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Te Rua o Takurua | July Monthly Pānui
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, tēnā koutou katoa.
E tangi ana te ngākau ki te whānau Mackay i te rirohanga atu o te ariki tapairu, te hungarei o Kay Ellmers, a Erina Mackay. E kui, haere atu rā koe ki te kāhui whetū, okioki atu ai ki te poho o Ranginui. Ko ngā whakaaro ki a koutou i tēnei wā taumaha.
The June-July period proved to be very busy as we bid farewell to Matariki mā Puanga and welcomed Te Rua o Takurua. We delved straight into the many kaupapa including our Rautaki Reo Focus Groups hui, Aho Shorts Development Lab, Doc Edge, Big Screen Symposium.
We are creating a new Content Spotlight in our pānui to bring awareness of the fresh, new content our members are releasing in the last month. If you’d like your piece to be featured, please email the details to comms@ngaahowhakaari.org
Coming up in the next few weeks, all current members will receive an email asking you to confirm your membership details. It’s a quick and easy process, just a couple of minutes to confirm or update your information. We encourage you to spread the word and invite your colleagues to join if they’re not already members. If you have any pātai about membership, feel free to contact our Membership Manager, Sonara Southcombe-Wallace: sonara@ngaahowhakaari.org
Ngā manaakitanga, nā
Sonara Southcombe-Wallace
Executive Coordinator & Membership Manager
Harata Taurima-Thomas
Social Media & Comms Coordinator
Kay Ellmers
Te Tumu Whakarae | Executive Director
Puti finalist for NZ’s Best Short Film at NZIFF
An award-winning short film, which honours the resilience of Māori youth, has been named a finalist at the New Zealand International Film Festival.
Puti emerged from our Aho Shorts programme. Written and directed by Aroha Awarau (Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Porou, Niue, Samoa). Puti has already screened at the Beverly Hills Film Festival in Los Angeles and Aotearoa’s own Māoriland Film Festival in Ōtaki.
Me mihi ka tika, e poho kererū ana i a koutou!
Read the full article by Te Ao News here:
Aho Shorts Development Lab 2025
Applications for the Ngā Aho Shorts Development Lab 2025 have now closed. We had applications come in from all around the world including: Northland, Auckland, Rotorua, Tauranga, Wellington, Nelson and even Los Angeles. We'd like to acknowledge everyone who applied for the initiative, and note the caliber of applications makes the short listing process very difficult.
Successful Applicants Notified By: Thursday 17 July
Doc Edge Festival 2025
Doc Edge Festival was a 4-day screen professional event from 30 June - 3rd July covering forums, market and pitching.
We caught up with our Doc Edge Scholarship recipients Cleo Fraser & Regan Butler at Doc Edge Festival 2025. Ngā mihi nui ki a kōrua for your whakaaro on a busy and interesting week!
Big Screen Symposium 2025
The Big Screen Symposium 2025 was a powerful gathering of Aotearoa’s screen storytellers, held over two days at the University of Auckland.
We were especially uplifted by the kaupapa Māori presence woven throughout the programme. A standout was the Disney Reo Māori panel, featuring Chelsea Winstanley, Tweedie Waititi, Rachel House, and Mia Henry-Teirney, who offered an inspiring BTS look at translating Disney films into te reo Māori. Equally moving was the Composing for Film Masterclass, where Tiki Taane, and Arli Liberman gave us an exclusive preview into the musical landscape behind Ka Whawhai Tonu, alongside director Mike Jonathan.
Ngā Aho Whakaari provided several scholarships to the event and one recipient, Jayde Hudson, reflected on the weekend: "Attending BSS was an incredible opportunity, a rare space to learn, reflect, and connect. I came away with a deepened appreciation for the craft of storytelling, the value of collaboration, and the importance of interrogating inherited systems, both industrial and creative."
We left the symposium energised, affirmed, and excited for what lies ahead. E mihi ana ki Te Tari Tuhi Kupu a Whakaahua!
