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The annual Wairoa Film Festival is moving into its teenage years with a strong line up of films to show this Queen’s Birthday weekend.
Festival director Leo Koziol says 50 short films and five features have been confirmed for the 13th festival.
Highlights include a special presentation of Waru, the collaborative film on child abuse made by eight wahine directors, and a Hawaiian film, Out of State, about two Hawaiians shipped to a private prison in Arizona who discover their Hawaiian culture from another inmate.
There is also a hard hitting short set in Otara by young Pacific Island filmmakers Ian Leaupepe and Samson Rambo.
"My Friend Michael Jones is on LGBT themes, takatapuhi themes, and also on suicide, and with all the korero going on around Israel Folau it’s really interesting to see young rangatahi filmmakers telling their own story and telling it from their own perspective, so that will be a challenging film and one we are very excited to have in our programme," Mr Koziol says.
While most of the festival activity takes place at Kahungunu Marae, there is also the Saturday night gala event at the Gaiety Theatre in Wairoa where Wairoa filmmakers and musicians will be highlighted.
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