KŌKĀ is a powerful relationship drama following Maori elder Hamo (Hinetu Dell) and local delinquent Jo (Darneen Christian) who form an unlikely bond on a road trip in a Ford Falcon. Together they confront past traumas and each face their demons, their shared path becomes a journey of healing, community, and reconciliation.
Written by Kath Akuhata-Brown
Directed by: Kath Akuhata-Brown
Produced By: Verity Mackintosh, Libby Hakaraia
Prod Company: Krafty Productions, Awa Films.
Joy, Full & Fearless
JOY, FULL AND FEARLESS is a 1-hour exclusive documentary that follows the trauma and triumph of Joy Cowley’s astonishing life as New Zealand’s prolific, widely published and celebrated author of adult and children's fiction.
Brought to you by Krafty Productions and directed by Clare Burgess, this moving picture is a “testament to the power of storytelling, the human spirit, and the enduring impact of one individual's journey.”
Made with support from RNZ and NZ on Air
When ambitious song-smith Melody joins the Ministry of Jingle, a Government team that creates public safety jingles, she begins to drown, quite literally, in rising floodwaters, and a tsunami of work and climate anxiety.
SHORT FILM
Writer/Director: Maddie Dai
Exc Prod: Carthew Neal
Producer: Verity Mackintosh
‘X’
Written/Directed by Ti West. Produced by A24 in NZ in 2021/2022.
In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in a rural Texas farm, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the crew find themselves fighting for their lives.
NZ Producer/Production Manager: Jared Connon
Production Coordinator: Verity Mackintosh
A New Zealand short film by Kath Akuhata-Brown inspired by an ancient Māori story of the wind and the power of a child’s love.
AWARDS:
2024 City of Arts Film Festival - Honourable Mention. 2023 Best Director of Short Film BIMIFF. 2022 Reale Film Festival Best Poster, Wairoa Māori Film Festival – Winner Best Māori Director 2021: NZIFF - Best Short - Winner Best Director.
FESTIVAL OFFICIAL SELECTION:
2024: London Cinematic Horizions. City of Arts Film Festival (Award)
2023: Geneve Awards, Brazil International Independant Film Festival (Award) Kalakari Film Festival.
2022: RED Movie Awards (Finalist Best Short Film) Dumbo Film Festival (Semi-Finalist) Reale Film Festival (Award) Skābmagovat Indigenous Film Festival, Santa Fe International Film Festival, imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Cinéma des Antipodes Film Festival, Trujillo International Independent Film Festival, Asinabka Film & Media Arts Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, Smithsonian Native Cinema Showcase, Boden International Film Festival. Short Circuit Pacific Rim Film Festival Canada, Māoriland Film Festival, Garifuna International Indigenous Film Festival, Trujillo International Independent Film Festival.
Logline: Maori elder Hamo must bear the burden of carrying the spirits of her ancestors to their sacred mountain.
Synopsis: New Zealand. Present Day. Maori elder Hamo, travels to her homeland to pay her respects to her people. When she arrives, the house is empty. She calls on the house to release the spirits of those who have passed on and then carries those spirits to her ancestral river. While there she is overwhelmed by memories of the past. Burdened by that past, she continues the journey to the top of her tribe’s sacred mountain. Amongst a circle of giant carved wooden ancestors she releases the spirits into the warmth of the rising sun. Hamo has finally come home.
1 x 6min Short film – Drama.
No Dialogue. Maori Karanga with English Subs.
Release 2020.
Written/Directed by Kath Akuhata- Brown
Produced by Verity Mackintosh, Julian and Becs Arahanga
OFFICIAL SELECTION:
2022: Short Circuit Pacific Rim Film Festival
2021: Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, Wairoa Māori Film Festival
2020: Melbourne Women in Film Festival, NZIFF Whanau Marama, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Market Catalogue.
Stories in Our Stars (SIOS) is a world first story time platform for children and adults that provides an immersive 360° experience of our night skies matched with Māori legends of the stars and Navigation.
Stories in Our Stars is a unique 360° natural environment that shares adaptations of New Zealand Māori legends via a series of short time lapse video sequences, captured in iconic astronomical and culturally significant locations across New Zealand. SIOS is narrated in Te Reo and English, accompanied by inspiring compositions.
During the last 50 years, urbanisation has resulted in higher light pollution, resulting in diminished opportunities to view the night sky. This platform is designed to reduce the gap and share these moments of wonder and awe with the next generations.
It’s an innovative format that can be replicated across many indigenous cultures, and unlike other Star apps, SIOS harnesses technology to reconnect people with the natural environment and deliberately requires the user to lean back and relax rather than ‘lean in’.
Credits
A project by Flying Saucer, led by Hamish Johnson (Director) and Verity Mackintosh (Creative Producer and Business Development). Created with support from the New Zealand Film Commission.
Daniel Loorparg (Technical and Post Producer), Glen Butler (Astrophotographer), Kath Akuhata-Brown (Story), Lawrence Wharerau (Research & Voiceover), Toni Huata (Vocal), Audio Mix (Underground Sound)
Documentary following the work of microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles, who proved to be a vital voice for Aotearoa New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic—as well as the target of online hatred.
During the chaos of WWII, two men stood up for human decency as evil engulfed the world at the hands of Hitler's Nazi regime. Chinese diplomat Dr. Feng Shan Ho and German businessman John Rabe could not bear the horrors around them. Under protection of the Nazi flag, they did all they could to defend the defenseless, including the establishment of a Safety Zone protecting 200,000 innocent Chinese.
https://www.amazon.com/Chinas-Schindlers-Steven-R-Talley/dp/B0719KMTJQ
