Migrant stories sought for films
Migrants living in the Waipā District are invited to share their stories for a creative arts project.
Waipā artist Claudia Latisnere has received funding from Creative New Zealand to help migrants produce films about their experience finding a new home in New Zealand.
Claudia is a professional visual artist originally from Mexico, but based in New Zealand since 2013.
During the October workshops participants will learn basic movie-making skills such as photography, storyboarding and scriptwriting.
Claudia says the project is an opportunity to celebrate the diversity of our multicultural communities.
She says the idea for the project was partly inspired by the tragic events that affected the Muslim community this year in Christchurch.
“Around that time there was a phrase that went viral all over social media in support of the Muslim community that said ‘they are us’,” Claudia says.
“The phrase stuck in my head and while I’m aware that it was said with good intentions I wasn’t quite comfortable with it.
“It made me think of how we as a society tend to look at the differences between different groups of people and then we talk about these differences as a kind of ‘otherness’.
“Who is ‘they’ and who is ‘us’? Isn’t it all ‘us’ in the end? To me it is just a matter of being a bit more curious and exposing ourselves to different ideas, cultures and ways of being.”
The project is funded by Creative New Zealand in collaboration with Waipa¯ District Council.
Participants will need a photographic camera and a short story of no more than 250 words.
■ The workshops are free, but RSVP is essential due to limited spaces. Tickets and more information from www.tinyurl.com/y47c4evt.