List by Leo Koziol, director of the
Wairoa Film Festival
My dad is from Nuhaka in the Hawkes Bay area, although he spent his childhood growing up in the Wairarapa region on family land. My experience of the Wairarapa family home is from summer holidays spent there: miles from anywhere, longdrop toilet, cows wandering the paddock, a creek down the back for bathing (in the mornings), fishing (during the day) and eeling (by night). My memories of a visit to Nuhaka are hazy. I was a child so what I remember is coloured by sentimentality, a longing for 'home' (which is rather ambiguous when you're Māori, after all, home is any one of a myriad of places I whakapapa back to), and a distinctly unsettled and constant feeling I have that I need to go back more often. But like I said, being Māori means that I have that same feeling of 'loss' when thinking of Wairarapa, Wharekahika (Hicks Bay), Kaikoura and Waimanoni (the various places my grandparents all come from). Dad and I had made plans to head back to Nuhaka earlier this year to help plan for a whanau reunion, unfortunately his ill health prevented either of us from doing so. I've decided, though, that I'm going back next year on my own and have made tentative plans to set aside some time to take in the Wairoa Film Festival. The festival, which began in '05, is held on Queen's Birthday Weekend every year in various marae in the Hawkes Bay region, and is a great way to see NZ films by both up-and-coming talent and established directors/writers. I'm really looking forward to it. I haven't told my siblings of my plans, though, for a couple of reasons: 1) I'm worried they might want to come with me and yet 2) I'm also worried that they might
not want to come with me. Either way, I hope to visit my grandfather's marae and mountain and river and, hopefully, feel a bit more settled afterward. And yes, I'm absolutely aware of how airy fairy and whimsical that sounds. Although, maybe not so much when I consider that my paternal grandfather was raised with some scary-spooky tohunga-type beliefs/practices that he refused to pass on to his children (that I managed to hear about, anyway, and which, I might add, scared the stuffing out of me).
I do have an explanation for how this list idea came about and, as usual, it's as convoluted as you've probably come to expect from me. Back in June I read Mana magazine's 100th issue (with its very distinctive cover) and even recommended it in a post (specifically
Top 5 items I took out that are totally worth sharing). There were a few articles in that particular issue that caught my eye, although it's one in particular that I'm going to concentrate on today. At the time I read the magazine, I made a mental note to add Koziol's five most groundbreaking Māori films of all time as a list to this blog. Unfortunately, my self-notes to 'add a mental note' are like my promises to old friends and family to 'catch up': well-intentioned, heartfelt at the time, and forgotten as soon as the person is gone from my sight. Which was what happened with this list *shamefaced look* So, finally, two months later here it is: 5 groundbreaking Māori DVDs, as picked by Leo Koziol, director of the
Wairoa Film Festival. And maybe if you're in the area at the same time, we'll bump into each other.
For a lot of people, the Treaty of Waitangi is an uncomfortable and contentious issue that sees a lot of good people come away with rather polarised views. I'd like to assure you that it isn't always this way. I celebrate Waitangi Day every year, without fail. Not always in the same way, though. Some years I'll spend it with siblings discussing how things have changed for Maori (better/worse/indifferent) from the year before. Other years I'll spend it with thousands of others, listening to live music and just being in the moment and remembering that sometimes being Maori is such an incredibly positive experience. Sometimes I'll spend it listening to politicians talk about Maori in a somewhat less than celebratory manner, and come away heart heavy and soul tired. More often than not, though, it's a chance for me to do a quick 'cultural check-in' and use it as an opportunity to re-assess where I stand in relation to, well, everything else. (Big ask, I know). However I choose to celebrate it, I find that there is always room for personal growth, and that I am challenged in new and interesting ways every year. In keeping with our Auckland Libraries theme; Whakamana te Tiriti o Waitangi: Elevate and Celebrate the Treaty of Waitangi, I've decided that this year I would like to attend 4 Auckland Libraries' seminars and an outdoor gathering. Maybe, if you're looking for the same kind of experience, I'll see some of you there, too :)
