The winner of the inaugural Flavorz09 Māori, Pasifika and Diversity film festival at AUT University, Sophie Aroha Johnson, has been selected to show her prize-winning documentary at the 2011 Nepalese International Indigenous Film Festival.
The 12 minute film, Makings of a Kaitiaki, which tells the story of Ngāneko Minhinnick in her ongoing struggle for the protection of her lands and waters, was made as a final project in the video production major of the Bachelor of Communication Studies in 2009.
Makings of a Kaitiaki won the Pacific Media Centre prize for best student film at the Flavorz festival in 2009, the TV3 award for best video production in 2010, and it was selected to screen at the Te Māhurehure and Wairoa Māori film festivals last year.
It also screened at the AUT International Indigenous Film Symposium last December.
This will be the first time the film is screened overseas.
Johnson, a Māori Master’s student in the School of Communication Studies at AUT, considers it an honour to be invited for the Nepalese film festival on April 22-25.
"Not only will I be able to showcase my own work, but I can meet and share stories with other indigenous filmmakers from all over the world," she says.
Her master's thesis is based on the significance of Māori documentary, and the experience is expected to contribute to her understanding of indigenous filmmaking and storytelling practices.
Flavorz09 Film Festival at AUT
Pacific Media Centre