Kōkā: "Made by us, for us, about us"
Kōkā is the first film to be solely in Ngāti Porou Reo. In development Kuia and Kaumatua gathered together at Hiruhārama Marae outside of Ruatōria to wananga the reo and tikanga within the script. They drew on both oral and written traditions to ensure these elements were tika.
Ngāti Porou provided wrap around support during development, production and post production appointing
Erana Reedy and Karepe McDonald as their representatives to the production to manage the reo and tikanga elements. At only 23 years of age, Karepe is a respected reo advocate and representative for Ngāti Porou reo. Made by us, for us, about us - is the term Ngāti Porou Rūnanga have used in their social media about the film.
We are proud to be presenting a film that has been claimed by an iwi as authentic to their reo, traditions and worldview. Kōkā is a film that speaks to a broad audience about things that matter to us including our connection and abiding love for our lands, waterways, ancestors and each other.
Giveaway winners!
Congratulations to Krysta Neve and Nikita Clarke for each winning a double pass to see Kōkā in theatres - te waimaria hoki!
Kōkā is still showing in theatres all around the motu.
48Hours Giveaway Winner!
The Vista Foundation 48Hours is NZ's largest guerrilla filmmaking competition! 500+ teams enter each year with just 48 hours to write, shoot and cut a film with a given genre and assigned elements. Filmmakers compete for awards culminating in a grand final event where the national winner takes the title of Grand National Champion. Congratulations to our 48Hour Giveaway winner, K-Ci Williams! Good luck to you and your team.
Rangiata Sky expands reo Māori rugby coverage
Rangiata Sky is pleased to share that it will extend its commitment to offering reo Māori commentary on its key sports broadcasts in the year ahead.
Rangiata Sky’s Pou Ārahi and Ngā Aho Whakaari Board Member Kirstin Te Wao-Edmonds (Te Arawa, Waikato), says: “As an Aotearoa-focused broadcaster, we have an important role to play in contributing to the revitalisation of te reo Māori. We understand the emotional power, cultural pride, and educational benefit of hearing reo Māori during our major sports coverage: bringing sports fans more opportunities to enjoy listening to it and also creating opportunities and pathways for reo Māori speaking sports broadcasters to shine.”
See below for full schedule
The 2025 Activator Cohort
Libertine Pictures, 113 Partners, Hinterland and Spada are proud to announce the 12 producers selected for the 2025 Activator Screen Business Programme, an international business development initiative designed to build export capability within Aotearoa’s screen production sector The cohort of 12 producers represent some of the most entrepreneurial and ambitious screen talent in Aotearoa - working across film, television, documentary and factual - and are now poised to take their projects and businesses to the global stage.
Congratulations to all those selected for the cohort. It's also great to see a Māori representation, namely Nicole Horan, Nigel McCulloch and Rachale Davies.
Rautaki Reo Focus Groups a Success!
This month, we took the first step in designing our rautaki reo; a language strategy grounded in the values and aspirations of our Ngā Aho Whakaari whānau.
We are fortunate to have the incredible Stacey Morrison facilitating the hui guiding us through this process. Ngā mihi maioha ki a koe, e hoa.
We've held two wānanga; one in person - thanks to NZ Film Commission for hosting us! The second hui followed online the next Monday, allowing even more of our whānau to join the wānanga. A special mihi to everyone who attended and shared your whakaaro. Your insights will help shape a strategy that reflects us all.
These focus groups are just the beginning of the process, all members will have the opportunity to voice their whakaaro. Keep an eye out for comms to come!
Two NZIFF Giveaways to Come!
Ngā Aho Whakaari will be giving away to Ngā Whanaunga shorts and Toitū Visual Sovereignty.
Follow us on our social media platforms keep updated! Details to come!
