Leo Koziol 8/01/24 Leo Koziol 8/01/24

Ngā Whanaunga

Kiriata Screening

Ngā Whanaunga

Friday 2 February:
6 pm Opening Night: Nga Whanaunga Māori Shorts, Len Lye Centre Cinema, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Buy Tickets

Tuesday 6 February (Waitangi Day):
3 pm Nga Whanaunga Māori Shorts, Len Lye Centre Cinema, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Buy Tickets

The KIRIATA MĀORI Showcase is a partnership between the Wairoa Māori Film Festival and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in Ngāmotu New Plymouth. Māori, Pasifika and Indigenous moving image art works will be screened over Waitangi weekend 2024 during the Te Hau Whakatonu exhibition.

Curator’s Statement:

This collection of short films are Māori short films from the Ngā Whanaunga programme of NZIFF. Every year, NZIFF provides a platform for the best Māori and Pasifika short films to be seen by audiences nationwide. This special “encore” collection presents five of the best from NZIFF in the past two years. Mauri Ora! - Leo Koziol (Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Ngāti Kahungunu)

Screen artists:

Keelan Walker (Rangitāne o Wairau, Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Apa ki to Rā Tō)
Paolo Rotondo, Rob Mokaraka
Douglas F. Brooks (Te Ati Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Kahungungu, Ngāti Pākehā)
Tia Barrett (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mamoe, Te Rapuwai, Waitaha, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Tamainupō)
Tajim Mohammed-Kapa (Māori)

Tajim Mohammed-Kapa (Māori), The Difference Between Pipi and Pupu

PROGRAMME

Bringing Mere Home

(Rated M)

Keelan Walker, 15 min Aotearoa

New Zealand. 1980s. Billy is driving home from one of his regular Sunday pub sessions when he comes across a mysterious young girl named Mere, stranded on the side of the road.

"A timely reminder of the cultural changes and social attitude changes that Māori have made towards alcohol, and the price we once paid." – Leo Koziol

Maunga Cassino

(Rated M Violence & Offensive Language)

Paolo Rotondo, 15 min Aotearoa

Writers Paolo Rotondo, Rob Mokaraka

Italy, World War 2. A battle hardened Maori soldier loses his way crossing into enemy territory, pursuing a scrawny rooster into an abandoned stable. Inside, hidden in a bundle of hay an Italian deserter Salvatore waits to reach his family.

Kōkako

(Rated M)

Douglas Brooks, 13 min Aotearoa

While Ashley searches the New Zealand wilderness for a bird presumed extinct, her isolation is disrupted by the intrusion of some uncomfortable family history.

"The underlying theme is dark and mournful, but this bounty of birds is a fantastical delight from start to finish, never will I think the same again when I visit my Ngāhere." – Leo Koziol

He Pounamu Ko Āu

Tia Barrett, 8 min Aotearoa

A kaupapa Māori experimental short film that explores wahine Māori identity. The film unfolds through moving image, pounamu pūrākau (storytelling), mōteatea (sung Māori poetry), and ambient sound. Created for healing and artistically expressing a story of overcoming the adversity of colonisation and the reconnection to indigenous woman's identity. Drawing on maternal whakapapa (genealogy) to celebrate intergenerational wāhine talent.

The Difference Between Pipi and Pūpū

(Rated M)

Tajim Mohammed-Kapa, 2022 18 min Aotearoa

When estranged son, Tai, is called home to Aotearoa to his father Putty's deathbed, he is forced to confront a painful past after years of avoiding it. Once inseparable, Tai and Putty would spend hours together fishing and joking around. However, after a family secret is revealed, their relationship falls apart.

The Difference Between Pipi and Pūpū is a story of a trauma that threatens to tear a whānau apart, and how memories of an aroha once shared can rise again and heal old mamae.

“Sometimes farewell means forgiveness, but the journey is arduous.” — Leo Koziol

Paolo Rotondo, Rob Mokaraka: Maunga Cassino

Douglas F. Brooks (Te Ati Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Kahungungu, Ngāti Pākehā), Kōkako

Leo Koziol 8/01/24 Leo Koziol 8/01/24

Whānau Shorts

Kiriata Screening

Whānau Shorts

Sunday 4 February
4 pm Whānau Shorts, Len Lye Centre Cinema, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Buy Tickets

Curator's Statement: "It's all about whānau, in our Whānau Shorts collection. A young boy is worried for his uncle, in Ngā Riwha a Tama. A daughter looks for joy with her father who has a life threatening diagnosis in Fast Eddie. A mother supports her young son who is a takiwātanga (autistic) child in He Karu He Taringa. Just three of the five stories presented in our Whānau Shorts collection."

