Search for te reo scriptwriters
The NZ Film Commission has $2.5 million for a te reo Ma¯ori film, but where are the reo scriptwriters. Aroha Awarau reports.
The search is on for the next big thing in Ma¯ ori film-making after the New Zealand Film Commission earmarked $2.5 million for feature films in te reo Maori.
To qualify for funding, two of the three members of the creative team – the producer, writer and director – must be Ma¯ ori.
Hineani Melbourne, chairwoman for Nga¯ Aho Whakaari, an organisation supporting Ma¯ ori in the screen industry, says there are not enough Ma¯ ori with the skills to step up, despite the accomplishments of Taika Waititi and Lee Tamahori.
‘‘We are very aware there are few experienced Ma¯ ori scriptwriters and experienced te reo scriptwriters are even rarer. There are few directors that can direct in te reo Ma¯ ori and only a handful of producers.’’
She says the new initiative highlights the importance of developing and providing Ma¯ ori with the skills to write, produce and direct their own films.
‘‘A lot of Ma¯ ori producers work in television and that’s a different genre. It’s a big leap putting on something that goes on air for half an hour to a feature film.’’
Part of the commission’s Te Rautaki Ma¯ ori strategy is to support indigenous storytelling. Melbourne says it’s a positive change that will ensure an authentic Ma¯ ori voice in films.
The last feature film to be in te reo Ma¯ ori, The Dead Lands, which was released in 2014, was criticised by te reo exponents for its use of the language, she says.
‘‘We don’t want a situation where the script is written by someone who doesn’t speak Ma¯ ori, like on The Dead Lands, and then we just become the translators and the consultants on the film.
‘‘We want to be able to tell our own stories in our own way.’’
Karen Te O Kahurangi Waaka-Tibble, who holds the executive position of Pou Whakahaere at the New Zealand Film Commission, says it’s important the selection process and the consultants for the funding have a Ma¯ ori worldview.
‘‘I don’t want people saying it’s a waste of time having Ma¯ ori films when it’s still a Pa¯ keha¯ measure. I want the best films to come through and to be an expression of what we, as Ma¯ ori, want.
‘‘We want to hear our voices and our stories expressed.’’
She says in its 37-year history, this is the first time the NZ Film Commission has allocated funds specifically for a te reo Ma¯ ori film to be made.
‘‘It’s been given priority, it’s been given relevance and it’s been given resources.’’
She hopes that creative teams will think outside the box when submitting their applications.
‘‘People tend to think just because it’s in te reo Ma¯ ori it’s going to have natives running around with bare bums in the bush.
‘‘The story can be horror, it can be fantasy,’’ she said.
‘‘This is also about the level of creativity, that people aren’t boxing themselves into a certain genre because it’s a Ma¯ ori film.’’
The strategy also includes $2m of funding towards a feature film that has a Ma¯ ori theme but does not need to be in te reo.
In 2016, seven of the top 10 grossing domestic films at the New Zealand box office were Ma¯ ori films.
Applications for funding are now open and a decision about what films will be funded will be made by June, says WaakaTibble.