February 10, 2020
Waititi short hop from Oscar success
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Māori film director Te Arepa Kahi says fellow filmmaker Taika Waititi's Māori perspective will set him apart at the 92nd Academy Awards.
Waititi's film Jojo Rabbit has been nominated for best film at this year's Oscars, up against Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Todd Philips' Joker and Parasite by Korean director Bong Joon-ho.
Waititi was mentored by acclaimed Māori documentary filmmaker Merata Mita, which helped give him the confidence to maintain a unique indigenous voice in his filmmaking.
"It's such a deeply layered industry and there is a lot of mediocrity in there. The role of the indigenous voice is to try and cut through that mediocrity all the time." Kahi says.
He says Taika Waititi is paving a new path for Māori filmmakers.
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