Screen artists:

Hattie Adams, Ryan Bradley
Keeti Ngatai Melbourne (Ngāti Porou, Ngāi Tūhoe)
Keeley Meechan (Māori)
Claudia Puti Holmstead-Morris (Māori)
Tahuaroa Ohia (Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Pukenga, Ngāti Hine, Ngāpuhi)

Whānau Shorts

PROGRAMME

Tohorā

Hattie Adams, Ryan Bradley, 3 min Aotearoa

Two boys meet on an idyllic beach and forge a friendship that sees bonds tested and the origins of a timeless tale formed. Based on the legend of the Tohorā (southern whale) as told by native Maori of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ngā Riwha a Tama

Keeti Ngatai Melbourne, 11 min, Aotearoa

To Tama, Uncle Brown is the best hunter on the whole East Coast. Little does he realise, Uncle’s is hunting for his own life. Kei te haere maua ki te whakangau Tia.

This film was made as part of the Ngā Pakiaka Incubator Programme - 8 short films made by a new generation of emerging young Māori filmmakers, developed and produced by Māoriland Film Festival’s rangatahi (youth) development programme.

Created during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 and supported by the Sundance Institute’s Reinstitute and Reimagine Plan and Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga - New Zealand Film Commission’s Rangatahi fund. Production of the films was supported by over 700 Boosted supporters.

Fast Eddie

Keeley Meechan, 13 min Aotearoa

Seeking joy after his life-threatening diagnosis, a determined father attempts one last adventure with his daughter: an ambitious bike ride that will push them to physical and emotional limits.

Four years ago, former cyclist and charismatic go-getter Eddie was diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy, a terminal neurodegenerative disorder that has taken his voice, mobility and quality of life. Not ready to give in to the disease, Eddie and his daughter Keely prepare for their greatest adventure together: a gruelling bike ride around Central Otago’s Lake Dunstan trail.

Tokorua Hei Kotahi

Claudia Puti Holmstead-Morris, 10 min Aotearoa

In the days following her grandmother’s passing and as she prepares for the tangi, 12 year old Anahera’s grief materialises as a mirror version of herself, in which she becomes more dissociated from her Māori identity.

He Karu He Taringa

Tahuaroa Ohia, 13 min Aotearoa

To six-year-old Ben, the world is full of loud noises and frightening images. As Ben struggles with everyday life, his mother searches desperately to find a way to help her son.

He Karu He Taringa is an immersive short film about how a takiwātanga (autistic) child sees and hears the world.

Emerging Māori director, Tahuaroa (Tahu) Ohia was diagnosed with Autism and Global Developmental Delay when he was six years old. The only way he talked to people was to quote movie lines from movies & tv shows – thus sparking his interest in screen storytelling.

Tokorua Hei Kotahi, Claudia Puti Holmstead-Morris

Leo Koziol 8/01/24 Leo Koziol 8/01/24

Wairua Shorts

Kiriata Screening

Wairua Shorts

Saturday 3 February
11 am Wairua Shorts, Len Lye Centre Cinema, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Buy Tickets

Screen artists:

Follow the Light - Cameron Madams (Māori)
Ruarangi - Oriwa Hakaraia (Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Kapu)
E Rangi Rā - Tioreore Ngatai Melbourne (Ngati- Porou, Tūhoe)
Street Lights - Te Mahara Tamehana (Ngāti Hine/Ngapuhi)
The Retrieval - Aree Kapa (Te Aupouri kī Te Kao)

Wairua Shorts

PROGRAMME

Follow The Light

Cameron Madams, 17 min Aotearoa

The film follows Lena, a first-year student, returning to Wellington with a desire to connect with her Māori culture. Through her dreams, and with the help of the mysterious Tai, Lena's curiosity leads her on a fantastical journey to confront the secrets of her past, present, and future.

Ruarangi

Oriwa Hakaraia, 10 min Aotearoa

After a row with his father, Ruarangi thinks he’s away laughing. He soon discovers that there is no such thing as a free ride.

