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Me Reretau Be In Balance Raurangatira mā, kei ngā kanohi ora o rātou mā, kei ngā manuwhiri tūārangi, tēnā koutou katoa. Tēnei mātou te mihi maioha atu nei mō koutou kua tahuri kē mai koutou ki tā tātou ahurei ā tau. E whaimana anō ai a Māoriland, otirā ia, tātou katoa tonu o Ōtaki i tā koutou ekenga mai. Mauriora! Welcome to Ōtaki and our 7th Māoriland Film Festival. Whether you are discovering Māoriland for the first time or you have been with us since the beginning we bid you all a very warm welcome to this showcase of Indigenous cinema. Our theme for MFF2020 is Me Reretau – Be in Balance - to offer stories that seek harmony in an increasingly discordant world. Indigenous stories help us make sense of our world, of our connections and our shared humanity. Access to technology has enabled Indigenous people around the world to tell our own stories. In this environment, Indigenous cinema continues to grow enabling us to hear the voices of those who have an unbroken connection with their lands. MFF2020 is a powerful programme of over 120 films and includes World and Southern Hemisphere premieres. We open the festival with the first festival screening of The Legend of Baron To’a directed by Māori filmmaker Kiel McNaughton. Kiel and producer Kerry Warkia are the team behind last year’s opening night film Vai and also Waru. There is the multi award-winning Turtle Island documentary Nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up - with both the filmmaker Dr Tasha Hubbard and the whānau featured in this very important film, in attendance. We also have the much acclaimed environmental doco from Indigenous Peru, Sembradoras de Vida. For those who love Zombie movies we have the First Nations’ thriller Blood Quantum by Jeff Barnaby, while Blackhorse Lowe is back with his doom Rom‑Com Fukry. Rounding off the Southern Hemisphere feature film premieres we have Sámi filmmaker Amanda Kernell’s Charter which has just premiered at Sundance Film Festival to strong reviews.
