We've been busy at Radio Waatea with our weekly Kōrero Kiriata interview show delving into the world of Maori and indigenous film, arts and theatre. Here are some links to recent interviews:

Rawiri Paratene joined us to talk on a new project where he collaborates with students to mentor on storytelling and theatre in te reo Maori.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

We take a look at the world of indigenous and Maori fashion with Shona Tawhiao who was involved with the NZ Fashion Week and recently completed a residency at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Check out Shona's Journal of her time in New York

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We talk about a new show coming to NZ screens shortly. Owen Boynton is the host of Toa - Hunter Gatherer that starts on Monday 12 September on Maori Television.

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Earlier today Leo Koziol, host of "Korero Kiriata" on Radio Waatea, had the privilege of talking with Bill Gosden, director of the New Zealand International Film Festival. They mused on the history of NZ and Maori film, the future of film making in Aotearoa and the promise of the new wave of film makers coming through.

Todd Karehana's THE SPECTACULAR IMAGINATION OF THE POHARA BROTHERSscreens at NZIFF "Nga Whanaunga" this Saturday at 6 pm. Get along and check it out, and check it this profile of Todd we put together earlier this year!

Click HERE to listen to Todd's interview on Radio Waatea.

A Brief Biography: Todd Karehana
 We talked to young Māori film maker Todd Karehana on Radio Waatea and online. Listen below to his interview, and read his story below!

 What is your Iwi/Whanau Background?
 My mother was raised in Te Mahoe and my father in Tauranga Moana. They whakapapa to Te Arawa, Ngati Ruapani, Ngati Awa, Ngai Te Rangi and Ngati Ranginui.

 Where are you from?

I was born in Whakatane and raised in Kawerau. My turangawaewae is entwined with my mother, Alma Te Ua.
What are your qualifications and interests/experiences in filmmaking?
 I graduated with First Class Honours in Screen Production from The University of Auckland and currently pursue a Master of Arts in Drama Directing. I have been blessed enough to have learnt filmmaking from industry professionals such as Brendan Donovan, Shuchi Kothari, Jake Mahaffy, Dan Salmon, Annie Goldson and the other fantastic support staff in the FTVMS department. I made my first film called The Kweenz of Kelston in 2014 and have since made two other shorts, E Oho (2015) and The Spectacular Imagination of The Pohara Brothers (2015).

What are your recent successes in film?

Leo Koziol at The Wairoa Maori Film festival has been gracious enough to programme two of my films. The Kweenz of Kelston in 2015 and The Spectacular Imagination of The Pohara Brothers will feature this year.

I think finishing a film is always a success in itself. To follow through from an initial idea, to a fully realised film, takes time and determination.
 
What’s next?

This year I’m writing and directing an experimental short film which will be around fifteen minutes at fine cut. I call it experimental because I aim to fuse elements of documentary and drama together to create a sort of hybrid drama/documentary.

I’m really interested in conducting real interviews and using that as the beginning point of a dramatic short film. I was recommended a play by playwright Miranda Harcourt called Verbatim, which uses real life interviews with prisoners, and the families of their victims, to create a sanguine work which touches you on so many levels. It’s extremely sad, but incredibly deep. I like digging deep to find what I want to say in my films. I also firmly believe that it’s crucial to have a deep understanding of our responsibilities as filmmakers.

I believe critical film, television and media theory is an integral part of being a progressive filmmaker- especially as an indigenous storyteller- and we need to be aware of the types of stories we are telling and how they affect our sense of identity and communities. Oh and I also believe that both making films and watching films, can be a sort of therapy or “narrative medicine”. I could write a novel on the things I think about film. But I’ll leave it at that for now.

Below, an interview with Todd on Mike King's "The Nutters Club" and two of his short film works, "The Kweenz of Kelston" and "E Oho" (Wake Up)

Earlier in the year, Leo Koziol, host of "Korero Kiriata" on Radio Waatea, and Festival Director of the Wairoa Maori Film Festival, interviewed Huia Koziol, Chairperson of the festival and his mother. Here is the interview, made by phone to Nuhaka on 8 April, and broadcast on Radio Waatea in May, two days before she sadly passed from this world. Moe mai e kui, moe mai.

KAPORANGI KIRIATA
A Retrospective Collection of Te Reo Māori Cinematic Short Films
Curated by Pita Turei and Leo Koziol (Wairoa Māori Film Festival)

Auckland War Memorial Museum, Auckland, 11 am to 4 pm Sunday July 10th 2016 * As part of Te Wiki O Te Reo Maori
 
A continuous programme of Te Reo Māori short films, music videos and experimental moving image works from 11 am to 4 pm. Māori have been increasingly successful in getting their films seen by audiences in festivals in NZ and overseas, including many made uncompromisingly in our native tongue. This collection, curated by Pita Turei and Leo Koziol (Wairoa Māori Film Festival) represents a retrospective of Te Reo Māori short film making in the cinematic realm, and is proudly presented to celebrate Te Wiki O Te Reo Māori.
 
