Atamira - Maori in the City, a three-day celebration of Maori creativity and enterprise, takes place July 6th to 8th at the ASB Showgrounds in Greenlane, Tamaki Makaurau Auckland. This event will be a landmark showcase for Maori creative and entrepreneurial achievement.

Atamira - Maori in the City aims to inspire Maori to maximise their entrepreneurial, economic and cultural potential, and will present a combination of creative expo, Thrive business show, rangatahi forum and awards celebrations.

Atamira - Maori in the City will bring together leading Maori creative and business people in an environment designed to foster the creative entrepreneurs of the future.

CONFIRMED ENTERTAINMENT: Che Fu and the Crates, 1814, Nesian Mystic, Northern Advocate, Ill Semantics, Urban Beat, Zero-T, Ruia, Katchafire Plus Special Guests.

STALLS ON SALE NOW: 09 929 0020

The 7th edition of the Pacific International Documentary Film Festival of Tahiti, the largest crossroads of the pictures of the Pacific, will take place in french Polynesia (Papeete) from 26 - 31 January 2010.   The competition is open to anyone having directed a documentary in Oceania, since less than three years.

Each year, FIFO selects, among more than 200 documentaries and screens the best productions.

Submissions are open for FIFO 2010. There are no fees involved, but please keep the deadlines in mind : The deadline is fixed at October 1st, 2009.  Click here for the entry form and the regulations of FIFO 2010.

Pierre OLLIVIER
FIFO Director
organisation@fifotahiti.org
www.fifotahiti.org

STATE OF MIND
13 Musical Thoughts
Ben Makisi
Written & Composed by Opeloge Ah Sam
   
State of Mind is a musical exploration of life situations and human emotions. Written and composed by Auckland based composer/conductor Opeloge Apulu Ah Sam, State of Mind consists of 13 musical scenes each with its own distinctive soundscape. It is an inspiring mixture of dance, sound and visual images that provide a musical perspective on the way we love, hurt, live and die.    

It stars Wellington born and internationally renowned lyric tenor Ben Makisi (winner of the Sydney Aria Competition), MVE choir, Existdance, The Masque Jazz Quartet and some of Auckland’s youngest and brightest talent.

It is on for 2 public shows only, Sunday Night November 29th 7.30pm and Monday Night November 30th 7.30pm at the Aotea Centre. To purchase tickets go to Ticketek.com or the-Edge. A schools performance will be held on Monday November 30th at 11.30am. Contact your school music HOD/teacher for tickets available at the special student price of $5.00. This offer is only available to schools and book in quick so you don’t miss out.

             Opening Night - Sunday November 29th 7.30pm at the Aotea Centre.
             Schools Show – Monday 30th November 11.30am at the Aotea Centre.
             Final Show - Monday November 30th 7.30pm at the Aotea Centre.

For more information about the show go to www.opelogeahsam.com
Tickets go on sale from Monday June 15th at Ticketek or The Edge.   

MEDIA STATEMENT
17 June 2009

Te Matatini Society chairman Selwyn Parata announced today that Te Tairāwhiti would host the Te Matatini National Kapa Haka Festival 2011, in Gisborne. This year’s festival in Tauranga drew crowds of up to 50,000 spectators over the three days and the expectation for Festival 2011 is to double those figures with a growing number of non-Māori and international tourists expected to attend.

'The decision was made by the national committee, who represent Kapa Haka groups throughout New Zealand and Australia' he said.

Four bids were received from Aotea (New Plymouth), Te Arawa (Rotorua), Te Tairāwhiti (Gisborne) and Waitaha (Christchurch).

'The Te Matatini national committee was tested to the maximum in considering a number of outstanding proposals but at the completion of presentations the committee identified two bids for consideration – Te Tairāwhiti and Te Arawa' said Mr Parata.

‘Both presentations captured our imagination.’

‘Te Arawa presented with a high degree of professionalism. Te Tairāwhiti presented a green fields proposal using Waiohika Estate, the venue of the successful Rhythm and Vines concert'.

After much deliberation, he said, the committee made its decision to award the 2011 Festival to Te Tairāwhiti and the next festival in 2013 to Te Arawa.

