Kiriata - Films - Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival

Two current and noteworthy documentaries exploring quite different but equally powerful and evocative forms of storytelling.

Merata: How Mum Decolonised the Screen

Merata Mita, pioneering Māori filmmaker and international champion of women in indigenous film, is celebrated by her youngest son, archivist Heperi Mita, collaborating with his siblings to deliver a richly personal portrait.

Marks of Mana

Of all of the art of the skin in Te Moana Nui a Kiwa (the Pacific Ocean), Tatau Fafine have been given the least attention, despite being imbued with meanings reaching back to the very origins of Pacific tatau. The film looks at a number of women who are now that reclaiming the art for themselves, as well as for the memories of their ancestors.

Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival
Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival is the Gisborne region’s new flagship contemporary arts and cultural event, taking place, for the first time, from 4-20 October this year. Te Tairāwhiti Arts Festival will deliver performance events by hundreds of performers from across New Zealand and the Pacific.

The festival celebrates what it means to be of Tairāwhiti and of Aotearoa. It reflects and celebrates the people of the Gisborne region and the East Coast. It reinforces the importance of people and place, and further affirms the region’s strong position in the creative landscape of Aotearoa.

For the full programme and ticketing information, please visit www.tetairawhitiartsfestival.nz.