WAIROA MAORI FILM AWARDS 2017
PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JUNE 3 2017:

The Wairoa Maori Film Awards were held  on June 2 at the Gaiety Theatre, Wairoa. Here are the award winners:

T-TAHITI PRIZE - return trip to Tahiti to travel to the T-Tahiti Film Festival
Award to: TAMA by Jared Flitcroft & Jack O'Donnell

Moana Prize (Best Pasifika Short) decided by the Moana Jury
Award to: MARIA by Jeremiah Tauamiti

Whenua Prize (Māori Short) decided by the Whenua Jury
Award to: TAMA by Jared Flitcroft & Jack O'Donnell

Audience Award - Maori Short Film
Award to: TAMA by Jared Flitcroft & Jack O'Donnell

Audience Award - Maori Short Film - Actor
Award to: Eric Matthews as Tama, in TAMA by Jared Flitcroft & Jack O'Donnell

Audience Award -Maori Short Film - Actress
Award to: Aidee Walker, in LAUNDRY by Becs Arahanga

Mana Kainga Award - for a community making contribution to Maori film making
Award to: NATALIE - Qianna Titore & the Hokianga community

Te Wairoa Award - For Contribution to Media in Wairoa
Ratima Hauraki & Zach Stark

WMFF WIFT Mana Wahine Award
Award to: CHRISTINA ASHER

WMFF PIFT Mana Pasifika Award
Award to: CRAIG FASI of the Pollywood Film Festival

International Indigenous Award
Award to: FROM UP NORTH by Trudy Stewart, Janine Windolph & Noel Starblanket

Mana Wairoa Award - for contribution to the advancement of indigenous rights
Award to: LGBTQI+ AOTEAROA THEN & NOW by Teresa Wells & Qmunnity Gisborne Youth

ENDS

MAY 15, 2017: Nuhaka, Aotearoa, New Zealand
Organisers of this year's Wairoa Maori Film Festival are proud to announce that Toni Huata will be the headline performer at the Wairoa Maori Film Awards in June.
From London jazz clubs to European arts festivals, Toni Huata's style and strength as a performer allows her to stand confidently in the Māori and non-Māori worlds.
 
Toni is a Māori songtress, actor, performer, director and producer whose talent allows her to perform at various music and dance festivals both nationally and around the world including support to The Neville Brothers (USA).
 
Toni has performed in London-UK, Basque, Spain, Holland, Germany, Canada, Hawaii, Rarotonga, Manila-Philippines, Palau, America Samoa, Solomon Islands, Australia, China, Hungary, Austria and Japan.
 
Her performances overseas have earned her praise:
 
"Toni brings forth sounds and feelings from the past, mixes it with today's international musical influences to present a sound for the future" -Tū Mai Magazine, NZ
 
"Aotearoa's very own Whitney Houston"- Cook Island News
 
"Maori Diva sings in London" - NZ News, UK
 
"Her stunning voice has been heard before but 'Te Māori e' is a visual and aural delight"
- Real Groovy, NZ
 
Constantly in demand, audiences are captivated as Toni adds to the allurement of our exotic shores making Maori language “sexy’”.– Tu Mai Magazine, NZ
 
Hailing from Hastings in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, Toni says she was surrounded by an eclectic array of influences including the Anglican Church, choir, tap dancing, musical theatre and Mäori cultural performance. She affiliates to Ngäti Kahungunu and Rongowhakaata tribes, and is also of Lebanese, German, Scandinavian and Irish decent.
 
Toni's music reflects her deep spiritual roots however vocals range from jazz to soul ballads, opera to haka. Toni graduated in music at Whitireia Polytechnic, than toured throughout NZ for four years in Jim Moriarty's Te Rakau Hua o Te Wao Tapu theatre company. Adding morestrings to her bow, Toni’s voice features in Peter Jackson’s King Kong and she performs in various theatre including her starring role as Hine-nui-te-Po in the NZ renowned aerial theatre production of ‘Maui – One Man against the Gods’, World of Wearable Arts, New Zealand festival etc.
 
“Toni Huata brings serene strength to Hine, and shows great focus and vocal control, by continuing to sing with effortless beauty, as she flies across the stage”. – Theatre review, NZ
 
Toni has a EP Kahungunu Maranga (2016) and FIVE award winning, chart topping solo albums, TOMOKIA (2014), HOPUKIA (2012), WHITI (2010), MAURI TO (2003) and TE MAORI E (2001) where she continues collaborate with producer Paddy Free and renowned composer, percussionist Gareth Farr (Rugby World Cup 2011 opening
ceremony music). Toni’s voice also featured in the Fan Fare music by Gareth Farr for all 48 RWC 2011 games as the teams entered the fields to play.
 
Toni is also a motivational speaker, vocal coach, stage craft tutor, event organizer and mother of two.
TICKETS TO THE AWARDS NIGHT
Tickets to the Awards Night are only $40 and can be purchased from Eventfinder.

15 MAY 2017: Nuhaka, Aotearoa, New Zealand

The Wairoa Maori Film Festival is announcing two new prizes for 2017. The Moana Award is for the best short film directed by a person of Pasifika descent. The Whenua Award is for the the best short film directed by a person of Maori descent.

