The Maori New Wave   21 May 2015

Wairoa Maori Film Festival

The Maori New Wave

Maori Working With Irish on New Film Making Model

Maori are working with Irish film makers on a new model of film making, embracing the "Maori New Wave" via tools such as Crowdfunding and Microbudget film making. The film TONN NUA? meaning Irish new wave will be screened, with film maker Peter McKeown (Ireland) Skyping in from Ireland.

We are in a "new wave" of film making in New Zealand and around the world. With the cost of high end camera equipment dropping dramatically, and the rise of "Crowdfunding" as a means to both fund and build an audience for a film, film makers are no longer sitting on the sidelines to see if their film grant comes in, and instead getting out there and making their feature drama, feature documentary and experimental film work.

SUPPORT WAIROA'S BOOSTED CAMPAIGN
WAIROA MAORI FILM FESTIVAL itself is Crowdfunding this year's festival, with its current campaign to celebrate its 10th anniversary now at 23% on Boosted:
http://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/wairoa-maori-film-festival-10th-anniversary-gathering

The philosophy behind Crowdfunding is that a lot of small drops in a bucket can fill that bucket. Just a small donation, say $10 a month, means people are supporting each other's creative endeavours and creating a community online.

THE MAORI NEW WAVE

At the Wairoa Maori Film Festival, there will be a panel discussion on the Maori New Wave. Part of the discussion will be about Crowdfunding and "Getting Beyond Like."

On Facebook, people don't hesitate to click "Like" when it's an important cause, but taking that next step such as paying a small amount for a Crowdfunding, or making a donation to a cause, is the tough part. Building a community around a film project, letting people know they are part of a cause, and their support will result in a film that will go to audiences and motivate social change, that is how we get "Beyond Like".

Hiona Henare's project NATIVE IN NUHAKA has got "Beyond Like" to talk about people's LOVE for film and for Maori storytelling. The documentary project had a crew at last year's Wairoa Maori Film Festival, interviewed the locals and guest film makers alike, and found a theme emerging of how Maori people LOVE film and storytelling. Hiona's project got $5,000 crowdfunding last year, and is looking to premiere overseas later this year. Here's all the information on the project:

https://www.facebook.com/wairoadocahontas?fref=ts

Also at the festival will be Lennie Hill and Mark Ruka, who have completed two (yes, TWO!) independently funded feature films, THE UMBRELLA MAN and BARCRAWL. THE UMBRELLA MAN premieres at the Wairoa Maori Film Festival, a story of a Maori homeless man and the plight of homeless people on the streets of Auckland. BARCRAWL comes out later this year, and is about a man who finds he only has a short time to live and decides to have one last night out in the city.

Here is the link to the Umbrella Man trailer:

https://vimeo.com/125223566

THE IRISH NEW WAVE

The film TONN NUA? focuses on the rise of micro-budget productions over the last number of years. Speaking to a number of filmmakers and industry professionals, Tonn Nua? charts this cinematic growth and notes where this development might lead. Director Peter McKeown will join the festival panel discussion by Skype.

New Zealand Irish film maker Kim Hegan will also be speaking on the panel. Kim Hegan is behind a new documentary project called 54 Gandhi Road, that documents the story of Kangyur Rinpoche, one of the first Tibetan Masters who, heeding the imminent danger to Tibetan Buddhism during the Cultural Revolution of the 1950’s, braved the arduous journey over the Himalayan Mountains to India, rescuing over one hundred packages of Buddhist texts that otherwise faced potential extinction.

It is hoped to build new relationship between Ireland and New Zealand via the korero at the Maori New Wave Panel at the Wairoa Maori Film Festival this year.

ends

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