Events Calendar

Matariki Short Film Festival

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These seven very different Māori short films have been selected for the Māori New Year and will play in venues across Aotearoa during Matariki. The common thread connecting them is identity.

From the struggles of our dispossessed rangatahi in South Auckland today, back to the struggles of our people in the late 1800s, we watch as characters explore who they are. BROTHER // 2009 NZ 5 mins Director Chris Graham Maori and Polynesian group Smashproof profile tragedy and struggle in South Auckland. NZ On Air.

SIX DOLLAR FIFTY MAN // 2010 NZ 15 mins Directors Mark Albiston & Louis Sutherland Set in 1970s New Zealand, The Six Dollar Fifty Man follows Andy, a gutsy 8 year-old boy who is forced to break out of his make-believe superhero world to deal with playground bullies.Jury Prize Sundance 2010; Special Distinction - Cannes 2009.

LILY AND RA // 2009 NZ 8 mins Director Armagan Ballantyne The injury and nursing back to health of a small bird is a metaphor for Ra's fractured home life. Film produced by ART for The World under the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Script by Briar Grace-Smith.

URU // 2010 NZ 16 mins Director/Writer Hiona Henare Uru is the story of a young dispirited Maori woman finding her identity. Based on the true story of a group of Kahungunu women struggling for the rights of Maori Women and Maori values in New Zealand during the 1890’s. Cast: Noa Campbell, Shannon Claire.

MOKOPUNA // 2009 NZ 12 min Dir./Writer Ainsley Gardiner Mary is a part Maori girl, living in middle class suburban New Zealand. After briefly befriending a young Mäori boy at her school, she becomes curious about his culture and its relevance to her. But when he turns his curiosity onto her, it soon becomes clear that Mary is not quite ready to embrace her own roots.

KEHUA // 2009 NZ 13 min Director/Writer Wiremu Grace On returning to his home for the first time, a boy discovers he has a gift for seeing spirits. He must gather his strength to understand their messages. Cast: Arama Vincent Wihapi, Nicola Kawana, Grant Roa, Grace Hoet, Api Taylor, Nelson Solomon.

THE WHITE TIGER // 2009 NZ 8 mins Director Taika Waititi An urban warrior returns to his tribal homeland in a quest for his cultural identity. From ImagineNative (Canada).

WARBRICK // 2009 NZ 15 min Directors Meihana & Pere Durie One man’s legacy, one nation’s legend. London, 1889. The captain of the worn-out New Zealand Natives rugby team must inspire his side to play, or risk forfeiting the test match against England. Cast: Calvin Tuteao, Francis Kora, Mitchell Nikora Baker.