Ngā Whanaunga means relatedness and connectedness between peoples Selected for NZIFF by the Wairoa Māori Film Festival this lively collection showcases recent shorts by Māori and Pasifika filmmakers.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2012
Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts
It is our privilege this year to work alongside the New Zealand International Film Festival to premiere the Māori and Pasifika short film collection for 2012. We have titled this year’s collection ‘Ngā Whanaunga’, which means relatedness and connectedness between peoples. Māori are part of the great Pasifika whānau; our Polynesian peoples journeyed on the same waka from Hawaiiki, and are related by culture, language and blood and in wairuatanga (soulfulness) across our vast sea Moana-nui-a-kiwa. Screening Māori works alongside Pasifika is symbolic of the whanaungatanga and connectedness of our peoples. Kia kaha. — Leo Koziol (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Rakaipaaka), Director of the Wairoa Māori Film Festival
Snow in Paradise 2011
The sun is shining and nature provides us with clear seawater for the fish, coconut for the land. The islanders live a happy, healthy life – until, far away, a fire rises.
Baby Steps 2012
A man, a baby; one little step at a time. When Joe is left in charge of his baby son for the first time he must leave his past behind and prove he’s ready for fatherhood.
Tatau 2012
As Siaki’s vision fails with age, memories of the painful tattooing he underwent in his youth haunt him as he yearns to see his tattoo completed before it’s too late.
Whakatiki 2012
Kiri, a Māori woman painfully aware of her weight, takes a trip with family and friends to the Whakatiki River where she spent many summers as a girl. The place awakens powerful memories.
Nine of Hearts 2012
Trembling with energy and a kind of hybrid Māori-Pākehā spiritual magic, this film is about the cards Gen, a Pākehā mother, has already been dealt, and the cards she is choosing to play now. Drawn forward by her two high-pitched fairy children, Gen must ultimately confront Nola, her teenage Māori daughter, who has wisdom beyond her years – and fury at her mother to match.
The Dump 2012
Told through the eyes of 11-year-old Utah, The Dump is a story about a boy discovering there’s more to his dad than just rubbish. Filmed in Tauraroa in Northland.
The Lawnmower Men of Kapu 2011
Atawhai is a boy on the verge of manhood, and he is counting on his three uncles to help the aunties. But the uncles have a major falling out with each other. Atawhai learns a valuable lesson about family and tradition, and his place in both.