11 am KIRIATA REO I Rated: M (Violence, Spiritual Themes)
 
Welcome from Pita Turei
THE ROAD TO WHAKARAE – Tim Worrall (3 min)
TAUA – Tearepa Kahi (15 min)
AHI KA – Jillian White / Richard Curtis (15 min)
TOHUNGA – Rebecca Collins (8 min)
TAWHITI – Tamati Ihaka (13 min)
With Q&A facilitated by Leo Koziol
 
12.15 pm Intermission - Te Reo Māori Music Videos
 
12.30 pm KIRIATA REO II Rated: M (Violence, Spiritual Themes)
 
Welcome from Pita Turei
WHAKATAKA TE HAU – Candida Keithley (4 min)
MOKO – Jillian White (10 min)
TAUA – Tearepa Kahi (15 min)
TE ARA KI RAROHENGA – Ihakara Wilson (11 min)
THE WORD – Quentin Parr (19 min)
With Q&A facilitated by Leo Koziol
 
1.45 pm Intermission - Te Reo Māori Music Videos
 
2 pm TRIBUTE TO ERUERA (TED) TE WHITI NIA
Introduced by Pita Turei, kōrero follows
With screening: “TE ĀTIAWA O RUNGA TE RANGI” (48 min)
Read a tribute to Ted Nia from Cook Island News
 
3.30 pm KIRIATA REO III Rated: M (Violence, Spiritual Themes)
 
KAPORANGI KIRIATA – Leo Koziol (3 min)
URU – Hiona Henare (16 min)
MAUMAHARA – Tamati Ihaka (14 min)
TAKU RĀKAU E – Kararaina Rangihau (15 min)
TAWHITI – Tamati Ihaka (13 min)
With Q&A facilitated by Leo Koziol
 
SPECIAL PRESENTATION
 
TE ĀTIAWA O RUNGA TE RANGI
Director Eruera Te Whiti Nia 48 min 1986 New Zealand
 
Nā te hingahinga haere o ngā kaumātua me ngā kuia e matatau ana ki te reo me ngā āhuatanga katoa o te tikanga i roto o ngā iwi o Taranaki whānui, ka hopungia ō rātou whakaaro e pā ana ki ngā wai Māori, ki ngā tongi (ā-whenua) a Taranaki whānui, a Te Āti Awa whānui; a Ngāti Maru whānui tonu.
 
Ka āta whakamātautauhia e ngā iwi kāinga te oranga o ngā wai Māori e rere atu ana i ngā awa, ngā roto, ngā manga e rere atu nei ki tai. Kua roa nei ngā whēkeretari pāmu e whakaparuparu nei i ngā awa o Taranaki whānui. Kei Taranaki rohe ko ngā kaporeihana penehīni, kaporeihana kapuni rahi e tangohia mai ana i ngā wai mārama o te rohe kia whakamakariri haere i ngā mihini kari hinu, kari kapuni o aua kamupene. Nā te rahi o te pūtea ka hou mai ki ngā pūkoro o te Kaunihera-a-rohe, ka aro kē ngā Pākehā pēnei ki ngā auētanga a te iwi ki ōna wai Māori. Ka tahuri ēnei kaumātua, reo kōrero, pūkōrero a Taranaki ki te whakakao i ō rātou mōhiotanga kia mārama ai te marea ki ngā kino o te paitini ki ngā rawa a te Māori.
 
He tohu maumahara ki a
Te Auripo
Hikaia Amohia (Ngāti Maru)
Ngāhina Okeroa (Ngāti Rāhiri, Ngāti Te Whiti, Taranaki Tūturu, Te Āti Awa)
Te Roopu Watson.
Te Kapinga McClutchie.
Queenie Tuuta (Taranaki)
Tony Isaacs
Adam Barrett
Bayly Watson
 
Director: Eruera Te Whiti Nia Producer: Eruera Te Whiti Nia
Music: Ngati Watson Music: Te Auripo Music: Milton Hohaia
Music: Ngahina Hohaia 2nd Unit Sound: Henry Nia
Camera Assistant: Himiona Grace Consulting Producer: John O'Shea
Consulting Producer: Craig Walters Consulting Producer: Pacific Films Consulting Producer: Vanguard Films Consulting Producer: Don Reynolds
Consulting Producer: Tainui Stephens (Te Rarawa)
Consulting Producer: TVNZ Consulting Producer: Alister Barry
Field Sound: Steve Upston
Interviews: Werenia Te Tatau O Te Po Interviews: Mate Wehe Mere Translations: Huirangi Waikerepuru (Taranaki (Aotea); Taranaki (Kurahaupō)) Translations: Ruakere Hond (Taranaki (Aotea); Taranaki (Kurahaupō))
 
Presented with the kind assistance of NGĀ TAONGA SOUND & VISION.
 