When a headstrong young Māori man finds himself captive in a palatial manor house in England he uncovers a trade in Indigenous people as exotica. Ruarangi must find a way to escape and return to his homeland.

Ruarangi is a thriller set in the early 1800’s. It begins with a young and mischievous Māori man, Ruarangi who flees his father’s anger and soon finds himself a captive on a tall-ship heading to

England. On arrival he is sold to an earl to be part of his collection of indigenous exotica.

E Rangi Rā

Tioreore Ngatai Melbourne, 12 min Aotearoa

In the midst of inter-tribal warfare, a young girl is separated from her mother. In her journey to safety, she befriends a young man who has also been separated from his whānau.

E Rangi Rā is set in the early 1800s following Ngāpuhi’s attack on Te Whānau a Hinerupe. Armed with European muskets this attack had a devastating long-lasting impact on Te Whānau a Hinerupe and their descendants.

Street Lights

Te Mahara Tamehana, 16 min Aotearoa

For a broken whānau, one night could be all it takes to find redemption, forgiveness and love between three generations.

This film was made as part of the Ngā Pakiaka Incubator Programme - Eight short films by a new generation of filmmakers. Devised during the 1st COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, He Waiora traverses a range of topics close to the hearts of rangatahi and their whānau in Aotearoa today.

The Retrieval

Aree Kapa, 13 min Aotearoa

If it’s already yours, it’s not stealing, right?

A young man is faced with the decision of whether to risk the most important thing in his life to fulfil a promise to his elders.

Leo Koziol 8/01/24 Leo Koziol 8/01/24

Te Whenua Tupu Ora

Kiriata Screening

Te Whenua Tupu Ora

Sunday 4 February
11 am Te Whenua Tupu Ora (Documentary), Len Lye Centre Cinema, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Buy Tickets

Curator's Statement: "Heather Randerson's documentary is centered upon the Hokianga and its adjacent Ngāhere - the Kauri forests so threatened by dieback. In this stunning documentary, photographs and video of the Kauri forests are projected upon the dunes of the Hokianga harbour, an art project of the Niniwa Collective. Alongside this feature documentary are two short works, Karen Sidney's documenting the recreation of an ancient woven sail, and Holly Beckham's heartfelt story about overcoming meth addiction."

Screen artists:

Heather Randerson (Te Hikutu)
Karen Sidney (Te Aitanga a Māhaki, Rongowhakaata, Rongomaiwahine) Director IMDB Bio
Holly Beckham (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Rangi)

PROGRAMME

Te Whenua Tupu Ora

62 min Aotearoa 2023, Director Heather Randerson

A film by the Niniwa Collective.

Documentary about the making of an art project about Kauri Dieback projected onto Niniwa on the Hokianga.

Biography

Ko Te Ramaroa te maunga
Ko Whirinaki te awa
Ko Tuwhatero te rere
Ko Te Hikutu te hapu
Ko Pa te Aroha, Matai Aranui, Moria nga marae
Ko Nga Puhi te Iwi
Kia ora mai tatou te whanau whanui, ko Heather Lindsay Randerson ahau.
No reira, tenei he mihi poto ki a koutou katoa, rau rangatira ma.

Heather Randerson’s return to the ukaipo of Hokianga from Wellington, where she was born, began when she moved to Omapere to live in 1997. This move enabled her to explore her whanau roots and experience being a member of a vital, vibrant community.

Waking to Niniwa in his full glory daily and being witness to the unceasing transformations has inspired the development of her photography practice.

“In the beginning it was about capturing the natural beauty of Hokianga and the world I live with daily - the beauty within the water, the tides, the sky, the clouds, Niniwa, Arai Te Uru, the earth, and the forest. Now, it has become recognising that within that, is the living presence of the tupuna, of the wairua. I live with that all the time, and I no longer seek to capture it to express it, because it is simply there.

“Occasionally I will see something that fires me, that touches me so deeply because it is mystical – that is the wairua, that is the mystery.”

Trailer for the documentary:

Preceded by two short documentaries:

Te Rā

Karen Sidney (6 min)

Te Rā is about the 100 year challenge issued by Māori Anthropologist Te Rangi Hiroa, for Māori to recreate the woven sail now kept at the British Museum. A challenge answered in 2022 by the wahine Māori/Māori women of the weaving group 'Ta Rā roopu ringa raupa'/the calloused hands.