The finalists for the Moana Award are:

LADY EVA by Dean Hamer, Joe Wilson and Hina Wong-Kalu (Hawaiian)
MARIA by Jay Tauamiti (Pasifika)
WAITING by Samuel Kami (Pasifika)
I HAVE CURLS by Maria Vai (Pasifika)
LET THE MOUNTAIN SPEAK by Vilsoni Hereniko (Pasifika)
RAIDED LOVE by Destiny Momoisea (Pasifika)

The finalists for the Whenua Award are:

POSSUM by Dave Whitehead (Maori)
LAUNDRY by Becs Arahanga (Maori)
NATALIE by Qianna Titore (Maori)
TAMA by Jared Flitcroft (Maori) and Jack O'Donnell (Non-Maori)
MANNAHATTA by Renae Maihi (Maori) 
THE PROMISE OF PIHA by Hanelle Harris (Maori)

Each film is being previewed by members of the two juries, the Moana Jury and the Whenua Jury.

Moana Jury

• Leanne Ferrer, Executive Director of Pacific Islanders in Communication in Hawai'i
• Tiairani Drollet-Le Caill, Founder and Festival Director of T-Tahiti Film Festival in Tahiti
• Craig Fasi, Founder and Festival Director of Pollywood Film Festival in Aotearoa
• Stella Muller, Chief of Enlightenment at Bright Sunday in Aotearoa

Whenua Jury

• Dr. Ella Henry, esteemed academic currently at AUT, media maven and famed "Aunty" of "Ask Your Aunties"
• Dale Husband, Radio Host of the Waatea Breakfast Show, celebrity at large across Aotearoa
• Tere Harrison, film maker, activist, writer, creative, healer
• Tame Iti, artist, activist, creative extraordinaire

The Moana Award and the Whenua Award will be announced at the Wairoa Maori Film Awards on Saturday June 3, Gaiety Theatre, Wairoa.

ENDS

PRESS RELEASE: MAY 5 2017: Nuhaka, Aotearoa, New Zealand
 
The organisers of this year's Wairoa Maori Film Festival are proud to announce the keynote speaker for this year's gala Wairoa Maori Film Awards night: Tame Iti.
 
Tame Iti needs no introduction. Here is his biography from TEDx New Zealand:
 
Tame Iti (Ngai Tuhoe / Waikato / Te Arawa)
Tame Iti is known as many things… Activist, Artist, Terrorist and Cyclist. Literally wearing his Tuhoe heritage on his face, Iti is hard to miss in a crowd despite being just 5ft 4″ tall. His 40 year history of controversial and theatrical displays of political expression have included pitching a tent on parliament grounds and calling it the Maori embassy, Shooting a national flag in front of government officials and the curious spate of public meetings where he appeared with a ladder so as to speak eye to eye with officials who were seated on stage. Iti explores how the old saying of “Te ka nohi ki te ka nohi” (Dealing with it eye to eye) creates a far more productive space for open dialogue around any issue. “No one can tell you that you are not important and your experience does not matter and if they do… I challenge them to say it to your face… where they can see your eyes and feel your breath.”

"It is a great privilege to bring a visionary such as Tame to Wairoa," says Festival Director Leo Koziol. "Last year, the Maori Film Festival took Maori and Canadian First Nations films to Taneatua Gallery. This year, we hope to take a Canadian First Nations delegation to Taneatua and Ruatoki." Ruatoki was the location of two early Maori film festivals in the 1990s.
 
Tame Iti recently opened the Taneatua Gallery. The Tāneatua Gallery is a contemporary art gallery, exhibiting works by international artists, and emerging artists and shows. The Taneatua Gallery was established and is the result of a dream and a strong desire to support artists and the people of Tūhoe within the community.
 
It is hoped his visit to Wairoa will spark interest in establishing a similar gallery for Ngati Kahungunu and Tūhoe artists in the Wairoa community.
 
As well as a keynote from Tame Iti, there will be a range of film awards presented on the night. Amongst these awards is the recently announced Women in Film & Television NZ Mana Wahine Award to one of New Zealand's most committed and passionate advocates for our Māori and wider New Zealand screen industry - Christina Asher.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Tickets for the Awards Gala and Film Festival can be booked through Eventfinder - Maori Film Awards only $40, Full Festival Pass including Awards $140.
The Wairoa Māori Film Festival this year has 26 screenings with 70 shorts, and seven feature dramas/documentaries. Screenings are held in Kahungunu Marae, Nuhaka, famed for featuring in scenes from John O'Shea's Broken Barrier in 1955. For the third year, the festival will also be at the reopened Gaiety Theatre in Wairoa. Keynote speaker at the Awards Night will be infamous activist and esteemed artist Tame Iti. Premiering at the festival will be a collection of "two spirit" collaborative short films shot in Saskatchewan last year. Guests in attendance will include international film makers from Tahiti, Hawaii and Canada. A selection of the Māori and Pasifika short films screening at the festival will go on to comprise the New Zealand International Film Festival Ngā Whanaunga programme, which will premiere in Auckland later this year. Closing night is "Bush Cinema" underground shorts at Morere hot springs, with the pools open late into the night. The Wairoa Māori Film Festival is sponsored by the New Zealand Film Commission, Ngā Aho Whakaari, Radio Waatea, Te Matarae O Te Wairoa Trust and Wairoa District Council. The entire programme will available for viewing next week at: www.kiaora.tv
For media enquiries please contact Leo Koziol, Festival Director, Wairoa Māori Film Festival, on maorimovies@gmail.com.

Photo from "Price of Peace" Director Kim Webby, Producer Christina Milligan

Check out one of our regular film maker interviews presented with the kind support of Nga Aho Whakaari Maori in Screen Production.

Todd Karehana is a recipient of the Nga Aho Whakaari shorts project which is funded by the NZ Film Commission. My Brother Mitchell was filmed in Kawerau in early December and is currently in Post. More updates to follow but in the meantime.
Whakarongo ki a ia
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