Don’t miss the chance to watch DEGANZ member Paolo Rotondo‘s Maunga Cassino during NZIFF this year! The 2022 short is screening before the Australian feature film Sweet As during the festival’s runs in Auckland and Wellington.
Set during World War II, a Māori warrior, an Italian deserter, and a scrawny rooster are trapped behind enemy lines. Despite the language barriers and international chaos, the two men find common ground, understanding, and compassion.
The film is based on an infamously bloody battle in 1944 where the 28 Māori Battalion fought Germany in the Italian village of Cassino. In an interview with Te Ao Māori News, Paolo talks about the duty he feels to tell this story and the production team’s aim to use cinema to heal from the past.
Earlier this year, Maunga Cassino won the WeShort Award for Best Short Film at ORA! FEST , an international film festival in Monopoli, Italy with a focus on the environment, art, and social justice.
The film is a dance and spoken word performance that explores the intersectionality of Māori and Pākehā descendants, centred around the late Tiahuia Te Puea Hērangi Ramihana Gray (Ngāi Tahu, Rangitāne, Tainui). Tiahuia is known for her extensive public service in Wellington. Throughout her life, she was a taurima at Te Herenga Wake Marae at Victoria University, a Māori advisor to Wellington City Council, a te reo Māori teacher, and a kai karanga who welcomed many notable guests to Wellington.
However, her legacy spans beyond her career. Tiahuia’s daughter, Merenia Gray, shared that her mother “was renowned for bringing Māori and Pākehā together and making everyone feel comfortable” in an article tribute with Stuff.
Merenia choreographed the dance, making the work a love letter to Tiahuia and a tribute to all mothers.
Well done to Mary-Lyn and the team; it is exciting to see Aotearoa stories told internationally!
http://degnz.sensedesign.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Karanga-WIFF.jpg4561200admin/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/DEGANZ_logo_home.pngadmin2023-07-17 16:43:322023-07-18 14:20:51Chambers’ Arthouse Tribute ‘Karanga’ in the US
“It’s bleak out there,” I’ve been saying to myself as I look out the office window each day at the weather… for weeks now. And frankly, the New Zealand screen industry at this point in time isn’t much better.
The interminable New Zealand Screen Production Rebate Review is still ongoing, no matter the announcement of minor changes to mollify discontent. Perhaps the NZ On Air funding announcements tomorrow will bring some cheer.
But the good news is that the New Zealand International Film Festival is back and in great shape, apart from the bugs that have been plaguing their website and ticketing. Hopefully, all will be sorted by the end of this week.
129 full-length films. Seven short film collections. Nine Aotearoa films having their world premiere. A lot of our members have films in there. There’s much of the best that this year’s Cannes had to offer. And a whole lot more. Going through the 2023 programme reminded me of pre-Covid selections—a wealth of the best arthouse films from around the world on offer—blessings to the late and great NZIFF festival director Bill Gosden. Which isn’t to say that Bill’s replacement Marten Rabarts didn’t make a good go of it. But he was unfortunately hit with the worst of times for cinema and film festivals—the pandemic years.
During COVID and even last year with its small programme, I was a little despondent about not having the winter thrill of sitting enthralled while tales of wonder, sorrow, drama, despair, and entertainment played out on the big screen, with audiences that collectively gasped, smiled, cried… or sometimes puzzled or were dismayed at what they were watching. That’s NZIFF for you. You’re never left unmoved by the choices they have curated.
We, too, are back with our involvement with NZIFF.
DEGANZ is working with the team at the festival on the Masterclass with Rolf de Heer and the panels for visiting directors. Check out Meet The Filmmakers, NZIFF Connect, and NZIFF Engage on page 83 of the programme.
We are also re-igniting our director hosting programme that we ran for many years prior to COVID, providing directorial collegiality and networking opportunities to those international directors accompanying their films here.
I encourage all of you to grab a programme, buy tickets and get your butts onto cinema seats while the festival is on. And don’t neglect those events we are involved with.
With so many DEGANZ members featuring in NZIFF, it can be hard to keep track of them all! Here is a complete list of our members’ projects and their screening times in Tāmaki Makarau (stay tuned for other regions):
Aotearoa’s Feature Films
The Paragon
A cosmic comedy horror where a hit-and-run victim learns psychic abilities to reap revenge on the car that hit him.
While encouraging the public not to panic during the Covid-19 pandemic, microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles became the target of misogynistic hate and conspiracy that threatened her professional and personal life.
A dramatic and moving interpretation of the contemporary opera of the same title. Inspired by the events and life of Kiwi writer Janet Frame, the film sheds light on mental health from the past and present.
A career-spanning documentary that follows legendary 90s rock band King Loser on their 2016, farewell tour. The film offers an earnest and affectionate portrait of the band through rich archive footage and reflective present-day interviews.
A celebration of the life and art of avant-garde New Zealand photographer and publisher Grant Sheehan and his creative Artificial Intelligence (AI) explorations.
An expertly assembled retrospective of the radical theatrical troupe Red Mole using archival footage, photographs scrapbooks, posters, and stage designs. The documentary considers the troupe’s romantic goals, tenacious performers, and tumultuous career.
When a 57-year-old widow moves to Aotearoa from India, she’s forced to confront her grief by completing an ordinary ritual despite the extraordinary circumstances: quarantine.
An aspiring ornithologist must process the loss and grief of her grandmother’s passing while braving the Aotearoa wilderness alone.
Writer/Director: Douglas Brooks (Te Ati Haunui-a-Pāpārangi, Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Kahungungu, Ngāti Pākehā)
Screening with Features
Maunga Cassino
A Māori warrior, an Italian deserter, and a scrawny rooster are trapped behind enemy lines. What could possibly go wrong? This short is screening with the Australian feature film Sweet As.
http://degnz.sensedesign.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/NZIFF-deganz-screenings.jpg4561200admin/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/DEGANZ_logo_home.pngadmin2023-07-05 18:20:362023-07-18 16:30:48Catch DEGANZ Members at NZIFF
Congratulations to DEGANZ members Joe Murdie, Sophie Black, and James Fink-Jensen for their success at the 2023 Vision Feast awards!
Joe won big with the Rubber Monkey Best Aotearoa Project Award for WALK. Along with the accolade, he received $3000 worth of rentals from Rubber Monkey and the festival’s iconic Golden Chompy trophy. Written and directed by Joe, the short follows Amelia on a seemingly casual stroll in the wilderness. However, the innocent and carefree nature of the walk grows increasingly at odds with the protagonist’s actions.
Sophie’s animation-hybrid Believing is Seeing earned her Best Documentary. Joined by Dr. Robert Bartholomew, the world’s leading expert on mass psychogenic illnesses, the film investigates the mysterious outbreak of tic disorders on TikTok. You can watch Believing is Seeing on Youtube and Vimeo now!
James took home the Emerging NZ Filmmaking Talent Award for Strangers, which he wrote, directed, produced, and edited. The film dwells on the nervous pressure of first impressions on a date. With a cast of zany characters, a simple cafe date goes awry on an emotional roller coaster.
Well done to the winners and all the nominated directors. It’s always exciting to see our members recognised for their hard work!
http://degnz.sensedesign.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Chompy.jpg4561200admin/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/DEGANZ_logo_home.pngadmin2023-07-05 16:26:182023-07-06 15:50:36DEGANZ Members Ate at Vision Feast