Mana Over Meth

Holly Beckham (10 min) Note: Contains Mature Content

Determined to break the cycle for her tamariki, one wāhine toa turns her troubled life of addiction and trauma around by rediscovering her wairua and reclaiming her mana.

Jessica Apanui’s methamphetamine addiction began as an escape from the trauma of a violent childhood. But after years of chronic abuse, she made the decision to break the cycle for her own tamariki. Now Jess must look deep into her past and embrace the power of Māoritanga to help guide her future.

Holly Beckham (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Rangi), Mana Over Meth

Leo Koziol 8/01/24 Leo Koziol 8/01/24

Fun in Māori Shorts

Kiriata Screening

Fun in Māori Shorts

Saturday 3 February
1 pm Fun in Māori Shorts, Len Lye Centre Cinema, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Buy Tickets

Curator’s Statement: Yes, Fun in Māori Shorts is a funny pun (spot the stubbies!) collecting together the fun, funny and adventurous Māori short films of recent times. Fun can be rangatahi comedy like Te Waiarangi Ratana’s Manu Masters (dive bombs into the deep end will never be the same!), it can be gently poking a stick at the legacy of dawn raids in the at-times-startling The Voyager’s Legacy by Bailey Poching. Of course there can be tears through joy, like Rafer Raujtoki’s The Bryclreem Boys, and sometimes we just want to go along for the ride like in Isaac Bell’s back to the future-esque The Machine. Enjoy the ride, whānau, all this and more in our first ever Fun in Māori Shorts! - Leo Koziol (Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Ngāti Kahungunu)

Screen artists:

Te Waiarangi Ratana (Tūhoe)
Bailey Poching (Māori, Samoan)
Rafer Raujtoki (Ngāti Whakahema, Ngāti Pikiao)
Isaac Bell (Ngāpuhi)

Te Waiarangi Ratana (Tūhoe), Manu Masters, 2022

Fun in Māori Shorts

PROGRAMME

Manu Masters

Te Waiarangi Ratana 18 min, 2022

A story of Summer, fear and courage in Aotearoa. MANU MASTERS is a coming-of-age comedy inspired by films like the Last Dragon and the original Karate Kid. Manu Masters must learn how to bomb from Matua Pai to save both his reputation and his self-esteem. The film is fun and colourful with an exaggerated set of characters. It tackles themes of identity, purpose and great expectations.

The Voyager’s Legacy

Bailey Poching, 10 min, 2022

Set during the time of the Dawn Raids, The Voyagers Legacy follows the three youngest children of a Samoan family, as they reimagine their bustling Ponsonby home as a magical, whimsical fairytale world of swords and sorcery.

The Dawn Raids of 1974-76 were a time when the New Zealand Police were instructed by the government to enter homes and/or stop people on the street and ask for permits, visas, passports – anything that proved a person’s right to be in the country. This blunt instrument was applied almost exclusively to Pacific Islanders, despite the bulk of overstayers at the time being from Europe or North America. Dr Melani Anae describes these raids as ‘the most blatantly racist attack on Pacific peoples by the New Zealand government in New Zealand’s history’.

This film was made as part of the Ngā Pakiaka Incubator Programme.

The Brylcreem Boys

Rafer Raujtoki, 2022, 14 min

Kara is tasked with discovering why her Uncle’s first love abandoned him on the opening night of his band’s national tour.

The Machine

Isaac Bell, 2022, 26 min

"In a quiet corner of rural New Zealand, a teenage boy holds the key to the greatest discovery of our time. The world is tough for our young genius who’s largely misunderstood by the people around him. But for him to unlock the last piece of the puzzle, he needs the help of his idol, a famed industrialist on the other side of the world. What he doesn’t realise is that by building The Machine, he’s started a chain of events that could, if it works, change the course of history."

