Saturday 3 August saw a celebration of Māori and Pacific filmmaking at The Roxy Cinema in Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara with the Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts 2024 premiere and awards ceremony. Six short films from Aotearoa and the Pacific were selected by curators Leo Koziol (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Rakaipaaka), Director of the Wairoa Māori Film Festival, and Craig Fasi (Niue), Director of the Pollywood Film Festival. The collection of short will continue to screen during Whānau Mārama NZIFF in all festival locations.
The selected shorts this year are: The Great South by Taniora Ormsby, My Brother by Misa Tupou, Butterfly/Bataplai by Veialu Aila-Unsworth, The Red Room by Alex Liu, Show Home by Jane Shearer, and Chatterbox by Tainui Tukiwaho.
Mayor of Pōneke Wellington, Tory Whanau, was in attendance to present this year's awards, alongside Whānau Mārama NZIFF Artistic Director Paolo Bertolin and Exectuive Director Sally Woodfield.
