FIRST RELEASE OF NZ FILMS FOR WAIROA MAORI FILM FESTIVAL 2015

PRESS RELEASE: FEATURE, DOCUMENTARY & SHORTS 2015

(Sunday 12 April 2015)

WAIROA MAORI FILM FESTIVAL has announced a selection of its feature, documentary and New Zealand short film programme screening at our festival this year (May 29 to June 1 2015, Kahungunu Marae, Nuhaka).

NZ FEATURE: UMBRELLA MAN

2015 New Zealand 118 minutes, Directors Lennie Hill (Māori) and Darren Simmonds (Pākehā)

An elderly homeless man befriends a runaway teen in order to rescue him from a life on the streets; and in the process, they become each others salvation.  

NZ DOCUMENTARY: GENOME

2015 New Zealand 25 minutes Rachel Anson (Pākehā)

By observing genetics in our own families, we can make predictions about our future; from diabetes to dementia, where our ancestors came from to what our future children might look like.  But what if you were the only branch on your genetic family tree?

At eleven days old Sarah (Māori) was adopted and for the last 28 years she has never known anything about her biological parents, her medical history or ancestry. Sarah has decided to investigate her own DNA by using a direct-to-consumer genetic testing kit. What will her results reveal about her past? Are there genetic concerns for her future? Can new technology help answer the age old question ‘Who am I?’

NZ SHORT: TITS ON A BULL

2015 New Zealand 15 minutes Director Tim Worrall (Māori)

Set in a Maori women's rugby team, Tits on a Bull follows Phoenix Tawhana, the young star of the team, as she struggles to choose between her longtime friendship with aging coach Rusty or her new relationship with lesbian team-captain, Melanie.

Tampere Film Festival 2015.

NZ SHORT: OW, WHAT?

2015 New Zealand 15 minutes Director Mike Jonathon (Māori)

A young boy from Ruatoki recognizes two unusual guardians, as he is conflicted between becoming the man of the house and playing rugby with his mates.

NZ SHORT: ELEVATION

15 New Zealand 12 minutes Director Tihini Grant (Māori)

Dark Comedy. Trapped in an elevator, a white supremacist and a Maori gang member have the chance to confront their issues and come out better men... or not.

NZ SHORT: TAMA

2014 New Zealand 10 min Director Ryan Alexander Lloyd (Māori)

With a beautiful treatment of archival footage, Lloyd recreates an emotional, honest and unconventional portrait of a father and his middle-aged son exploring memories, feelings of loss and the presence of hope. Award-winning filmmaker Ryan Alexander Lloyd is primarily a director of photography whose work has been seen at festivals, including Vienna, Melbourne and NZ.

Award-winning filmmaker Ryan Alexander Lloyd (Ngai Tahu, Maori) is primarily a director of photography whose work has been seen at festivals, including Vienna, Melbourne and New Zealand. He has won a number of Australia Cinematography Society (ACS) awards for his work in Dramatic Short Films and was selected to participate in the Berlinale Talent Campus 2013.

Tama screened at imagineNATIVE Toronto, Canada, in 2014.