Kay Ellmers Pōwhiri

Hei whakapuakitanga ake iaianei tonu.

Ka nui te tūrangahakoa o Ngā Aho Whakaari i te whakatau a Kay Ellmers kia noho mai ia hei Tumu Whakarae hou ki Ngā Aho Whakaari. E ai ki te Ihorei o Ngā Aho Whakaari a Piripi Curtis, “E hūrō ana te ngākau, e ihiihi ana te whatumanawa i tō mātou whakawhiwhinga ki tēnei ringa rehe ki ngā kaupapa whitiāhua Māori. Kua roa a Kay e kōkiri kaupapa ana hei whakakite i te ao Māori mā te mahi whitiāhua, me te aha, kua roa hoki a Kay e whakarite rautaki ana, e whakahaere mahi ana ki te rāngai pāpāoho Māori. Nō reira, nō mātou rawa te waimaria, kua āmine mai ia ki tēnei tūranga mahi o Ngā Aho Whakaari”.

Arā noa atu ngā mahi a Kay ki roto i te ao whitiāhua me te ao pāpāoho. Ko Kay te Tumu Whakarae o te pakihi mahi kiriata o Tūmanako Productions. Ko ia hoki te Kaiwhakahaere Matua o ngā pakipūmeka rongonui pērā me “Moko the World” me te hōtaka o “Whānau”. Ko Kay hoki te Kaihautū o Te Puna Kairangi ki Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga atu i te tau 2021 ki te tau 2022. Ko ia hoki te Kaiwhakahaere Kohi Kaupapa ki Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa atu i te tau 2018 ki te tau 2020.

Ko te kupu tauākī ā Piripi Curtis e kī ana, “He mea nui te whakawahitanga ake i a Kay Ellmers hei Tumu ki Ngā Aho Whakaari. He tohu hoki ki te ao Māori e mea ana arā noa atu ngā mahi ka oti i a Ngā Aho Whakaari hei taunaki ake i te iwi Māori ki roto i te ao whitiāhua me te ao pāpāoho. Me whakamana, me whakatika, me whakanui ka tika!”

He wahine whiwhi tohu hoki a Kay, pērā me te tohu Mana Wahine o WIFT (Ngā Wāhine ki te Ao Whitiāhua, Pouaka Whakaata Hoki) i āna mahi ki te ao pāpāoho Māori, me te tohu Pāpāoho Māori ki Ngā Tohu Reo Māori o Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori. “Nōku te whiwhi i whai au i ngā tapuwae o Lanita atu i te huarahi i para te tini noa atu i mua i a māua, nā te kī a te poari hoki, māku te waka o Ngā Aho Whakaari e ārahi. E hīkaka ana te ngākau kia mahinga tahi me ngā ringa rehe. Tātou e whakapau kaha ana ki te whakatairanga, ki te whakarangatira hoki i tō tātou ao Māori mā runga i te ao pāpāho, te ao hanga kiriata hoki.”

E rere ana hoki ngā whamānawa ki a Lanita Ririnui, te Tumu o mua o Ngā Aho Whakaari, i hāpai ake i ngā mahi hei Tumu ki roto i ngā tau e toru kua pahure tata ake nei. “Mei kore ake a Lanita, kua raru katoa a Ngā Aho Whakaari i ngā tau nei. He tāiki ngāpara, he ihu oneone, he ringa mamahi pau te kaha a Lanita. E kore e oti ngā kupu whakamihi ki a ia”, te kī a Piripi Curtis.

Ko Ngā Aho Whakaari te kāhui e taimua ana i te rangatiratanga o ngā tāngata Māori e kōkiri kaupapa ana ki te ao whitiāhua, me te ao pāpāoho. Ko te tūruapō o Ngā Aho Whakaari e kī ana “Ko wai hei rangatira mō tātou? Ko wai? Ko wai? Ko tātou anō!”

Hei te 15 o ngā rā o Hūrae ka tū te pōwhiri ki a Kay, ki te marae o Te Māhurehure, ki Rangimatarau, Tāmaki Makaurau. Hei te 9:30 o ngā hāora o taua rā, ka rere te karanga. Kei tēnei pae tukutuku te roanga ake o ngā kōrero e pā ana ki a Ngā Aho Whakaari: https://www.ngaahowhakaari.org/

Me whakapā atu ki a admin@ngaahowhakaari.org hei whirinakitanga i te kupu i te kōrero.

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For Immediate release

Ngā Aho Whakaari is delighted to announce the appointment of Kay Ellmers (Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Raukawa) to the role of its Executive Director. Piripi Curtis, the Chair of Ngā Aho Whakaari, says “I am extremely happy and proud of the appointment of such an expert Māori practitioner to this role. Kay has a wealth of experience in the Māori screen industry and held key leadership roles in Māori media. We are very fortunate to have Kay accept the position with Ngā Aho Whakaari.”

Kay is an acknowledged leader in the screen and media industry and is the Managing Director of Tūmanako Productions. She is an award-winning documentary maker and has recently worked on acclaimed projects such as "Whānau' and 'Moko the World". She was also the joint head of Te Puna Kairangi fund at the New Zealand Film Commission from 2021 to 2022. Kay was also the Senior Commissioner at RNZ from 2018 to 2020.

Piripi Curtis says “The appointment of Kay Ellmers to the role of Executive Director at Ngā Aho Whakaari is incredibly important. It shows the Māori screen and media industry that we are committed to supporting Māori who work in these industries. This appointment confirms our strategic approach, to empower Māori in screen, to advocate for Māori in screen, and to celebrate Māori in screen.”

Kay is an award-winning practitioner, as well as being awarded the Tohu Mana Wahine at the Women in Film and Television Awards for her contributions to Māori broadcasting, and the Māori Broadcasting Award at the Māori Language Commission’s Māori Language Awards.

“I’m very fortunate to be following in the footsteps of Lanita and all those who forged this path before us. I’m honoured that the Board has entrusted me to lead this next chapter for Ngā Aho Whakaari. I look forward to working with them and our talented, creative and committed industry colleagues to advance our kaupapa of uplifting, amplifying and celebrating Māori storytelling on screen”, says Ellmers.

Ngā Aho Whakaari also wishes to acknowledge the amazing contribution made by Lanita Ririnui, the former Executive Director of the organisation, for the last three years. “Without Lanita, Ngā Aho Whakaari would be in a parlous state. Lanita has been hard-working, innovative, and absolutely committed to our organisation. Words cannot express our thanks for all that Lanita has done”, says Curtis.

Ngā Aho Whakaari exists to actively support the global screen industries by uplifting tangata whenua and Indigenous creatives through advocacy for our unique perspectives, narratives, and artistic expressions.
On July 15, 2024, the formal welcome to Kay will be undertaken at Te Māhurehure Marae, in Point Chevalier, Auckland. The welcome will commence at 9:30 am.
For further information regarding Ngā Aho Whakaari please go to our website:

For further information and media enquiries please contact the following email address or phone number: admin@ngaahowhakaari.org or 021 932 999.

ENDS.

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