Bailey Poching (Māori, Samoan), The Voyager’s Legacy, 2022

Rafer Raujtoki (Ngāti Whakahema, Ngāti Pikiao), The Brylcreem Boys, 2022

Leo Koziol 8/01/24 Leo Koziol 8/01/24

Rematriation

Kiriata Screening

Rematriation

Sunday 4 February: 1 pm Rematriation, Len Lye Centre Cinema, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Buy Tickets

Tuesday 6 February (Waitangi Day): 11 am Rematriation, Len Lye Centre Cinema, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Buy Tickets

A programme of five works by contemporary Māori artists, curated by CIRCUIT’s Kaitiaki Kiriata Tanya Te Miringa Te Rorarangi Ruka, will screen at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in Ngāmotu New Plymouth over Waitangi weekend 2024 as part of the KIRIATA MĀORI Showcase.

Bobby Luke (Ngāti Ruanui), Kōrero o taku Māmā (2023)

Rematriation

me aro koe ki te hā o Hine-ahu-one

Take heed the breath of Hine-ahu-one

Curated by Tanya Te Miringa Te Rorarangi Ruka and commissioned by CIRCUIT Artist Moving Image, this screening programme delves into the profound theme of Indigenous rematriation, a concept which proposes restoration of balance, harmony, and connection to the land through a whakapapa of wahine knowledge.

Rematriation includes work by five contemporary Māori artists:

Tia Barrett (Waitaha, Ngāti Māmoe, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Tamainupō, Ngāti Maniapoto)
Bobby Luke (Ngāti Ruanui)
Tanya Te Miringa Te Rorarangi Ruka (Ngati Pakau, Ngapuhi)
Sandy Wakefield (Ngapuhi, Ngāi Tahu)
Keri-Mei Zagrobelna (Whānau-ā- Apanui and Te Āti Awa)

Each work visualises the intrinsic, ethereal, and ineffable narratives woven throughout Te Ao Māori.

For viewers, Rematriation seeks to foster a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by Indigenous communities, whilst affirming ongoing efforts to restore and preserve Indigenous cultural identities on a spiritual level.

Facing the many contemporary political, historical, and environmental issues in Aotearoa and the world today, the five films in Rematriation continue conversations about decolonisation, cultural continuity, and the shared responsibility of nurturing a more inclusive and equitable world. Together they celebrate the transformative power of Rematriation as a celebration of identity, resilience, and the enduring connection between people and the land they call home.

Tanya Te Miringa Te Rorarangi Ruka is CIRCUIT’s Kaitiaki Kiriata for 2024, a new curatorial position which supports a Māori curator to present artists video in contexts framed by Te Ao Māori.

Programme

Kōrero o taku Māmā

Bobby Luke (Ngāti Ruanui), Kōrero o taku Māmā (2023)

“A Memory, a moment, and an archive. This work traverses a conversation between my mum Alison Luke talking about her upbringing at Taiporohēnui Pā and what the most important learnings she fostered as a child, to now as she passes this knowledge to her children. This work was filmed using super 8 film to curate an untouched memory, a first thought, capturing a girl with her child, creating a vignette of nurturing embrace. This moving image is about a mother’s love for her children and her Pā. Recently a part of the Campbell Luke show at New Zealand Fashion week 2023 titled, ‘He Oranga Ngākau’ which was a visual dialog of a mother's nurture as an indigenous form of trauma healing.”

—Bobby Luke

He Pounamu Ko Āu

Tia Barrett (Waitaha, Ngāti Māmoe, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Tamainupō, Ngāti Maniapoto), He Pounamu Ko Āu (I am Pounamu) (2023)

Te Pito

Keri-Mei Zagrobelna (Whānau-ā- Apanui and Te Āti Awa), Te Pito (2023)

In Te Pito, the movements of dancer Jahra Wasasala Ragar signal the umbilical cord connecting us to our surroundings and whenua. As a descendant of Te Āti-Awa that holds links to the Whakatū region, the artist hopes Te Pito will act as a guide, facilitator, and creative portal for others seeking to reclaim identity and reconnections to whakapapa.

Nakunaku

Sandy Wakefield (Ngāpuhi, Ngai Tahu), Nakunaku (2020)

Tuia ki te rangi
Tuia ki te whenua
Tuia ki te moana
Tuia te here tangata
E rongo te pō, e rongo te ao.

