MĀORILAND FILM FESTIVAL
16 – 20 March 2022
Each March the Indigenous world comes together in Ōtaki, Aotearoa (New Zealand) to celebrate Indigenous screen storytelling at Māoriland Film Festival, the largest Indigenous film festival in the Southern Hemisphere.
MFF2022 is an in-person event hosted in the community of Ōtaki. Located on New Zealand’s Kāpiti Coast, Ōtaki is a vibrant seaside town where Māori culture and language thrives.
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MFF was founded in 2014 to celebrate Indigenous voices and storytelling in film from Ōtaki, Aotearoa.
Over the past six years, the festival has grown to be the largest presenter of Indigenous screen content in the Southern Hemisphere, with a year-round programme of events that include; industry focussed events, emerging technology (VR/AR/XR), lecture series – NATIVE Minds, sound and stage performances, a full visual arts programme – Toi Matarau and more.
These activities were enabled through the establishment of the Māoriland Hub – Ōtaki’s largest building – purchased by the Māoriland Charitable Trust (NZ Charities Commission: CC53677) in 2017.
Submitting Your Project to Māoriland Film Festival
Māoriland exists to uplift the perspectives and stories of Indigenous peoples. To be eligible to submit your film to our festival, an Indigenous person must be credited in a key creative role.
Submissions to MFF can be made online via Zone or Film Freeway.
Key Dates
9 October 2020 – Submissions Open
9 November 2021 – Submissions Close
9 December 2021 – Late Submissions Close $25 USD Fee
Submission Categories
At each festival Māoriland selects feature films, short films, installation, digital and interactive works to play within the Festival.
During the festival Toi Matarau gallery presents its annual exhibition of Māori & Indigenous art. For inclusion in this programme please contact Toi Matarau directly.
For the first time, Māoriland will light up Ōtaki’s Main Street in collaboration with Matariki Ramaroa. Indigenous light artists are encouraged to submit their works to the festival.
Māoriland Film Festival
Māoriland’s main theatrical programme accepts the following works by Indigenous creatives;
- Feature Drama
- Feature Documentary
- Short Drama
- Short Documentary
- Music Videos
- Experimental Films
- Animated Films
Māoriland Rangatahi Film Festival
The Māoriland Rangatahi Film Festival is Māoriland’s programme for young people. The films for this programme are selected by Ngā Pakiaka – a collective of rangatahi filmmakers aged 16-24.
Films may be programmed in both the Māoriland Film Festival and Māoriland Film Festival programmes. This programme prefers films for a general audience.
- Feature Drama
- Feature Documentary
- Short Drama
- Short Documentary
- Animated Films
M.A.T.C.H
Māoriland Tech Creative Hub
During MFF, M.A.T.C.H presents an exhibition of creative technology including VR, games & innovative Indigenous technologies.
Artistic Policy
Māoriland invites film, video, digital and interactive media work and artwork (all mediums) made by Indigenous creatives.
To be eligible for Māoriland an Indigenous creative must be credited in a key role such as director, producer or screenwriter.
The Indigenous creative must self-identify with and be recognised as an Indigenous person. Indigenous peoples are also known as Tangata Whenua, Aboriginal, Native, First Peoples or Tribal Peoples who belong to; or who have had an uninterrupted relationship with their land. This is distinct from those people who have arrived from another place to live in a country.
While a key creative involved in the project must be Indigenous, the issue or content of the film may be non-Indigenous. This recognises the diverse experiences, identities and perspectives of Indigenous people(s), worldwide.
Where the eligibility of a submitter is unclear, Māoriland will follow up with the submitter to clarify eligibility.
Māoriland prioritises work that:
- Innovates to present unique and new Indigenous perspectives
- Provides a portal to the Indigenous world for ALL peoples.
- Upholds the mana (respect for) and inspiration of our storytellers – guided by our elders and taught by our children.
- Respects our audience
- Relevance of work in regards to emerging themes and issues that shape our wider Indigenous experience.
Programmers may consider a limited number of works at its discretion where a work has been created with genuine and mutual participation from an Indigenous person or group of peoples. References and further background will be requested for works submitted under this category.
Awards
Films programmed within the Māoriland Film Festival and Māoriland Rangatahi Film Festival are eligible for Audience Choice awards. The following categories will be awarded at the Māoriland Red Carpet Party on Sunday 20 March.
- People’s Choice – Drama (Feature)
- People’s Choice – Documentary (Feature)
- People’s Choice – Short Drama
- People’s Choice – Short Documentary
- Rangatahi Choice
E Tū Whānau Rangatahi Film Awards
Rangatahi filmmakers are invited to submit their films to the E Tū Whānau Rangatahi Film Challenge
Fees
Māoriland Film Festival is a non-profit organisation. Year-round we provide a range of activities supporting Indigenous creatives working across a range of mediums. Fees from late festival submissions support the cost of programming and go back into the film festival.
COVID-19
Maoriland Film Festival is an in-person event hosted in the community of Otaki, on New Zealand’s Kapiti Coast.
The festival operates within a stringent and responsive COVID-19 plan in alignment with New Zealand’s voluntary code for major events. Should your film be selected, you will receive further information regarding this plan.
Information for audiences will be provided in early 2022.
NGĀ POU O TE WHARE
Hou mai koe ki roto i te whare kōrero o Māoriland. Ko tōna tāhuhu ko te iwi, ko te poutāhu ko te mana o te kupu, ko te poutuarongo ko te ira tangata. Kei waenga ko te poutokomanawa o te aroha noa. Ka mutu, ko ngā pou koko ka titi iho ki te whenua ko ēnei:
We bid you entry into our house of stories. The ridgepole is the people, the front post is the authority of the word, the rear post is the essence of our humanity. Between them, we find the support pillar of love. The posts that anchor the corners to the land are these:
CELEBRATION
Māoriland celebrates the rise of Indigenous cinema. It invites filmmakers from around the world to share their compelling big screen stories with us, and with each other.
INSPIRATION
Māoriland upholds the mana and inspiration of our storytellers. We are guided by our elders, and taught by our children. The festival assists our community to expand their perspectives and to connect with those from other cultures.
RESPECT
Māoriland is rooted in the traditions and language of the hapū and iwi of Ōtaki. It is our honour to extend manaakitanga to the many visitors to the festival.
INCLUSION
Māoriland provides a portal to the Indigenous world for ALL people. It assists social cohesion, a sense of pride, and the informed well- being of our community.
TĀRIA TAKU MOKO MĀORI KI NGĀ KIRIATA O TE WĀ
EMBED MY NATIVE SOUL IN FILM