Practical Producing Season Four
E noho atu rā ki ngā rekereke o ngā mātanga mahi kiriata! Share the Knowledge & Compton School are back this August with six powerhouse sessions diving deep into the packaging process for film; from local distributions to funding applications , this is your chance to learn directly from the experts! Please note the dates have changed slightly, see below:
Season 4
Session 1 - Local Distributors: Thursday, 14th August at 8:00pm
Session 2 - Sales Agents: Thursday, 28th August at 8:00pm
Session 3 - Streamers: Thursday, 18th September at 8:00pm
Session 4 - Local Networks: Thursday, 2nd October at 8:00pm
Session 5 - Funding Applications: Thursday, 16th October at 8:00pm
Session 6 - Closing: Thursday, 30th October at 8:00pm
About Practical Producing Season Four
The New Zealand Screen Awards
Entries for the 2025 New Zealand Screen Awards are OPEN from today until FRIDAY 8th AUGUST! 🎉
The full list of categories, T's & C's, as well as a link to the awards portal can be found on nztvawards.co.nz.
Te Kete Aronui Round Two: Request for Proposals
Sky are excited to announce the second round of Te Kete Aronui, a Sky Sport and Sky NZ Originals fund supporting Māori and Pasifika production professionals to share our sport stories with Aotearoa.
This year, Sky is seeking bold, original Māori and Pasifika sport documentaries of any format or
duration, ready to shine on Sky Sport, Sky Sport Now and possibly NEON.
Applications close 5pm, 28 July 2025, to be submitted to TKA@sky.co.nz.
For any pātai or kōrero, please contact Mariarangi.Carkeek@sky.co.nz.
An Introduction to A.I by Māori Industry Experts.
Whether you're running a small business or leading a large organisation, A.I can be a powerful tool to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and position your business for the future. This practical, one-day session will guide you through some of the latest A.I tools from a uniquely Māori perspective and ways to apply them safely to your business.
Date: Thursday, July 31, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Location: WERA Training Centre, 1139 Pukuatua Street, Rotorua
Registrations are $899 + GST and includes:
- Full-day in-person workshop with live demonstrations.
- Access to Māori industry experts.
- Printed material and handouts.
- QR codes for online materials.
- Refreshments and light lunch provided.
- An online follow-up session to support implementation into your business.
Only 25 seats are available, offering limited numbers for personalised learning.
To register and reserve your place, please contact:
Te Oriwa Edwardson - Takitini Academic Administrator
Email: teoriwaedwardson@takitini.ac.nz
Rotorua Indigenous Film Festival Shifts to Biannual Format
The Rotorua Indigenous Film Festival (RIFF) will shift to a biannual format, with the next full festival scheduled for 2026. This means there will be no RIFF in 2025, as the team takes time to plan and deliver an even stronger experience for Indigenous storytellers and audiences
See below for more:
CONTENT SPOTLIGHT 🎬💫
The Bones of Our Past
(M) A documentary about Takahanga Marae in Kaikōura. Rangi Soloman (Kāti Kuri) said he wanted to “build the future of our people on the bones of our past”. Last year was its 30th anniversary.
Now showing on MĀORI+
Allgoods
When Toi realises his wellbeing is out of balance, he ropes in his mate Pab to come along for the ride. "When someone asks me how I am, I want to be able to mean it when I say I'm allgoods."
Now showing on TVNZ+
Dead Ahead
A high-powered Māori lawyer (Miriama Smith) accidentally unleashes her chaotic tūpuna (ancestors), forcing the living and the dead to navigate their shared legacy. Now showing on TVNZ+
Motuhaketanga
An intimate, compelling two-part documentary delves into the transformative journeys of three wāhine Māori as they prepare to leave prison and begin the raw process of rebuilding their lives, their identities, and their futures. Now showing on MĀORI+
If you’d like your piece to be featured, please email the details to comms@ngaahowhakaari.org
Want to share your events, initiatives, or announcements with us?