Through a series of visits to remote areas of Rakiura (Stewart Island), Nakunaku acknowledges the impact of colonisation on generations of her tupuna. Stripped of their culture, their whenua, marae, mana, and reo, the connection to whakapapa became broken up and disjointed. For the artist, to stand in the places of her tupuna acts as a form of reclamation. This journey is told by Rakiura women through a cinematic sound design that externalises their 'unseen' presence, weaving and guiding the audience through the deeply personal experiences these women share about their upbringings, and how they live with those histories on Rakiura today. Wakefield's research into local pūrākau, whakapapa, colonial histories, Rakiura history, mahinga kai areas and seasons, specific birds and their uses by Rakiura Māori is heard in the film's soundscape. The whakatauki "Kia whakatōmuri te haere whakamua" is a strong influence for the artist, and guides her utilisation of traditional mātauranga and tikanga in the making of this work.

Aue te Manuhiri

Tanya Te Miringa Te Rorarangi Ruka (Ngati Pakau, Ngapuhi), Aue te Manuhiri (2023)

“A short film documenting a karakia that was gifted to my mother Jane Mihingarangi in the ngahere. The karakia is speaking to the Myrtle Rust funghi that is devastating our Myrtle varieties and threatening extinction. The karakia welcomes Myrtle Rust as a manuhiri and provides the funghi with a solution to return to the home and warmth of Papatuanuku. The karakia is spoken with aroha and gratitude for teaching humanity a serious lesson about the need to change and the environmental devastation brought upon itself. Toi Taiao Whakatairanga is a cross-disciplinary research project, bringing together arts, science, and Te Ao Māori to raise awareness of threats to the health of our ngahere.”

—Tanya Te Miringa Te Rorarangi Ruka

Tia Barrett (Waitaha, Ngāti Māmoe, Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Tamainupō, Ngāti Maniapoto), He Pounamu Ko Āu (I am Pounamu) (2023)

Leo Koziol 7/01/24 Leo Koziol 7/01/24

Ruahine Stories in her Skin

Kiriata Screening

Ruahine Stories in her Skin

Tuesday 6 February (Waitangi Day)
1.30 pm Ruahine Stories in her Skin, Len Lye Centre Cinema, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Buy Tickets

Curator’s Statement: Wairoa Māori Film Festival thanks Hiona Henare for allowing us to screen Ruahine Stories in her Skin and Native in Nuhaka at KIRIATA MĀORI Showcase 2024. Hiona Henare has a long and enduring artistic relationship with the Wairoa Māori Film Festival as a former programmer, festival director and documentarian of our festival. Our relationship with Hiona Henare extends to her whānau and hapū; her niece Faith Oriwia Henare-Stewart (and the Kurahaupō Film Collective) participated in the 2022 Wairoa Māori Film Festival through the Tuakana-Teina programme of the New Zealand Film Commission. Hiona Henare has been a champion for Māori film and 4th cinema all her life, no better expressed in her own mana wahine film works such as Ruahine Stories in her Skin. Kia Kaha, Wahine Toa! - Leo Koziol (Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Ngāti Kahungunu)

Ruahine Stories In Her Skin

Writer | Director | Producer - Hiona Henare

A beautifully lyrical and intimate documentary following the ceremony of two women receiving their traditional moko kauae (chin tattoo).

For Māori women receiving their traditional moko kauae, they are visually asserting their birthright and identity while celebrating the mana (spiritual power) of their whakapapa (ancestry). In Māori tradition, the head is considered the most tapu (sacred) part of the human body making the practice of moko kauae highly prestigious and exclusive to Māori women. Director Hiona Henare brings us into an uninhibited and unobstructed experience filled with traditional songs and story.

Director Biography:

Hiona Henare is an Alumni of the Berlinale film Talents, her films carry a host of awards including a FIFO Prix Spécial Du Jury for Ruahine: Stories In Her Skin and Best International Documentary for Spirit Women from the Wāiroa Māori film festival. Other achievements include the NZFC Huia Publishers Pikihuia Highly Commended Script award for her short film script I Am Paradise, and the Australian Solid Screen award for her contribution to the screen arts. Based in the mighty Horowhenua, Hiona is of Muaūpoko, Ngai Tara, Ngati Huia and Ngati Kuia descent.

Festivals:

2019 Asinabka Film, Media and Arts Festival
2020 FIFO Tahiti (winner of the FIFO Prix Spécial Du Jury)
2020 Māoriland
2020 Doc Edge Festival
2020 Pasifika Film Festival

Awards:

FIFO Tahiti 2020 Prix Spécial Du Jury

ALSO SCREENING:

Native In Nūhaka

Hiona Henare (2018, Aotearoa NZ, 15 min.)

