Louisa Tipene-Opetaia, Deborah Walker-Morrison, Leo Koziol - our team leaders
OUR FESTIVAL COMMITTEE
Deborah Walker Morrison
Louisa Tipene-Opetaia
Rebecca Harris
Leo Koziol
Witi Ihimaera
MANU AUTE TUAKANA-TEINA PROGRAMME (2022)
Hiona Henare (Kurahaupo Kiriata Kahui)
Faith Oriwia Henare-Stewart (Kurahaupo Kiriata Kahui)
Te Paea Whakatope (Kaumatau Kiriata Kahui)
Craig Fasi (Niue - Pollywood Film Festival)
SUPPORTERS & VOLUNTEERS
Ratu Tibble (Kaumatua)
Corey & Haley Lowe Whanau
Angelina Perkinson
Koziol-Repia Whanau
Tipene-Opetaia Whanau
Leo Koziol at Aniwaniwa, Waikaremoana, Wairoa, Aotearoa. Photo: Monique Delatour.
Leo Koziol, Founder & Festival Director
Leo Koziol (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Rakaipaaka) is founder and director of the Wairoa Māori Film Festival. It is the longest-running indigenous film festival of New Zealand and takes place annually during Matariki in a traditional marae (Maori assembly house). Leo Koziol worked as cultural advisor in the Ministry of Maori Development and curates short films for the New Zealand International Film Festival (Ngā Whanaunga Maori Pasifika programme). He also curates for various film festivals in Canada, Italy, Polynesia, the United States and Australia. Leo is curator of the annual CineMarae art exhibition at the Wallace Arts Centre, Auckland. He is the subject of short film "Native in Nuhaka" by award winning film maker Hiona Henare. Leo is a member of the Anishnaabe Bawaadan Artists Collective based in Ontario, Canada. In 2019, he was presented with the Te Aupounamu Māori in Screen Excellence Award. In 2020, he was a guest film expert in the visitor programme of the Goethe Institute at the Berlinale film festival. Since 2020, he has been the indigenous editor of Letterboxd. With over 3 million members. Letterboxd is the leading social network for movie mavens and cinema fans alike.