We'd love to feature them in future pānui! Drop us a line at
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, tēnā koutou katoa.
E tangi ana te ngākau ki te whānau Mackay i te rirohanga atu o te ariki tapairu, te hungarei o Kay Ellmers, a Erina Mackay. E kui, haere atu rā koe ki te kāhui whetū, okioki atu ai ki te poho o Ranginui. Ko ngā whakaaro ki a koutou i tēnei wā taumaha.
The June-July period proved to be very busy as we bid farewell to Matariki mā Puanga and welcomed Te Rua o Takurua. We delved straight into the many kaupapa including our Rautaki Reo Focus Groups hui, Aho Shorts Development Lab, Doc Edge, Big Screen Symposium.
We are creating a new Content Spotlight in our pānui to bring awareness of the fresh, new content our members are releasing in the last month. If you’d like your piece to be featured, please email the details to comms@ngaahowhakaari.org
Coming up in the next few weeks, all current members will receive an email asking you to confirm your membership details. It’s a quick and easy process, just a couple of minutes to confirm or update your information. We encourage you to spread the word and invite your colleagues to join if they’re not already members. If you have any pātai about membership, feel free to contact our Membership Manager, Sonara Southcombe-Wallace: sonara@ngaahowhakaari.org
Ngā manaakitanga, nā
Sonara Southcombe-Wallace
Executive Coordinator & Membership Manager
Harata Taurima-Thomas
Social Media & Comms Coordinator
Kay Ellmers
Te Tumu Whakarae | Executive Director
Puti finalist for NZ’s Best Short Film at NZIFF
An award-winning short film, which honours the resilience of Māori youth, has been named a finalist at the New Zealand International Film Festival.
Puti emerged from our Aho Shorts programme. Written and directed by Aroha Awarau (Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Porou, Niue, Samoa). Puti has already screened at the Beverly Hills Film Festival in Los Angeles and Aotearoa’s own Māoriland Film Festival in Ōtaki.
Me mihi ka tika, e poho kererū ana i a koutou!
Read the full article by Te Ao News here:
Aho Shorts Development Lab 2025
Applications for the Ngā Aho Shorts Development Lab 2025 have now closed. We had applications come in from all around the world including: Northland, Auckland, Rotorua, Tauranga, Wellington, Nelson and even Los Angeles. We'd like to acknowledge everyone who applied for the initiative, and note the caliber of applications makes the short listing process very difficult.
Successful Applicants Notified By: Thursday 17 July
Doc Edge Festival 2025
Doc Edge Festival was a 4-day screen professional event from 30 June - 3rd July covering forums, market and pitching.
We caught up with our Doc Edge Scholarship recipients Cleo Fraser & Regan Butler at Doc Edge Festival 2025. Ngā mihi nui ki a kōrua for your whakaaro on a busy and interesting week!
Big Screen Symposium 2025
The Big Screen Symposium 2025 was a powerful gathering of Aotearoa’s screen storytellers, held over two days at the University of Auckland.
We were especially uplifted by the kaupapa Māori presence woven throughout the programme. A standout was the Disney Reo Māori panel, featuring Chelsea Winstanley, Tweedie Waititi, Rachel House, and Mia Henry-Teirney, who offered an inspiring BTS look at translating Disney films into te reo Māori. Equally moving was the Composing for Film Masterclass, where Tiki Taane, and Arli Liberman gave us an exclusive preview into the musical landscape behind Ka Whawhai Tonu, alongside director Mike Jonathan.
Ngā Aho Whakaari provided several scholarships to the event and one recipient, Jayde Hudson, reflected on the weekend: "Attending BSS was an incredible opportunity, a rare space to learn, reflect, and connect. I came away with a deepened appreciation for the craft of storytelling, the value of collaboration, and the importance of interrogating inherited systems, both industrial and creative."
We left the symposium energised, affirmed, and excited for what lies ahead. E mihi ana ki Te Tari Tuhi Kupu a Whakaahua!
