AUCKLAND (Auckland City Libraries/Pacific Media Watch): Auckland Central City Library will showcase work by young Pacific film makers as part of Pacific Journalism Review's 20th anniversary conference on November 28.
A collection of films on Pacific themes will be shown at the library as part of a session running parallel with the main conference.
It will be preceded by a talk on the role of the media in promoting democracy in the Pacific by Dr Philip Cass, a senior communication studies lecturer at Unitec who is also on the PJR conference organising committee.
Dr Cass's book, Politics, People and the Press in Papua New Guinea 1950-75, was recently published by Unitec e-press.
Dr Cass said it was vital to open up important conferences to the public so they were not just confined to academics.
He said the library, with its collection of Pacific resources, was the perfect venue.
Greg Morgan, manager service development, said the libraries were a great place for Aucklanders to explore, research, learn and find out more about Pacific heritage, arts, culture and music.
"Auckland has the largest Pacific population in New Zealand, and Pacific communities are part of what makes Auckland and its libraries so vibrant."
The talk and film screening will be held in the central library from 12-2pm.
At the same time, library staff will be mounting a display on how researchers can use the library's Pacific resources at the conference in the Sir Paul Reeves Building.
The conference is being held at AUT from November 27-29 to mark two decades of publication of Pacific Journalism Review, the only journal to specifically focus on journalism and media in the region. This journal is in the Auckland City Library holdings.
AUT Library is also holding a Pacific books and media display, featuring back editions of PJR and several books by PMC director Professor David Robie.
The AUT Flavourz film festival highlight documentaries being screened are:
Makings of a Kaitiaki. dir: Sophie Johnson. 2009
The Modern Afo of Tonga. dir: John Pulu. 2009
The Spoken South dir: Rachel Balderstone. 2013
Becoming Samoan dir: Krystal Vaega. 2011
Lunchtime dir: Struan Purdie. 2014. Premiere screening.
Pacific Media Watch
