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Native America Calling: How Māori filmmakers are improving representation
Thursday, August 8, 2024
From ‘Lord of the Rings’ to ‘The Convert’: How Māori filmmakers are improving representation
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy won 17 Academy Awards and its legacy endures nearly 25 years after the first film’s release.
The trilogy’s success has put its filming location, New Zealand, on the industry map. The motion picture business contributes at least $2.12 billion a year to New Zealand’s economy.
That’s also been a boon for Indigenous cinema. Māori film critic and programmer Leo Koziol calls it a “renaissance.” The recent Māori-led film The Convert, directed by Lee Tamahori, is garnering critical acclaim.
Join Native America Calling to talk with Koziol and hear from Māori creatives who worked on Lord of the Rings about progress on Maori representation in film since then.
YouTube Guests on Native America Calling
Leo Koziol (Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Rakaipaaka), founder of the Wairoa Māori Film Festival, Indigenous editor at Letterboxd, and a programmer for the New Zealand International Film Festival
Lawrence Makoare (Ngāti Whātua), actor
Hammond Peek (Ngāi Tahu and Te Āti Awa), sound recordist and production sound mixer
Ra Vincent (Te Atiawa), production designer and artist
Dr. Tom Roa (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato, Ngāti Apakura), Tainui leader and Ahorangi (professor) in the University of Waikato’s Te Pua Wananga ki te Ao Māori and Indigenous Studies
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