Curated by Tearepa Kahi is an international award winning Māori filmmaker who specialises in Kaupapa Māori stories. His films include Mt. Zion, POI E and his new feature drama, Muru, which premiered at TIFF 2022 and is our closing night film.

Hiama
Director: Matasila Freshwater (Soloman Islands)

Aotearoa | 2021 | 13 mins | English
When a Solomon Islands teenager encounters bullying and microaggressions at school, she must take fate into her own hands with assistance from her family’s guardian spirit.

Washday
Director: Kath Akuhata-Brown (Ngati Porou)

Aotearoa | 2021 | 8 mins | English
A father turns his car into a water pump while his young daughter becomes a force of nature.

The Voyagers Legacy
Director: Bailey Poching (Samoan, Maori)

Aotearoa | 2021 | 10 mins | English
Set during the time of the Dawn Raids, The Voyagers Legacy follows the three youngest children of a Samoan family, as they reimagine their bustling Ponsonby home as a magical, whimsical fairytale world of swords and sorcery.

Windsong and Rain
Director: Matariki Bennett (Te Arawa, Ngati Pikiao, Ngati Whakaue)

Aotearoa | 2021 | 9 mins | English
Hone Tuwhare was a beloved Māori writer, best known for his poem Rain. He died in 2008, before his great-granddaughter, poet Manaia Tuwhare-Hoani, got to know him. In this short documentary, Tuwhare-Hoani travels to Tuwhare's old Kaka Point crib in South Otago, where he spent happy years living and writing. 

Disconnected
Director: Maruia Jensen (Maori)

Aotearoa | 2021 | 17 mins | English
When a construction worker from South Auckland loses the last connection he has with his dead Mum, he spirals into a state of depression, prompting an intervention from beyond the grave.

Disrupt
Director: Jennifer Te Atamira Ward-Lealand (Maori)

Aotearoa | 2022 | 15 mins | English
When a burglary goes wrong, CJ must choose between his whānau and his next fix. “A whānau bond can't be broken apart, even if the trespasses made skew to forsaking not forgiving.” 

This short film package is available in the BIRRARANGGA Film Festival 3-pass and 5-pass ticket packages.