Kōkā: "Made by us, for us, about us"
Kōkā is the first film to be solely in Ngāti Porou Reo. In development Kuia and Kaumatua gathered together at Hiruhārama Marae outside of Ruatōria to wananga the reo and tikanga within the script. They drew on both oral and written traditions to ensure these elements were tika.
Ngāti Porou provided wrap around support during development, production and post production appointing
Erana Reedy and Karepe McDonald as their representatives to the production to manage the reo and tikanga elements. At only 23 years of age, Karepe is a respected reo advocate and representative for Ngāti Porou reo. Made by us, for us, about us - is the term Ngāti Porou Rūnanga have used in their social media about the film.
We are proud to be presenting a film that has been claimed by an iwi as authentic to their reo, traditions and worldview. Kōkā is a film that speaks to a broad audience about things that matter to us including our connection and abiding love for our lands, waterways, ancestors and each other.
Giveaway winners!
Congratulations to Krysta Neve and Nikita Clarke for each winning a double pass to see Kōkā in theatres - te waimaria hoki!
Kōkā is still showing in theatres all around the motu.
48Hours Giveaway Winner!
The Vista Foundation 48Hours is NZ's largest guerrilla filmmaking competition! 500+ teams enter each year with just 48 hours to write, shoot and cut a film with a given genre and assigned elements. Filmmakers compete for awards culminating in a grand final event where the national winner takes the title of Grand National Champion. Congratulations to our 48Hour Giveaway winner, K-Ci Williams! Good luck to you and your team.
Rangiata Sky expands reo Māori rugby coverage
Rangiata Sky is pleased to share that it will extend its commitment to offering reo Māori commentary on its key sports broadcasts in the year ahead.
Rangiata Sky’s Pou Ārahi and Ngā Aho Whakaari Board Member Kirstin Te Wao-Edmonds (Te Arawa, Waikato), says: “As an Aotearoa-focused broadcaster, we have an important role to play in contributing to the revitalisation of te reo Māori. We understand the emotional power, cultural pride, and educational benefit of hearing reo Māori during our major sports coverage: bringing sports fans more opportunities to enjoy listening to it and also creating opportunities and pathways for reo Māori speaking sports broadcasters to shine.”
See below for full schedule
The 2025 Activator Cohort
Libertine Pictures, 113 Partners, Hinterland and Spada are proud to announce the 12 producers selected for the 2025 Activator Screen Business Programme, an international business development initiative designed to build export capability within Aotearoa’s screen production sector The cohort of 12 producers represent some of the most entrepreneurial and ambitious screen talent in Aotearoa - working across film, television, documentary and factual - and are now poised to take their projects and businesses to the global stage.
Congratulations to all those selected for the cohort. It's also great to see a Māori representation, namely Nicole Horan, Nigel McCulloch and Rachale Davies.
Rautaki Reo Focus Groups a Success!
This month, we took the first step in designing our rautaki reo; a language strategy grounded in the values and aspirations of our Ngā Aho Whakaari whānau.
We are fortunate to have the incredible Stacey Morrison facilitating the hui guiding us through this process. Ngā mihi maioha ki a koe, e hoa.
We've held two wānanga; one in person - thanks to NZ Film Commission for hosting us! The second hui followed online the next Monday, allowing even more of our whānau to join the wānanga. A special mihi to everyone who attended and shared your whakaaro. Your insights will help shape a strategy that reflects us all.
These focus groups are just the beginning of the process, all members will have the opportunity to voice their whakaaro. Keep an eye out for comms to come!
Two NZIFF Giveaways to Come!
Ngā Aho Whakaari will be giving away to Ngā Whanaunga shorts and Toitū Visual Sovereignty.
Follow us on our social media platforms keep updated! Details to come!
