Over the last few months Script to Screen has run three events in association with Nga Aho Whakaari and other partner organisations, enabling us to support film-makers and film-making in Rotorua and the Hokianga, as well as supporting the growth of indigenous storytelling for the screen.
Magma film festival Writer's Room
On May 2nd Pita Turei, Kath Akuhata-Brown, and Simon Marler facilitated a 5 hour story focus workshop with 9 film-makers as part of the Magma Film Festival in Rotorua, which ran for three days and attracted local audiences of up to 90 people to it’s screenings.
Similarly, the same team travelled to the Hokianga over Queen’s Birthday Weekend to support a hui on Community Film-making
Community Filmmaking Writer's Room
and Archiving run as part of the vibrant Hokianga Film Festival at Moria Marae in Whirinaki. The hui, facilitated by local kuia, Irene Hancy, had an astounding turnout of around 50 people from around the country who discussed for over three hours issues connected with recording local history, archiving, and how community stories should be told – raising many questions for future discussions.
Filmmaker Darlene Johnson at the Nga Aho Whakaari conference Writer's Room
As part of the Nga Aho Whakaari conference at Orakei Marae, we were pleased to invite members of our database to attend a special breakfast Writer’s Room on June 13, featuring a screening of Darlene Johnson’s 27-minute drama Crocodile Dreaming. The session included a talk by the filmmaker about how she developed the film, with iconic aboriginal actor David Gulpilil’s people in the Northern Territory over a six year period as a legacy for their grandchildren; and the approach she took to expressing the spiritual world of the people.
Script to Screen looks forward to continuing to develop it’s association with Nga Aho Whakaari, The New Zealand Film Archive, The Magma Film Festival, and the Hokianga Film Festival.
