The Māori film community is mourning the loss of one of its most influential champions, with the passing of Leo Koziol (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Rakaipaaka), founder and director of the Wairoa Māori Film Festival and a tireless advocate for Indigenous storytelling in Aotearoa and around the world.
Tributes have poured in from filmmakers, artists and cultural organisations, remembering Koziol not only as a visionary curator and festival director but as a mentor who dedicated his life to creating opportunities for Māori, Pasifika and Indigenous filmmakers to tell their own stories.
The Wairoa Māori Film Festival Trust described Koziol as an extraordinary leader whose legacy would continue to inspire generations.
“On behalf of the Wairoa Māori Film Festival Trust, thank you to all family, friends and followers honouring Leo Koziol’s extraordinary legacy. We welcome you to share your tributes, memories and images with us. Moe mai rā, e te rangatira.”
For more than two decades, the Wairoa Māori Film Festival became a unique cultural gathering, showcasing Indigenous cinema from Aotearoa and across the globe while providing a platform for emerging Māori filmmakers whose work may otherwise never have reached audiences.
The New Zealand International Film Festival (Whānau Mārama) also paid tribute, describing Koziol as a guiding light within New Zealand’s film industry.
“He maimai aroha ki a Leo Koziol. Kei te heke ngā roimata i te rongo kua riro atu te kāpehu whetū o te Whānau Mārama.”
The festival said Koziol devoted his career to elevating Māori, Pasifika and Indigenous cinema, curating the Ngā Whanaunga programme and sharing his extensive knowledge with film festivals throughout the world.
Artistic Director Paolo Bertolin remembered Koziol as an inspiring colleague whose passion transformed the festival.
“Working with Leo Koziol has been truly inspiring. As an advocate of Māori and Pasifika talents, he gifted the festival with the Ngā Whanaunga name and concept. We will humbly try to carry on his legacy, promoting diversity and inclusion.”
Closer to home, the Wairoa Māori Film Festival remembered Koziol as a leader whose vision was always centred on his people.
“He was a cheeky yet intelligent and inspiring Māori man who led rangatahi to the forefront of his kaupapa and ensured his vision included his people, land and his whakapapa.”
The festival said Koziol’s passing leaves “a hole in the hearts of many here in Aotearoa and around the world.”
His influence extended well beyond cinema.
As a member of the Screen Hawke’s Bay Board, Koziol was recognised for helping strengthen the region’s creative industries while championing Māori voices in film and television.
In its tribute, Screen Hawke’s Bay described him as a storyteller, creative visionary and connector of people.
“Leo understood that film is more than entertainment—it is whakapapa, identity, memory and hope.”
The organisation said his work had helped shape the cultural landscape of Hawke’s Bay and Aotearoa by creating spaces where Indigenous stories could be celebrated with pride.
Throughout his career, Koziol remained committed to ensuring Māori narratives were told by Māori, creating opportunities for emerging filmmakers and fostering international relationships between Indigenous storytellers from around the world.
His work helped establish Wairoa as a globally recognised centre for Indigenous cinema, attracting filmmakers from across the Pacific, the Americas, Asia and beyond.
For many young Māori filmmakers, Koziol was more than a festival director.
He was a mentor who believed Indigenous stories belonged on the world’s biggest screens and who encouraged rangatahi to see filmmaking as both an art form and an expression of whakapapa.
His passing marks the end of a remarkable chapter in Māori filmmaking, but the institutions he built, the filmmakers he inspired and the stories he helped bring to audiences will ensure his legacy lives on.
As tributes continue to flow from across Aotearoa and the international film community, one message has remained constant:
Moe mai rā, e te rangatira. Thank you for showing the world the strength, beauty and power of Indigenous stories.
#Tags:
#RadioWaatea #WaateaNews #LeoKoziol #WairoaMāoriFilmFestival #MāoriCinema #IndigenousFilm #NgātiKahungunu #NgātiRakaipaaka #WhānauMārama #NZIFF #NgāWhanaunga #MāoriStorytelling #Rangatahi #TeAoMāori #Arts #Culture #Film #Aotearoa #ScreenHawkesBay #IndigenousVoices #MāoriNews #MoeMaiRā
