Six Indigenous filmmaking teams selected for Māoriland Indigenous Co-Lab 2026
Māoriland is proud to announce the six creative teams selected for the Māoriland Indigenous Co-Lab 2026.
The Māoriland Indigenous Co-Lab is a Māori-led feature film development programme supporting Indigenous filmmakers from Aotearoa, Australia and Canada to develop original projects from script through to proof-of-concept.
The 2026 programme is supported by the New Zealand Film Commission, Minderoo Foundation and the Indigenous Screen Office, strengthening creative pathways for Indigenous filmmakers across Aotearoa, Australia and Canada.
The selected teams will take part in a three-part development program starting with an 8-week writers’ residence in Ōtaki. During this phase, writers will participate in workshops and be mentored by established Indigenous filmmakers as they deepen their scripts, strengthen their creative vision, and prepare for the next stage of development and production.
Contributors to the program include: Eva Thomas (Nika & Madison, Aberdeen), Paula Whetu Jones (Whina, The Dr’s Wife), Mike Jonathan (Ka Whawhai Tonu), Briar Grace Smith (Cousins), Kath Akuhata Brown (Kōkā), Chantelle Murray (The Lost Tiger), Billy Luther (Fry Bread Face & Me), Jules Koostachin (Angela’s Shadow), Gail Maurice (Rosie, Blood Lines), Rachel House (The Mountain) and Taratoa Stappard (Mārama).
The six selected teams are:
- Roundabout by Matasila Freshwater (Writer, Director)
- The Desert Road by Ella Gilbert (Writer, Director), with Poppy Serano and Vicky Pope (Producers)
- The Keepers of the Night by Leigh Minarapa (Writer, Director), with Angela Cudd (Producer)
- Ancestral Fusion by Allan George (Writer, Director), with Jason Taylor (Producer)
- Inuks on Vacation by Aviaq Johnston (Writer), Bailey Poching (Director), Zorga Qaunaq (Producer)
- Battle of the Ancestors by Natasha Wanganeen (Writer, Director), with Travis Akbar (Producer)
Roy Iro, Waimarama Knowles and KJ Edwards will join the program as Teina.
Grounded in a tuakana–teina approach, the MICL brings Indigenous filmmakers into a shared development space where knowledge, experience and creative practice are exchanged across generations, nations and cultures.