SHORT FILM TITLES (IN SCREENING ORDER)
 
THE ROAD TO WHAKARAE
Director Tim Worrall (Ngai Tūhoe) NZ 3 min 2014
The lyrics of the song “Te Rori ki Whakarae, e” tell of how the winding, dusty road is a special part of the mana of the Waimana Valley. The same could be said of the various whānau and hapū in the valley who have retained much of what it is to live in a uniquely Tūhoe way. This is the spirit the filmmakers hope to share in the film.
imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival 2014. Loading Docs
TAUA
Tearepa Kahi (Māori) 15 minutes NZ 2007
A war party has abducted an enemy leader and bound him to the stern of their war canoe. The war canoe is being towed through a forest, driven by a merciless chief in a bid to escape any pursuers and return home safely with their trophy.   Two young boys sit at the stern of the war canoe. They serve as bailers on the water and water distributors on the land.   On a desperate and gruelling journey, every man is in need of water. Even an unknown captive strapped to the stern.
2007 - New Zealand International Film Festival, Wairoa Māori Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, National Geographic All Roads Film Festival, ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival, Hawaii International Film Festival.
 
AHI KA
Director Richard Curtis (Māori) Producer Jillian White (Māori) NZ 2014 15 min
Left alone with just her spiritual guides, a young girl upholds the prestige of the tribe in order to protect the land for generations to come.
Audience Award – Best Actress, Wairoa Māori Film Festival 2014
NZIFF 2014, imagineNATIVE 2014, Hawaii International Film Festival 2015
 
TOHUNGA
2013 8 minutes Director Rebecca Collins Producers Rebecca Collins, Marie Thompson
When a young boy falls ill, a family turns to a tohunga for help. Unknowingly, a young girl bears witness to a world never meant for her.
Wairoa Māori Film Festival 2014, Asinabka Film & Media Art Festival 2015.
 
TAWHITI
Director Tamati Ihaka (Māori) NZ 13 min 2016
Tawhiti is a Maori Language Sci Fi Relationship Drama. Ruanui has returned from Mars but instead of settling down like he promised, he tries to convince his wife and daughter to return with him to start a new life on Mars.
Wairoa Māori Film Festival 2016.
 
KAPORANGI KIRIATA
Producer: Leo Koziol (Ngāti Kahungunu, Rakaipāka) NZ 2016 3 min
In memory of Wairoa Māori Film Festival Chairperson Huia Koziol, the sacred circle of Poi as presented in Los Angeles, California, 1959.
Wairoa Māori Film Festival 2016, Autochtone Montreal 2016, Poi360.
 
URU
2010 NZ 16 mins Director Hiona Henare (Māori)
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. Actors: Noa Campbell, Shannon Claire.
ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival 2011, Wairoa Māori Film Festival 2011 – Audience Awards – Best Short Film & Best Actress
 
MAUMAHARA
Director: Tamati Ihaka (Te Aupouri, Tuhoe, Tuwharetoa) Producer: Steve Taylor. With: Kahurangi Carter, Everisingsun. NZ 2013. 14 mins
Marama is lost in her everyday life and is transported back into the past to remember what is important. An otherworldly spiritual journey tells us our ancestors’ lives reflect within us.
NZ International Film Festival, Wairoa Māori Film Festival.
 
TAKU RĀKAU E
Kararaina Rangihau (Ngai Tūhoe) Producer Merata Mita, 15 min 2010 NZ
TAKU RAKAU E is a waiata tawhito composed about 1873 by Mihikitekapua of Tūhoe. Now in 2009, some generations later Mihikitekapua’s descendents continue to sing her waiata. In this short film Mihikitekapua laments the loss of land and her family succinctly phrased in a haunting lament.
ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival 2009, Wairoa Māori Film Festival – Audience Award Best Short Film 2010
 
WHAKATAKA TE HAU
Director Candida Keithley (Māori) NZ 2006 4 min
A wananga set to dramatic context, from the 2nd Maori film festival back in 2006, starring Noa Campbell and Rob Mokaraka.
Wairoa Māori Film Festival 2006
 
MOKO
Director Jillian White (Māori) NZ 10 min 2000
'Ahakoa, kei te mamae, kei te pai ahau' Although it is painful, it is a pain I can bear.
A ten minute documentary film that follows the journey of Maori Chief, Kingi Taurua receiving his full face Moko. The film encapsulates the process, essence and renaissance of this ancient tradition.
2001 - Sundance Film Festival, Imagine Native Media Art Festival, Douarenenez Cinema, Kurz International Film Festival
 
TE ARA KI RAROHENGA
2008 Ihakara JC Wilson (Māori) NZ 11 mins
The path to darkness is different for all people.
Wairoa Māori Film Festival 2008
 
THE WORD
Director Quentin Parr (Māori) Producer Simon Ranginui 2008 19 min
In the year 2010 that barriers between the have and have not’s has become physical. Tama (13) from the right side of the tracks, searches for love and truth on the other side. Only to find his love has been used as weapon against him.
2008 - Wairoa Maori Film Festival, Dreamspeakers Film Festival, Talking Stick Film Festival, ImagineNative Film + Media Arts Festival