A documentary profiling Maori and indigenous filmmaking and the place of the Wairoa Māori Film Festival over the past decade in promoting this kaupapa. In the year this documentary was made, the Wairoa Māori Film Festival was held in Kahungunu Marae, Nuhaka. NZIFF 2018.

“Beautiful and undeniably real, Native in Nuhaka encourages more natives to use film as their statement of choice.” — Craig Fasi, Pollywood Film Festival

Hiona Henare (Muaūpoko, Ngai Tara, Ngati Huia, Ngati Kuia), Native in Nuhaka (2018)

Leo Koziol 7/01/24 Leo Koziol 7/01/24

Me He Maunga Teitei: Taranaki Short Films

Kiriata Screening

Me He Maunga Teitei: Taranaki Short Films

Saturday 3 February
6 pm Centrepiece: Me He Maunga Teitei - Taranaki Shorts, Len Lye Centre Cinema, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Buy Tickets

Monday 5 February
11 am: Me He Maunga Teitei - Taranaki Shorts, Len Lye Centre Cinema, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Buy Tickets

Curator’s Statement:

Whāia te iti kahurangi, ki te tuohu koe, me he maunga teitei. An ancient Māori proverb which means “Seek the treasure that you value most dearly, if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain.” So it is, we gather in the shadow of he maunga teitei–Taranaki, for a very special celebration of the works of three Taranaki descent screen artists who have indeed climbed the highest heights in their art careers: Aroha Awarau, Katie Wolfe and Rachel House. Mauri Ora! Tihei, Mauri Ora! - Leo Koziol (Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Ngāti Kahungunu)

Screen artists:

Aroha Awarau (Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Porou, Niuean and Samoan)
Katie Wolfe (Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga)
Rachel House (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mutunga)

Rachel House (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Mutunga), The Winter Boy, 2010

Me He Maunga Teitei: Taranaki Short Films

PROGRAMME

This is Her

(Rated M: Mature)

Katie Wolfe, 2008, 8 min

"This is me. This is my husband …" So narrates Evie as she watches her younger self labour with childbirth. "And this is the bitch who will one day steal him, and ruin my life." When the bitch is shown as an angelic six-year-old the tone is set for Katie Wolfe’s award-winning black comedy (her debut short as a director). Writer Kate McDermott’s wry narration moves between then and now, as fate delivers a less than wonderful life in Auckland suburbia. Selected for the Sundance Film Festival, This is Her was a breakout festival success, earning Wolfe notice as a filmmaker to watch. (Film notes: NZ On Screen)

The Winter Boy

(Rated PG: Parental Guidance)

Rachel House, 2010, 8 min, Producer Hineani Melbourne

A mother tries to comfort her grieving son, but on each attempt her son’s silence becomes more and more deafening. An outing to the local aquarium places further strain on their troubled relationship - until her son finds a reason to let his mother in again.

Home

(Rated M: Mature)

Director Chris Molloy (Māori), Writer Aroha Awarau, 14 min 2014

Discovering her two sons have committed a heinous crime, a devoted mother is torn by the heartbreaking decision she must make. Her sons may eventually forgive her, but can she ever forgive herself?

Disrupt

(Rated M: Offensive Language)

Jennifer Te Atamira Ward-Lealand, Writer Aroha Awarau, 13 min 2021

When a burglary goes wrong, CJ must choose between his whānau and his next fix. “A whānau bond can't be broken apart, even if the trespasses made skew to forsaking and not forgiving.” — Leo Koziol, Wairoa Maori Film Festival

Redemption

(Rated R16 Drug Use, Sex Scenes, Offensive Language)

Katie Wolfe, 2010 17 min

Redemption is the dark and tender story of two Māori teenagers trying to find their way through personal hells. 2010 - Berlin Film Festival, New Zealand International Film Festival, Corona Cork Film Festival, 'Best Short Drama' Imagine Native. 2011 - Sundance Film Festival, Show Me Shorts.