“I congratulate Te Tairāwhiti on the success of their bid and welcome their support to assist Te Matatini run a world-class event.”

Ends

For further information contact Lyn Harrison, Communications Advisor
Tel 027 245 2477
 

MEDIA NOTE

Background
The Te Matatini National Kapa Haka Festival is a biennial event that is hailed as one of New Zealand’s supreme cultural events.  The event features 36 Kapa Haka groups representing 13 regions including Australia, competing in a highly skilled and disciplined demonstration of the Māori performing Arts.
Te Waka Huia claimed the title of supreme winner at Te Matatini National
Kapa Festival 2009.

Te Matatini Society Incorporated National Committee
Chairman                                                             Selwyn Parata
Te Taitokerau                                                       Pauline Hopa
Tāmaki Makaurau                                                 Annette Wehi
Tainui                                                                  Paraone Gloyne
Mātaatua                                                             Te Kahautu Maxwell
Te Arawa                                                             Anaru Grant (proxy representative)
Te Tairāwhiti                                                        Willie Te Aho (proxy representative)
Ngāti Kahungunu                                                 JB Smith
Aotea                                                                  Bubs Ngarewa (proxy representative)
Rangitāne                                                            Tupito Maruera
Te Whanganui ā Tara                                            Bill Nathan
Te Tau Ihu o te Waka a Māui                                 Dayveen Stephens
Waitaha                                                               Tihi Puanaki (proxy representative)
Te Whenua Moemoeā                                           Ronnie Peita

 
THE SELECTION CRITERIA
1.            That the supporting infrastructure is able to cope satisfactorily with the teams, supporters and audience numbers;
2.            The event area is capable of handling a daily audience of 30,000 (where possible under cover and with easy visual reach of the stage);
3.            The Host Committee can contribute $100,000 towards the costs of running the Festival;
4.            The event to be preferably within reach of the largest concentrations of Māori audiences;
5.            The Host Committee is strongly supported by constituent iwi and has a demonstrable capacity and expertise to assist Te Matatini Society to run a major event;
6.            Local authorities are actively supportive of the event as demonstrated by measureable indicators of support;
7.            The event area is as far as possible “clean” (that is few if any restrictions around catering, corporate boxes etc.);
8.            Notwithstanding the criteria laid out above the National Committee may from time to time determine to award the Festival to a business case that does not meet all of the above criteria.


Arini Poutu
Manager Administration
Te Matatini National Office
PO Box 5619 Lambton Quay, Wellington 6145
Level 12, 38-42 Waring Taylor St, Wellington 6011
Ph: (04) 499 6158
Fx: (04) 499 6157
Mob: 027 562 0033
Email: arini.poutu@tematatini.co.nz
Website: www.tematatini.co.nz

Principle photography for THE VOLCANO, written and directed by Taika Waititi, has wrapped in beautiful Waihau Bay and post production is now underway in Auckland.

This is the first image released from the film and introduces the three stars – James Rolleston, Te Aho Eketone-Whitu and Taika Waititi.  The two boys play brothers Boy and Rocky, who are trying to find their potential whilst living in the shadow of their larger-than-life father Alamein, played by Waititi.

Waititi is already a seasoned actor of film (Scarfies, Snakeskin), theatre and television, but THE VOLCANO is the first acting venture for Rolleston and Eketone-Whitu.  Eketone-Whitu (8), from the small town of Minginui near Rotorua, had just what was needed in the role of Rocky with his unusual mix of wary shyness and lively imagination.  Rolleston (11), of Opotiki, was auditioned as an extra, but took on one of the lead roles in the final weeks before production began, surprising everyone with his sense of innocence yet depth of maturity. 

Waititi has been involved in the film industry for many years, first as an actor, and more recently as a writer and director.  Waititi also grew up in Waihau Bay, which provided much inspiration for THE VOLCANO.  Set in the 1980’s, THE VOLCANO is a heart-breaking and hilarious coming-of-age story, and is inspired by Waititi’s short film Two Cars, One Night, which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Film in 2005.  THE VOLCANO will be released through Transmission Films in the first quarter of 2010 and has been licensed for subsequent TV broadcast by Maori Television.

