Briar is of Ngāpuhi descent and is a filmmaker and an award-winning writer of plays, screenplays and short fiction. Her plays have been performed in New Zealand as well on the international stage. She was the writer of the feature film, The Strength of Water and the writer/director of Charm, one of eight short films that make up Waru - the acclaimed omnibus feature written and directed by Māori women . Briar was the screenwriter, a leading actor and co-director (with Ainsley Gardiner) of the feature film, Cousins - an adaptation of the novel by Patricia Grace. Among her awards Briar has received the Arts Foundation Laureate Award, the Sundance Merata Mita Fellowship and an ONZM for her services to theatre, film and television. She is a Showrunner and Writer/Co Director on the second series of the award winning Rūrangi (to screen in 2022).