Katie Wolfe (Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga), Redemption, 2010

Writer: Aroha Awarau (Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Porou, Niuean and Samoan), Disrupt, 2021

Katie Wolfe (Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga), This is Her, 2008

Writer: Aroha Awarau (Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Porou, Niuean and Samoan), Home, 2014

Leo Koziol 7/01/24 Leo Koziol 7/01/24

Toi Whenua, Toi Māori

Kiriata Screening

Toi Whenua, Toi Māori

Monday 5 February
4 pm Toi Whenua, Toi Māori, Len Lye Centre Cinema, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Buy Tickets

A programme of seven short documentaries and experimental works by contemporary Māori artists, exploring the connection between Māori art (Toi Māori) and the land (Toi Whenua). Curated by Leo Koziol (Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Ngāti Kahungunu) of the Wairoa Māori Film Festival. Screening at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in Ngāmotu New Plymouth over Waitangi weekend 2024 as part of the KIRIATA MĀORI Showcase.

Screen artists:

Karen Sidney (Te Aitanga a Māhaki, Rongowhakaata, Rongomaiwahine) Director IMDB Bio
Sarah Hudson (Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Pūkeko)
Kathleen Mantel (Ngāti Kahungunu), Amber Esau (Māori, Samoan)
Moe Clark (Metis), Victoria Hunt (Māori)
Tiana Trego Hall (Te Rarawa, Ngāti Whātua, Tainui, Mangaia Kuki Airani Māori)
Kararaina Rangihau (Tūhoe, Te Arawa)
Daniel Nathan (Māori)

Daniel Nathan, Mauri Tu, Mauri Ora (2023)

Toi Whenua, Toi Māori
Screen Arts Programme:

Te Rā

Karen Sidney (6 min)

Reconnect

Sarah Hudson (10 min)

Explores practicing gestures of ceremony to reconnect the geological genealogies.

Our tūpuna Māori used colourful rocks, clay and soils mixed with water as personal adornment, an art material, in ceremony and as medicine. These elements have been a part of my own art practice for the last three years; reconnecting to my cultural materials has been a reconnection with my body, the land, people, ancestors, and gods all at once.

Ko Parawhenuamea ko au

Ko Ukurangi ko au

Ko Rakahore ko au

I am earthly water

I am ancient clay

I am rocks in all forms

Whirlflow

Kathleen Mantel (5 min), writer Amber Esau

A surrealistic arc blazes over west Auckland, leaving a trail of images, ideas and dreams. A spoken word poetry piece that flows from darkness to light, signaling a breakthrough from the cycles that we find ourselves in. Screened at imagineNATIVE 2023.

Biolumin

Moe Clark, Victoria Hunt (5 min)

An experimental examination of threshold states (note: contains nudity). Biolumin is an experimental examination of threshold states. Moving through deep space time in underwater realms, mirrored bodies spiral, suspend and dance through te reo maori and nêhiyawêwin lamentations. Screened at imagineNATIVE 2023. In Cree and Māori languages.

The Politics of Toheroa Soup

Tiana Trego Hall (7 min)

A pūkōrero about whānau, kai. This film is about the slow depletion of the toheroa, the Foreshore Resource Management act and the impacts on one west coast Northland Māori whānau.

He Ōhākī - Imparting Words of Wisdom

Kararaina Rangihau (10 min)

Centuries of Tūhoe wisdom are illuminated by Kararaina Rangihau, youngest daughter of John Rangihau, as a means of truly addressing the impact of institutional racism against Māori. In 1986 John Te Rangiāniwaniwa Rangihau led a committee that delivered the most damning report of institutional racism New Zealand had ever seen, the Pūao Te Ata Tū, Daybreak Report. Now his daughter, Kararaina, carries on her father’s legacy by sharing his vision for a New Zealand that all future generations can be proud of.

Mauri Tu, Mauri Ora

Daniel Nathan (24 min)

Hokia te waoku kia purea ai - Return to the forest and be restored.

A passionate indigenous artist strives to re-awaken a deeper conversation with the natural world. Māori musician Kelly Kahukiwa is on a mission to re-vitalise 'Taonga Pūoro' traditional Māori instruments, raise awareness of threats to forest health, and foster enduring, inter-generational connections with 'Te Taiao' (natural world environments) in the Whangārei area of Te Tai Tokerau (Northland, New Zealand). His approach is informed by Mātauranga Māori (indigenous knowledge systems) and a deep affinity for the unique indigenous flora and fauna of Aotearoa (New Zealand).

Total run time: 67 min.