Indigenous visions for a better world take centre stage at Māoriland Film Festival 2026
Ko te mauri, he mea huna ki te Moana
March 24 – 28, 2028 | Ōtaki, Aotearoa
The world’s largest Indigenous film festival, Māoriland, is set to return with an incredible line-up for its 13th annual screen celebration, showcasing 108 films from 130 Indigenous nations.
The Māoriland Film Festival (MFF) runs 24–28 March 2026 in Ōtaki on the Kāpiti Coast. Festival director Madeleine Hakaraia de Young says this year’s festival theme, He taonga tuku iho te rama ataata – the light that reveals our legacies, invites the audience to find inspiration from Indigenous storytelling.
“The films in this year’s programme draw strength from their Indigeneity. These are stories that shine in the darkness – that transform, that heal, and that remind us we should never accept that this is just how things are,” says de Young.
“As we shaped this year’s programme, there was the social media trend of reflecting back a decade to 2016 and I found myself doing the same.
“In 2016, Māoriland was still finding its wings. We had little in the way of resources, but an abundance of heart, community and belief. That was the year Māoriland grew from an idea into an organisation, and it came at a time when the world, too, felt uncertain and heavy.
“In many ways, 2026 carries a similar weight. Across the globe, Indigenous peoples continue to face war, displacement, climate crisis and the ongoing impacts of colonisation.
“And yet, even in the hardest moments, the sun still rises. We are part of something bigger, brighter and more beautiful, and we have a responsibility to build the world we want to live in. Together.”
Presenting an expansive programme of Indigenous storytelling
The festival opens with the Māoriland Keynote address, delivered by actor and producer Te Kohe Tuhaka at Rangiātea Church.
From a proudly te reo Māori–speaking whānau in Tūranga-nui-a-Kiwa (Gisborne), Te Kohe is a graduate of Toi Whakaari and is known for his versatility across film, television and theatre.
Alongside his on-screen work, he continues to champion Māori-led storytelling behind the camera.
The Māoriland Keynote offers a personal and historical perspective from a leading Māori filmmaker, continuing a legacy of keynote speakers that includes Tainui Stephens, Rawiri Paratene, Temuera Morrison, Rena Owen, Waihoroi Shortland, Libby Hakaraia, and Julian and Mabelle Dennison.
Festival screenings open that night with Uiksaringitara – Wrong Husband, directed by renowned Inuit filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk. Set in Igloolik, Nunavut in 2000 BCE, the film tells the story of Kaujak and Sapa, promised to each other at birth and torn apart after the sudden death of Kaujak’s father forces her mother into a marriage with a man from another camp.
What follows is a gripping epic of love, resistance and survival, as aggressive suitors backed by an evil shaman vie for Kaujak’s hand. Blending the supernatural with a powerful Arctic love story, Uiksaringitara – Wrong Husband is a visually stunning historical drama grounded in Inuit language, culture and cosmology.
Further program highlights include My Fathers’ Daughter (Biru Unjárga), directed by Sámi filmmaker Egil Pedersen, which follows Elvira, a confident Sámi teenager who believes she was conceived at a Danish fertility clinic and daydreams about her absent father as a movie star.
When her biological father unexpectedly enters her life, Elvira is forced to confront her assumptions about identity, family and belonging in this tender and engaging coming-of-age story set against the landscapes of northern Norway.
The festival also presents Endless Cookie, an inventive animated documentary by Seth Scriver and Peter Scriver from Shamattawa First Nation.
What begins as a serious documentary project in the Arctic becomes a sprawling, psychedelic portrait of Indigenous family life, created over a decade and rendered in a bold animation style reminiscent of Regular Show and Adventure Time.
La Hija Cóndor (The Condor Daughter) is an exquisite feature from Bolivian director Álvaro Olmos Torrico that brings Quechua midwives to the international stage with emotional depth and cultural resonance.
Set in the Andes, the film follows Clara, a teenager raised by an adoptive mother who has passed down ancestral birthing songs believed to guide new life safely into the world. While grounded in tradition, Clara dreams of becoming a folkloric music star in the city, creating a moving tension between cultural inheritance and personal aspiration.
Documentary feature AKI, directed by Darlene Naponse, offers a profoundly immersive cinematic meditation on land, memory and sovereignty.
Filmed on Atikameksheng Anishnawbek territory and unfolding without dialogue, the film draws its power from the rhythms of the seasons and the beauty of the natural world, inviting audiences into a space of listening, reflection and connection.
Another feature highlight is Blood Lines, the latest work from Métis writer-director Gail Maurice (Rosie, MFF2023).
The film centres on a fiercely independent Métis woman whose life is disrupted by the return of her estranged mother and the arrival of a stranger searching for her roots.
Told in both English and Michif, a language with just over a thousand speakers worldwide, Blood Lines is a deeply personal exploration of family, identity and belonging, wrapped in a celebration of Métis culture.
Visitors to the Māoriland Film Festival can also enjoy Te Ata Pūao – this year’s annual exhibition at Toi Matarau Gallery, pop-up events, food trucks and filmmakers’ talk series, NATIVE Minds, hosted by Tainui Stephens.
Held at the Māoriland Hub with koha entry, these Saturday sessions explore inspiration, craft and purpose in Indigenous filmmaking.
From the films that first ignited creative passion, to the realities of development and production, through to the power of cinema as stories told in light and shared in the dark, three panels bring filmmakers together to reflect on their journeys and the responsibility of Indigenous storytelling.
The festival closes with a special event screening of Mārama, the debut feature of Māoriland alumni, Taratoa Stappard (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa ki te Tonga, Ngāti Tūwharetoa).
Set in 1859, the film follows a young Māori woman summoned from Aotearoa to North Yorkshire, where she uncovers the horrific truth of her colonial heritage and sets out to destroy the titled Englishman responsible for her family’s devastation.
Featuring a standout performance from Ariana Osborne (Ngāti Mutunga, Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi), Mārama is a bold and unsettling gothic tale of colonial reckoning that confronts the violence of empire while illuminating Indigenous resistance and survival.
Followed by the annual Māoriland Red Carpet Party and awards with special musical guest, MELODOWNZ.
“Together, the films and events of Māoriland Film Festival 2026 illuminate Indigenous legacies through stories of resilience, resistance and imagination, gathering communities to reflect, to feel, and to soar forward together as we build the futures we deserve,” says Madeleine Hakaraia De Young. .
Now in its 13th year, the MFF has grown to be the largest Indigenous Film Festival in the world, known globally for its unique audience and filmmaker experience.
Alongside screenings, visitors to the festival can enjoy Indigenous art showcased on the street and in Toi Matarau Gallery, Food Trucks, Live Music and more.
- 19 Feature Films
- 89 Short Films
- 34 Thematic Programs
- 130 Indigenous Nations Represented
- 27 Countries
- 70 Indigenous Language Films
- 28 First Time Filmmakers
- 40 Films from Aotearoa
- 52 Wāhine Filmmakers
- 108 Total Films
Tickets to Māoriland Film Festival screenings are available via iTicket and from the Māoriland Hub from 12 February 2026. The full programme can be found at mff.maorilandfilm.co.nz