On shooting THE VOLCANO, Waititi comments, “It was a special experience taking my story home and making it with my friends and Whanau.  The kids were great in their auditions, but their performances on set were groundbreaking.  Nothing went wrong; the universe conspired to make this the most stress free shoot since River Queen.  I’m still amazed nobody found out I’ve been winging it this whole time, I know absolutely nothing about film!”    

-    ENDS

*THE VOLCANO is financed by the NZ Film Fund, NZ Film Commission, Unison Films, NZ On Air, Maori Television Station and Te Mangai Paho.


Direct any media queries to: TRIGGER Marketing & Publicity. 09 834 3348
Adria Buckton adria_trigger@orcon.net.nz  or Jessica Morris jessica_trigger@orcon.net.nz

Largely regarded as New Zealand’s greatest living master carver, Dr Pakariki Harrison QSO (Ngati Porou) life features in a new biography called 'Tohunga Whakairo'. 

A man with a huge reputation as a leading tohunga of the art form. Harrison possesses immense knowledge about the traditional arts of the carver and its most ancient aspect – the symbolism and its role in transmitting tribal history. 

Written by highly respected Maori historian and commentator Ranginui Walker, the biography tells of Paki’s childhood and upbringing on the East Coast, the genesis of his entering into carving, through to his working on such landmark houses as Te Waiariki (Otara), Te Otawhao (Te Awamutu), Tanenuiarangi (Auckland University) and Rakairoa (Kennedy’s Bay).

As well as serving as the life story of one of New Zealand’s most significant Maori artists, the biography is an instructional guide on the mechanics, ethos and considerations of carving generally.
Harrison was selected as one of New Zealand’s Icon Artists in 2005.

ISBN:  9780143010067
RRP: NZ$40.00

For more information contact freelance book publicist Kathryn Carmody by email: kathryn.carmody@gmail.com or phone: 027 287 7963.

Te Papa Press is proud to announce the publication of its latest book based on the collections of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Toi Ora: Ancestral Mäori Treasures, edited by Arapata Hakiwai, Director Mätauranga Mäori, and Senior Curator Mäori, Dr Huhana Smith and featuring the scholarship of Dr Janet Davidson and Te Papa curators Matiu Baker and Awhina Tamarapa.

Available in stores from 7 November, this sumptuous publication features over 120 full colour plates of taonga tuku iho (ancient Mäori treasures) – some of which have not been published before.  Toi Ora: Ancestral Mäori Treasures shows these taonga as living treasures, passed on through generations and containing the stories and the mauri (life force) of those who made, used and continue to value them. 

The 196 page book features all new photography of exquisite collection items from grand structures to ceremonial artefacts – traditional weapons, jewellery and woven clothing. The techniques and materials used to create each item are described, while additional photographs provide background on Mäori life and beliefs, and the stories around particular objects.

Toi Ora: Ancestral Mäori Treasures
NZ RRP (incl. GST): $49.99
ISBN: 978-1-877385-34-6
Extent: 196pp
Illustration: 120 full-colour plates
Format: PB, 240mm x 210mm

For review copies and images, contact: 
Jane Keig, Manager Communications, 029 601 0180, 04 381 7083, janek@tepapa.govt.nz; or
Kathryn Carmody, Te Papa Press publicist, 027 287 7963, 04 385 7070, kathryn.carmody@gmail.com

The descendents from both sides of New Zealand’s early history develop a film based on a dramatic true story of love and war.  Currently under development, with the working title The Girls’ War, is a feature film based on the true story of English whaling captain and early pioneer William Darby Brind. The film is being developed by his direct descendants, father and son New Zealand film makers, John and James Blick, with the assistance of Moka Puru, direct descendant of Ngāpuhi chief Rewa (see image on left).

Bridging the years 1819 to 1850, and set in Kororāreka (modern-day Russell), the Pacific Ocean and London, the film charts Brind’s life against the vivid and chaotic backdrop of the birth of modern New Zealand.  Brind earned the approbation of local missionaries (including Henry Williams) through his sale of muskets to Māori and his relationships with the daughters of prominent Ngāpuhi chiefs Hongi Hika, Pōmare I and Rewa.  

