Submissions open for the 10th Māoriland Film Festival
Māoriland, New Zealand’s international Indigenous film festival is calling for submissions for MFF2023 – the 10th Māoriland Film Festival.
MFF2023 runs from March 15 – 19, 2023. Five days of film screenings, immersive VR, new technology exhibits, a full visual arts programme, industry days, special events and more.
The MFF was founded in 2014 to celebrate Indigenous voices and storytelling in film. It has grown to be the largest presenter of Indigenous screen content in the Southern Hemisphere
The MFF2023 is located in Ōtaki on the Kāpiti Coast, 1hr north of Wellington. Māoriland is celebrated for its manaakitanga and community spirit.
Submissions are now open for MFF2023. We invite film, video, digital and interactive media work made by Indigenous creatives.
Submissions are free until November 4.
Artistic Policy
Māoriland exists to uplift the perspectives and stories of Indigenous peoples.
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.