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The thirteenth annual Wairoa Maori Film Festival will be held from 1 to 4 June 2018 in two locations—at Kahungunu Marae (War Memorial Hall) in Nuhaka and the state-of-the-art Gaiety Theatre in Wairoa. The festival is organized by Wairoa Maori Film Festival Society and supported by the New Zealand Film Commission, Nga Aho Whakaari, Bright Sunday, Wairoa District Council, New Zealand International Film Festival, Women in Film and Television Incorporated (WIFT NZ), and Pacific Islanders in Film & Television (PIFT).

Founded in 2005, the Wairoa Maori Film Festival has become one of the most popular international film festivals because it not only curates quality films from around the world but also is located in a high-volume tourist area. The combination provides an easily accessible platform to showcase various international films as well as introduce Maori and Pasifika culture to a wider audience. The festival is committed to providing sponsorship opportunities to potential filmmakers.

Notable events of the festival include powhiri ceremony (the traditional Maori welcome) at Marae on 1 June in Nuhaka and the grand Gala Awards program on 3 June at the Gaiety Theatre in Wairoa. The Gala Awards program includes special surprise performances throughout the evening. To attend to any of the festival events, visitors will need to buy tickets online. For more information please go to the festival’s official website.

Each year the festival presents new short films, features, documentaries, and experimental works; hosts workshops and wananga (the teaching of Maori tradition); and presents prestigious film industry awards including the annual Women in Film & Television Mana Wahine Award and Pacific Islanders in Film & Television Mana Pasifika Award. Most of the films will be showing over the first weekend of June in Nuhaka.

In 2018, the festival is spreading its wings and starting a new event in Auckland: He Wiki Kiriata Maori, Maori Film Week from 30 June to 8 July.This event will be an annual and paired alongside the Wairoa Maori Film Festival. This event will include film screenings, light activations, an art exhibition, lightboxes in the CBD, a youth film workshop, art residences, and film making projects.


This is an edited version of the original source article provided by Wairoa Maori Film Festival Society Inc.