimented with taonga pūoro (traditional Māori instruments) and Taane's voice, pushing the instruments to their limits.
This collaboration saw them being nominated at the Hollywood Music and Media Awards for Best Score in an Independent Film (foreign language) and their song ‘Hold On To The Dream’ featuring Louis Baker was nominated for Best Song in an Independent Film, and it has also been nominated Best Soundtrack at the Septimus Awards later this year.
Arli’s work was previously recognised in past editions of the APRA Silver Scrolls with his score for Sam Kelly's gang movie 'Savage' (2021) winning the APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film Award, and 'The Mountain' (2024), directed by Rachel House seeing him Finalist for APRA Best Original Music in a Feature Film Award alongside Troy Kingi.
2025 sees him collaborating with Dream Chambers to create the score for six-part psychological thriller co-produced by BBC Scotland and Sky New Zealand, alongside the release of intergenerational road trip movie ‘Kōkā’ directed by Kath Akuhata-Brown (Ngāti Porou).
Other projects include the score to 'Stylebender' (2023) directed by Zoë McIntosh, a documentary about Nigerian/New Zealander mixed martial artist Israel Adesanya, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival, and the feature documentary ‘More Than Gold’ (2022) directed by Briar March about Olympian, double Olympic gold medallist, Tongan/New Zealander Dame Valerie Adams. His signature sound can be heard on the 36th & 37th America's Cup theme, the opening titles of the FIFA Women's World Cup, The All Blacks Experience at SkyCity.
As a recording artist, Arli is also prolific, most recently creating a new collaborative album ‘Traces’ with renowned composer Rhian Sheehan due out in 2025 on Loop Electronic. Arli's production work on Ngatapa Black's album 'I Muri Ahiahi' earned a nomination for Māori Album of the Year at the Aotearoa Music Awards, and he has performed at MoMA New York and the Montreux Jazz Festival, among other international festivals.
Originally from Israel, Arli was a member of the groundbreaking Whiteflag Project, a pioneering crossover band uniting Palestinian and Israeli musicians. Under the mentorship of platinum-selling English record producer Mark Smulian, he was urged to 'find the back door of the electric guitar sound', which marked the beginning of Arli’s journey in developing his sonic identity.
In 2009, Arli moved to Aotearoa New Zealand, where he continued to develop his innovative approach to music and began exploring the synergy between composition and visual storytelling.