A collection of Māori and Pasifika short films curated by Leo Koziol (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Rakaipaaka), director of the Wairoa Māori Film Festival, with guest co-curator Craig Fasi (Niue), director of the Pollywood Film Festival. Curators’ comments on each film appear in italics.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2019
Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts 2019
Our Atoll Speaks: Ko Talatala Mai Tō Mātou Wenua 2019
A meditation on sustainability from the remote Pukapuka atoll in the Cook Islands. A serenade of narrative and captivating imagery – a political cry for help. — CF
Ani 2018
A young Māori girl drifts into a world of make-believe when her mother leaves her – and her father – to fend for themselves. A tribute to the realities of solo parenting – touching and insightful. — CF
Liliu 2018
A court interpreter in colonial Samoa risks everything to help a wrongfully convicted chief. In the time of King George VI, it was a time for guardianship of indigenous history as truth. — LK
Ways to See 2019
A young Māori girl attempts to use mystical powers to reconnect with her absent father. A mysterious woman, beautiful and otherworldly, comes for a visit. – CF
Rū 2019
A pregnant woman must fight for her life when she inadvertently becomes the victim of a violent initiation. A routine whānau errand turns dark in this unexpected native noir. — LK
Yellow Roses 2019
An elderly Māori woman who pines for the company of her husband enlists the services of a male escort. Vicky Haughton shines in a story of lost love reawakened. — LK