February 12, 2026

#lifestyle: Indigenous Visions Take Centre Stage at 2026 Māoriland Film Festival

Matthew Tukaki Posted On February 12, 2026

The world’s largest Indigenous film festival is returning to Ōtaki this March, with a powerful line-up celebrating storytelling from 130 Indigenous nations.

The 13th annual Māoriland Film Festival will run from March 24–28 in Ōtaki on the Kāpiti Coast, presenting 108 films that organisers say reflect resilience, resistance and imagination in the face of global challenges.

Festival director Madeleine Hakaraia de Young says this year’s theme, He taonga tuku iho te rama ataata – the light that reveals our legacies, invites audiences to draw inspiration from Indigenous storytelling.

“The films in this year’s programme draw strength from their Indigeneity. These are stories that shine in the darkness – that transform, that heal, and that remind us we should never accept that this is just how things are,” she says.

De Young reflected on the festival’s growth since 2016, when Māoriland was still finding its feet. She says the global climate in 2026 carries a similar sense of uncertainty, with Indigenous peoples continuing to face war, displacement, climate crisis and the ongoing impacts of colonisation.

The festival will open with the Māoriland Keynote delivered at Rangiātea Church by actor and producer Te Kohe Tuhaka, a graduate of Toi Whakaari known for championing Māori-led storytelling on and off screen.

Opening night will then feature Uiksaringitara – Wrong Husband, directed by renowned Inuit filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk. Set in Igloolik, Nunavut in 2000 BCE, the film weaves love, resistance and survival into a visually striking Arctic epic grounded in Inuit language and cosmology.

Other feature highlights include:

My Fathers’ Daughter (Biru Unjárga) by Sámi filmmaker Egil Pedersen, exploring identity and belonging in northern Norway.
Endless Cookie, an animated documentary by Seth Scriver and Peter Scriver from Shamattawa First Nation.
La Hija Cóndor (The Condor Daughter) from Bolivian director Álvaro Olmos Torrico, centred on Quechua midwives.
AKI, directed by Darlene Naponse, a cinematic meditation on land and sovereignty .
Blood Lines by Métis filmmaker Gail Maurice, told in English and Michif, exploring family and cultural reconnection.

The festival will close with Mārama, the debut feature from Taratoa Stappard (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Tūwharetoa), a gothic tale of colonial reckoning starring Ariana Osborne.The closing night includes the annual Māoriland Red Carpet Party and awards, featuring special musical guest MELODOWNZ.

A Global Gathering in Ōtaki

Now in its 13th year, Māoriland has grown into the largest Indigenous film festival in the world. This year’s programme includes:

19 feature films
89 short films
70 Indigenous language films
40 films from Aotearoa
52 wāhine filmmakers
28 first-time filmmakers

Beyond the screenings, the festival includes exhibitions at Toi Matarau Gallery, pop-up events, food trucks, live music and NATIVE Minds filmmaker panels hosted by Tainui Stephens.

Tickets are available via iTicket and from the Māoriland Hub from 12 February, with the full programme online.

As de Young puts it, Māoriland 2026 is about illuminating Indigenous legacies and gathering communities to reflect, feel and soar forward together.

For whānau across Aotearoa and beyond, Ōtaki will once again become a global stage for Indigenous voices – shining light into the dark, and imagining better futures through film.