He was blamed for the Girls’ War, a battle on the beach at Kororāreka, and the loss of many lives. The child from his relationship with Moewaka, daughter of Rewa, was tragically murdered on Motuarohia (Roberton Island) and resulted in the hanging of Maketū, the first official execution after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. This act contributed to the eventual sacking of Kororāreka by Hōne Heke in 1845.

At its heart, The Girls’ War is a story of love and adventure. As a whaler and a businessman, Brind is drawn to the opportunities New Zealand represents.  But as a man he is torn between two loves –a Māori chieftain’s daughter, and his English fiancée – two cultures and two worlds.

The producers have undertaken extensive research and are currently working on the script.

For enquires about The Girls’ War:
Please email John Blick: blickmod@ihug.co.nz

Australia's First Cultural Market! Open every Saturday 9am to 4pm.

The Blue Palm Tree Markets, a Pacific Island-style Market, will be just like the markets back home for the Pacific Island and Maori communities of Sydney.

The Saturday market, which will sell art, crafts, music, fashion, seafood, traditional foods and fresh produce, is about bringing these communities together, providing an outlet for maintaining their cultural heritage and offering the public a unique multicultural experience.

There are approx 100,000 people of Pacific Island and Maori origin living in N.S.W today and these people place a high value on their community links, their culture and their traditional way of life. Although proud Australians, they are proud of their home cultures too and place importance on preserving their traditions and customs for future generations.

Consequently, the Blue Palm Tree Markets will be visited by hundreds of shoppers from these communities every weekend. But it isn’t just a market for people of Pacific Island, Maori and Aboriginal descent, it is a market for all Sydney residents and tourists regardless of their nationality.

For more information go to www.bluepalmtree.com.au.

By Ngahuia Te Awekotuku with Linda Waimarie Nikora.  With new photography by Becky Nunes.

Taia o moko, hei hoa matenga mou...
Take your moko, as a friend forever...
Whāia te moko whakatū

Moko colours the lives, and the skins, of all the people involved in the making of Mau Moko. It has been more than a journey; it has been an obsession. And it has been a quest to celebrate, understand, demonstrate and record how an art form, centuries old, can flow gracefully into the third millennium. Moko is about the future, just as it is about the past; it is a graphic accounting of memory and desire; it is an engraving, on the Māori body, of history and commitment, of loyalty and relationships. Moko takes place in the present, but defi es time itself, carrying ancestral values and aesthetics into the consciousness of those yet to come.Moko - its history, songs, traditions, issues, myths, technologies, styles, forms, admirers, wearers, artists, and modern narratives - is the project.

In the traditional Māori world, moko, or facial or body tattoo, was part of everyday life; everyone had some patterning on their skin. Men wore elaborate designs on their faces; women wore usually less complex but elegant design, and both sexes had extensive body work. After almost dying out in the twentieth century, Māori skin art is now experiencing a powerful revival, with many young urban Māori displaying moko as a spectacular gesture of ethnic pride and identity.

Compiled by a group of Māori scholars from the University of Waikato, Mau Moko is the most magnificent book on Māori tattooing ever produced, and is the closest there has ever been to a ‘complete’ book on moko. Mau Moko examines the use of moko by traditional Māori, notes historical material including manuscripts and unpublished, oral sources, and links the art to the present day. It explores the cultural and spiritual issues surrounding moko and relates dozens of stories, many of them powerful and heart-warming, from wearers and artists.

Mau Moko is superbly enhanced by images from early European encounters, traditional Māori representations, and stunning new colour photography commissioned for the book by award-winning photographer Becky Nunes.  Tirohia, he moko!  Look, and wonder, at the beauty of this art form...

