WIFT MANA WAHINE AWARD 2014
PRESS RELEASE:
MANA WAHINE AWARD 2014 TO KAY ELLMERS
Embargoed until 4 pm May 20 2014
Representatives from Women in Film & Television (WIFT) NZ and the Wairoa Maori Film Festival Inc. are proud to announce that the 2014 WIFT Mana Wahine Award will be presented to Kay Ellmers at the Gala Festival Awards at Kahungunu Marae, Nuhaka, on Saturday May 31.
The 2014 WIFT NZ Mana Wahine Award recipient is one of New Zealand's most experienced documentary makers, Kay Ellmers (Ngati Tamateraa/Ngati Raukawa)
The judging panel were impressed with the range and purpose of the award winning documentaries and programmes Kay has initiated through her production company Tumanako Productions and in collaboration with other producers. She is a prolific multi-tasker having variously taken writing, directing and producing credits on projects commissioned across all three free to air channels.
She has also served as Deputy Chair of Nga Aho Whakaari. Documentaries such asHe Toki Huna, Canvassing the Treaty and Polynesian Panthers reveal her interest and concern for exploring and illuminating issues affecting the well-being of New Zealand.Whanau, Powhiri - Welcome or Not, The Trouble with Words and Hikoi; Inside Outfurther demonstrate her "support and promotion of Maori culture, Te Reo Maori, Tikanga and the Welfare and Stories of Aotearoa Wahine."
Tickets for the Awards Gala and Film Festival can be booked at Eventfinder - Gala Awards $45 and Festival Pass $100:
http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/2014/wairoa-maori-film-festival-2014/wairoa
The documentary HE TOKI HUNA NZ IN AFGHANISTAN will screen at the festival on Sunday Morning June 1 at 10.30 a.m., with both Kay Ellmers and Annie Goldson, co-directors, present:
http://www.kiaora.tv/he-toki-huna/
The Wairoa Maori Film Festival this year has 14 screenings and over 50 films, including documentaries, shorts and feature drama. Guests in attendance include international film makers from Hawaii, Tahiti, USA and Poland. Screenings are in Kahungunu Marae, famed for featuring in scenes of John O'Shea's BROKEN BARRIER in 1955. Opening night is a special preview of THE DARKSIDE by Warwick Thornton, presented in association with the New Zealand International Film Festival. Closing night is "Bush Cinema," underground shorts at the Morere School Hall with the hot springs open until late. Check out the entire programme at: www.kiaora.tv
Authorised by Te Roopu Whakaata Maori I Te Wairoa - Wairoa Maori Film Festival Society Inc.
HOME AUSTRALIA
HOME (AUSTRALIA)
Meet the creative team behind Home (Australia) screening at Cannes Short Film Corner next week, and then the week after at the Wairoa Maori Film Festival 2014! (click to enlarge)
Announcing the Finalists of the Te Nati Tahiti - Hawaiiki Hou Short Film Prize 2014
The Wairoa Maori Film Festival was approached by film makers in Tahiti earlier this year to help them set up the Te Nati Film Festival - six new short films by Maori film makers, six new shorts by native Tahitians. The festival has a focus on cultural exchange, and as a result we can now announce the TE NATI TAHITI - HAWAIIKI HOU SHORT FILM PRIZE.
We have worked with young emerging film makers in Tahiti French Polynesia, lead by Tiairani Drollet-Le Caill, to establish a cultural exchange in film between Maori (Native New Zealand) and Maohi (Native Tahitian) film makers.
Each year, six short films will be selected by each festival to screen at their festival partner. This year, the Wairoa Maori Film Festival worked with the Association of the Te Nati Film Festival to select six Maori short films that will screen in Te Nati in April 2014. The following six films to screen in Tahiti are:
THE RANGIMOEKAUS 5 MIN Helena Bethune
HOME (AUSTRALIA) 15 MIN Apirana Ipo Te Maipi
TOHUNGA 8 MIN Rebecca Collins
RISING DUST 15 MIN Jack Woon
AHI KAA 14 MIN Richard Curtis
INC'D 16 MIN Darren Simmonds
Our kind thanks to the directors and producers of the above six films who have agreed to their films screening in Tahiti, and with one to receive a PREMIERE PRIZE, the TE NATI TAHITI "HAWAIIKI HOU" SHORT FILM PRIZE, comprising:
- 1 x International Airfare from Auckland to Papeete to attend the TE NATI FILM FESTIVAL 2015
- Accommodation and meals for 1 person for the duration of their stay in French Polynesia
- Attendance of guest film maker to TE NATI FILM FESTIVAL 2015 at @ Le Musee de Tahiti et des Iles
Punaauia, Tahiti, French Polynesia.
The TE NATI "HAWAIIKI HOU" SHORT FILM PRIZE will be presented by Tiairani Drollet-Le Caill and Lennie Hill, Executive members of Te Nati Film Festival, at the Wairoa Maori Film Festival later this month.
WAIROA MAORI FILM FESTIVAL 2014
Ancient Spirits Beckon you to the Wairoa Maori Film Festival - a film festival experience like no other!
The festival is held in Kahungunu Marae, Nuhaka, which features in the 1955 epic film Broken Barrier by John O'Shea. Guests can stay on the marae (its included in your $100 festival pass) or at the nearby Morere Hot Springs, only a five minute drive away! 50 films, 16 screenings, guests from Poland, Hawaii, USA, Tahiti and Australia. Join Us!
