NATIVE DREAMING IN DENVER

PRESS RELEASE: Denver, Colorado, USA. October 13, 2015.

The Wairoa Maori Film Festival was proud to be a part of a festival of native dreaming in Denver, Colorado, this past weekend.

The Indigenous Film & Arts Festival (IFAF) of Denver is run by the International Institute of Indigenous Resource Management, headed by Merv Tano. At IFAF, Festival Director Leo Koziol presented a lecture on Maori cinema and 4th cinema, and introduced a collection of Maori films at the festival.

Mr. Koziol also participated in a one-day symposium on native food and gastronomy. "World leaders in the preservation of food culture were present," says Mr. Koziol, "Including the author of James Beard Award winning book 'SOUL FOOD' - Mr. Adrian E. Miller."

Present were the keepers of a traditional native Stone Soup from a village in Oaxaca, who met with the first commercial native restaurant in Denver, Ben Jacobs of Tocabe." (photo below). "Wairoa Maori Film Festival is now part of a global network working to promote and preserve indigenous food traditions."

It is hoped to include a programme of films on indigenous food at next year's Wairoa Maori Film Festival, occurring at Kahungunu Marae, Nuhaka, Wairoa from June 3 to 6 2016.

Board members of IIIRM include resource management expert Morris Te Whiti Love, Te Atiawa from Wellington and Chairman of the Wellington Tenths Trust.

"Wairoa Maori Film Festival has found a new family in Denver," says Mr. Koziol. "Past guests of IFAF have included Natasha Keating, Witi Ihimaera and the late Don Selwyn. To reawaken the connection between Denver and Aotearoa is something Wairoa is very proud to be part of."

ENDS