Short films to give indigenous views of Cook impact

Monument to Captain James Cook at the spot where he first came ashore, Poverty Bay, North Island, New Zealand. (Photo by Tim Graham/Getty Images) ©Gettyimages

Māori, Aboriginal, Pacific and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers are invited to tell stories about the impact of Captain James Cook’s arrival in the region 250 years ago through a one-off collaboration by the New Zealand Film Commission and Screen Australia’s Indigenous Department.

Commission chief executive Annabelle Sheehan says Ngā Pouwhenua Joint Indigenous Initiative, or Cook 2020: Right of Reply as it will be known in Australia, is a chance to rethink the way history is framed.

Four teams each from New Zealand and Australia will be selected to develop eight dramatic narrative short films.

They will share the theme of cultural survival and can take many forms, from experimental, comedy, genre or animation.

The selected short films will be supported with production funding of up to $125,000 each.

Commission pou whakahaere Te O Kahurangi Waaka-Tibble says tangata whenua of Aotearoa and the Pacific consider the arrival of Cook as the beginning of colonial attitudes that have left significant marks on the land and its people, and it is essential these stories are expressed.

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