Practical Producing Season Four
E noho atu rā ki ngā rekereke o ngā mātanga mahi kiriata! Share the Knowledge & Compton School are back this August with six powerhouse sessions diving deep into the packaging process for film; from local distributions to funding applications , this is your chance to learn directly from the experts! Please note the dates have changed slightly, see below:
Season 4
Session 1 - Local Distributors: Thursday, 14th August at 8:00pm
Session 2 - Sales Agents: Thursday, 28th August at 8:00pm
Session 3 - Streamers: Thursday, 18th September at 8:00pm
Session 4 - Local Networks: Thursday, 2nd October at 8:00pm
Session 5 - Funding Applications: Thursday, 16th October at 8:00pm
Session 6 - Closing: Thursday, 30th October at 8:00pm
About Practical Producing Season Four
The New Zealand Screen Awards
Entries for the 2025 New Zealand Screen Awards are OPEN from today until FRIDAY 8th AUGUST! 🎉
The full list of categories, T's & C's, as well as a link to the awards portal can be found on nztvawards.co.nz.
Te Kete Aronui Round Two: Request for Proposals
Sky are excited to announce the second round of Te Kete Aronui, a Sky Sport and Sky NZ Originals fund supporting Māori and Pasifika production professionals to share our sport stories with Aotearoa.
This year, Sky is seeking bold, original Māori and Pasifika sport documentaries of any format or
duration, ready to shine on Sky Sport, Sky Sport Now and possibly NEON.
Applications close 5pm, 28 July 2025, to be submitted to TKA@sky.co.nz.
For any pātai or kōrero, please contact Mariarangi.Carkeek@sky.co.nz.
An Introduction to A.I by Māori Industry Experts.
Whether you're running a small business or leading a large organisation, A.I can be a powerful tool to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and position your business for the future. This practical, one-day session will guide you through some of the latest A.I tools from a uniquely Māori perspective and ways to apply them safely to your business.
Date: Thursday, July 31, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Location: WERA Training Centre, 1139 Pukuatua Street, Rotorua
Registrations are $899 + GST and includes:
- Full-day in-person workshop with live demonstrations.
- Access to Māori industry experts.
- Printed material and handouts.
- QR codes for online materials.
- Refreshments and light lunch provided.
- An online follow-up session to support implementation into your business.
Only 25 seats are available, offering limited numbers for personalised learning.
To register and reserve your place, please contact:
Te Oriwa Edwardson - Takitini Academic Administrator
Email: teoriwaedwardson@takitini.ac.nz
Rotorua Indigenous Film Festival Shifts to Biannual Format
The Rotorua Indigenous Film Festival (RIFF) will shift to a biannual format, with the next full festival scheduled for 2026. This means there will be no RIFF in 2025, as the team takes time to plan and deliver an even stronger experience for Indigenous storytellers and audiences
See below for more:
CONTENT SPOTLIGHT 🎬💫
The Bones of Our Past
(M) A documentary about Takahanga Marae in Kaikōura. Rangi Soloman (Kāti Kuri) said he wanted to “build the future of our people on the bones of our past”. Last year was its 30th anniversary.
Now showing on MĀORI+
Allgoods
When Toi realises his wellbeing is out of balance, he ropes in his mate Pab to come along for the ride. "When someone asks me how I am, I want to be able to mean it when I say I'm allgoods."
Now showing on TVNZ+
Dead Ahead
A high-powered Māori lawyer (Miriama Smith) accidentally unleashes her chaotic tūpuna (ancestors), forcing the living and the dead to navigate their shared legacy. Now showing on TVNZ+
Motuhaketanga
An intimate, compelling two-part documentary delves into the transformative journeys of three wāhine Māori as they prepare to leave prison and begin the raw process of rebuilding their lives, their identities, and their futures. Now showing on MĀORI+
If you’d like your piece to be featured, please email the details to comms@ngaahowhakaari.org
Want to share your events, initiatives, or announcements with us?
We'd love to feature them in future pānui! Drop us a line at