Our story begins with the founding of the Māoriland Film Festival in 2014 to celebrate Indigenous voices and storytelling in film and to uplift the perspectives and stories of Indigenous peoples. It is held in the Kāpiti Coast community of Ōtaki.

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 in 2017 by the Māoriland Charitable Trust – an independent Māori non-profit social enterprise mandated by Ngā Hapū o Ōtaki – the five sub-tribes of Ōtaki (NZ Charities Commission: CC53677). Māoriland exists for the social, economic and educational success of its community in Otaki through connection to the wider world of Indigenous creativity and innovation.

Growth

Māoriland started as a film festival.

Today, the Māoriland Film Festival is the flagship event for Māoriland – a year-round operation that includes;

Māoriland Hub

The Māoriland Hub is home to Toi Matarau Gallery, M.A.T.C.H – Māoriland Tech Creative Hub and hosts live performances including music and theatre, screenings, workshops and community events.

Te Uru Maire

The Māoriland Rangatahi Strategy is a vision to grow a forest of strong rangatahi creatives connected across the Indigenous world. It includes:

E Tū Whānau Rangatahi Film Challenge
MATCH – Māoriland Tech Creative Hub
Ngā Pakiaka
Through Our Lens

Toi Matarau

Toi Matarau is a contemporary Māori art gallery that showcases Māori and Indigenous art and creativity with a focus on the work of our local A.R.T. Confederation. There are over 70 contributing artists ranging in age from 11 to 74!

Māoriland Productions

Māoriland Productions is a producer of feature and short films, commercial and digital screen content. In October 2020 we will begin work on He Paki Taketake – a reo Māori dubbing studio.

Māoriland Film Festival

Māoriland Film Festival is Aotearoa’s international Indigenous Film Festival. Each March we bring the world to Ōtaki to celebrate Indigenous voices and storytelling in film.

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 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.

Kāti. Tuia te kawa, tairanga te kawa, ko te kawa o te manaaki i te tangata tēnei ka poua nei.

We are committed to creating environments and presenting work that upholds the mana and inspiration of our storytellers – guided by our elders and taught by our children.