For further information or to arrange an interview,
an extract, or receive a review copy please contact:
Gina Harrison - Senior Publicist, Penguin Group (NZ)
Ph: (09) 442 7462, gina.harrison@nz.penguingroup.com
RRP $65.00, Hardback, 264pp, December 2007
Imprint - Penguin Viking, published by Penguin Group (NZ)

By Rob O'Brien

The word nigger has always been associated with overt racism, but a provocative new film is about to show the rest of the world that Australia will happily endorse its use on a public building
 
Stephen Hagan began his campaign back in 1999, and even then he thought it was an open and shut case. He couldn’t have been more wrong. Nine years on and he is still pursuing the Toowoomba Sports Ground Trust, owners of the local Athletic Oval, to have a sign removed that included the word ‘Nigger’ (the ES ‘Nigger’ Brown Stand). Edward Stanley Brown, Toowoomba’s first rugby league international, who died in 1972 aged 74, was actually a white Australian - not an Aborigine - and was believed to have earned the nickname because of his extremely fair complexion.
 
Arguing that the sign was offensive and racist, Hagan’s case failed to move Australia’s domestic judiciaries including the Supreme Court and finally went all the way up to the United Nations, where in 2003 the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination found the term offensive and insulting and recommended the federal government remove the word; but the Howard government refused to act against it. (Click here to read more).

TRUE RED: The Life of an ex-Mongrel Mob Gang Leader is the essential biography of one man’s fascinating journey from the realm of darkness into the world of light. 

This book explores the gang life of ex-Mongrel Mob Gang Leader Tuhoe ‘Bruno’ Isaac and what it really took for him to leave that environment and find a new life.

In the public’s mind the Mongrel Mob have a notorious reputation as an unpredictable and dangerous gang, mostly Maori whose lives revolve around fear, violence, drugs, drinking, brawling, rape and murder. While ex-Mongrel Mob Gang Leader Tuhoe ‘Bruno’ Isaac does not dispute this public image, from an insider’s point of view however the Mongrel Mob gave him a total sense of belonging at a crucial time in his life. 

“Here I found true acceptance and comradeship amongst a common brotherhood; I was willing to die for them,” he says, “The Mob became everything to me: it was my life and it was also to be my death.” (Click here to read more - pdf 343 kb).

Te Pihi Mata – The Sacred Eye: Partington photographs of Whanganui

In 2001, a Bay of Plenty man found a suitcase in his garage filled with 235 glass plate negatives and 500 vintage prints.  The suitcase had belonged to his wife's great-grandfather, photographer William Henry Thomas Partington

The collection featured mostly Maori, and people and scenery along the Whanganui River in the late 1800s.

Now held at the Whanganui River Museum, Te Pihi Mata uses photographs to tell portions of Whanganui history and has been curated by both iwi and the Museum.

The exhibition is open to the public from 8 December 2007 and is open for almost two years.

CHOOSE YOUR WEBSITE DEVELOPER CAREFULLY.
Copyright Brown Pages 2007

Thinking of setting up a website/ecommerce site?  There are plenty of website developers out there, the trick is finding the right one for your business.  Your website developer and designer are important keys to your business success and if you have a limited budget, you’ll need to plan wisely.  You may embark on the project with a team of developers only to find months later that they’re slow to deliver or taken on more clients and become too busy for you.  By then you may have already paid a deposit and are unable to turn back because of the targets you’ve set yourself.  Some companies have a product developer or someone who acts as an interface between you and the web developer.  If you are dealing with the web developer directly yourself, you need to know how to negotiate that.
(Click here for full article).

Facebook

Linkedin

Twitter

Bebo

Brown Pages Blog

One Samoana

Black Planet

Silk Associates is an award winning public relations consultancy which specialises in Maori and Pacific communications.

Established in 2001, Silk aligns itself to other likeminded business consultants to deliver a wide range of services. 

Whether you're a small community group or large corporate team, Silk Associates can help increase productivity through better communications and cultural frameworks. 

For more info go to www.silkassociates.com.

The Greening the Screen environmental toolkit was developed to encourage companies and productions to think smarter, work better and add value to their business with practical environmental improvement measures. Written by Ann Smith, Emma McConachy and Landcare Research, case studies are used throughout this toolkit to show how real companies have achieved environmental and business benefits. The very nature of screen production in New Zealand, where groups of professionals come together for a few months and then disperse to other projects, provides a great opportunity for Greening the Screen practices to spread throughout the industry. Click here to download this toolkit (pdf 3.5 mb).  For more information about Greening the Screen, visit the website www.greeningthescreen.co.nz