March 25, 2024
Māoriland buzz for Indigenous film
A veteran Māori producer says this year’s Māoriland Film Festival shows Indigenous cinema is getting stronger.
The festival at Ōtaki over the past five days included 168 filmes from more than 130 Indigenous nations.
Hineani Melbourne, a former chair of the Māori screen guild Ngā Aho Whakaari chair, says despite the challenges being face by the industry on multiple fronts, the festival generated a real buzz for the Māori screen industry.
“It’s just quite an exciting area. Because you know the whole industry is as a bit in turmoil but I guess creativity when it’s coming out it comes out. It doesn’t matter what’s happening in terms of the economies of the world or the media,” she says.
Festival highlights included last year’s 1981 Springbok Tour drama Uproar, Aboriginal feature The New Boy and Tongan internet sensation Inky Pinky Ponky.