The Wairoa Maori Film Festival is the premiere Maori and indigenous film festival of Aotearoa. This year our programme is better than ever. We've worked alongside the New Zealand International Film Festival to present a special preview of The Darkside by Warwick Thornton, as well as three programmes of brand new Maori short films.
We have guests from Hawaii to present Kumu Hina and The Haumana, special screenings of NZ features The Pa Boys, Fantail and White Lies, and presentation of the WIFT Mana Wahine Award at our Awards Gala Dinner on Saturday night.
The New Zealand Film Commission continues its auspicious sponsorship of the Wairoa Maori Film Festival, and our programming partners now include imagineNATIVE Film+Media Arts Festival (Toronto), Tropfest New Zealand, Te Nati Film Festival Tahiti and the South Seas Film & Television School.
This year looks better than ever. Three of the new Maori short films will have just screened at Cannes Short Film Corner. If you're an up and coming film maker, interested in making your own film, or simply a mad film fan, then Kahungunu Marae Nuhaka (and the nearby Morere Hot Pools!) is the place to be this Queen's Birthday Weekend!
KUMU HINA
For Immediate Release: QWAVES MEDIA
Film on Inspiring Transgender Teacher in Hawaiʻi
Brings Call for Gender Diversity to Aotearoa
Reminiscent of ʻWhale Rider,ʻ KUMU HINA, a new film about an ancient Hawaiian tradition honoring those who embrace both male and female spirit, spotlights diversity and inclusion in Wairoa Maori Film Festival screening.
Honolulu, HI - April 29, 2014: At a time when transgender and gender nonconforming people the world over face hostility, violence, discrimination, even murder, simply for being themselves, a new film from Hawaiʻi offers a fresh perspective and a bold call for a more just and inclusive world.
KUMU HINA (Teacher Hina) tells the inspiring story of Hina Wong-Kalu, a transgender native Hawaiian teacher and cultural icon who brings to life Hawaiʻiʻs traditional embrace of mahu - those who embody both male and female spirit. The film will be screened in the Wairoa Maori Film Festival, held at Kahungunu Marae, Nuhaka, Wairoa, Aotearoa, May 29 to June 2, 2014. The directors will be in attendance.
The film will also be shown in Auckland and Wellington as part of Out Takes 2014.
The events will highlight the launch of the filmʻs global campaign for gender diversity - #APlaceintheMiddle - aimed at helping audiences in Aoteaora and around the world see themselves, their families, schools and communities in powerful new ways, ensuring that no one, particularly youth, faces harassment, discrimination or violence because they don't conform to society's traditional gender norms.
Produced by Pacific Islanders in Communications, ITVS, and Emmy-winning directors Dean Hamer and Joe Wilson, the film traces Kumu Hinaʻs evolution from Collin Wong, a timid high school boy, to her present position as a married woman and cultural director of a school in one of Honoluluʻs grittier neighborhoods.
These very special Aotearoa events will help amplify KUMU HINAʻs campaign to spread a message of cultural preservation, empowerment, and gender diversity around the world. The campaign will be focused on festival, community and educational screenings, complemented by television broadcast in 2015.
When Hoʻonani, a charismatic 6th grade girl, asks to join the schoolʻs all-male hula troupe, Hina gives her the opportunity to express her inner male spirit. As teacher and student prepare for a climactic end-of-year performance, they meet many obstacles, but hold fast to the idea that being true to oneself matters most.
"The film shows why kids like Hoʻonani, and teachers like Hina, should be cherished and admired, not harassed and disrespected," said Hamer.
"Itʻs Hawaiʻiʻs real-life version of Whale Rider," added Wilson.
The film also delves into Hinaʻs pursuit of a dream of her own; a fulfilling romantic relationship. Her marriage to a headstrong Tongan man, and the challenges they encounter, offer a glimpse of a Hawaii never before seen on film, and hopeful insights about the universal quest for love and acceptance.
"This amazing film allows audiences an intimate and refreshing view of Pacific Island life and culture through iconic Hawaiian leader, Hina Wong-Kalu," said Leanne Ferrer, director of Pacific Islanders in Communications. "I know that KUMU HINA will inspire and bring understanding and enlightenment to all who view it."
The film is being released as Hinaʻs star is on the rise. In addition to her high cultural profile as Chair of the Oahu Island Burial Council, she just announced her candidacy for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, making her among the first openly-transgender candidates to run for a statewide political office in the United States."KUMU HINA is no ordinary documentary. It's an inspiring and emotional journey that unfolds like a narrative film - a love story about the true meaning of aloha."
- Robert Lambeth, Director of the Hawaii International Film Festival, which premiered KUMU HINA on April 10 at Honoluluʻs sold-out, 1,400 seat Hawaii Theatre
END
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Press Kit and Hi-Rez images available HERE.
PRESS CONTACT: Joe Wilson, Qwaves Media
t: +1 (808) 629-9864 e: QwavesMedia@mail.comImagine a world where a little boy can grow up to be the woman of his dreams, and a young girl can rise to become a leader among men. Welcome to Kumu Hinaʻs Hawaii, where thereʻs a place in the middle for all.
#APlaceintheMiddle
KUMU HINAPacific Islanders in Communications
Editor: Nels Bangerter Co-Producer: Connie M. Florez Original Score: Makana Animation: Jared GreenleafAdvisor: Leonelle Akana Featuring: Hina Wong-Kalu and Haemaccelo Kalu Introducing: Hoʻonani Kama