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Ngā mihi o te wā o Hine Raumati!
Tēnā koutou katoa,
2024 has been a year of profound change in the media landscape, and we send our aroha to everyone who has been affected by restructures and redundancies.
These disruptions bring significant challenges and an uncertain future, but they also compel us to adapt and innovate, just as our tūpuna have always done, to ensure that Māori voices continue to thrive in this evolving space.
Despite these trying times, the skills, integrity and creativity of our hapori have shone brightly. The coverage of the tangihanga of Te Arikinui Kīngi Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII, and the coronation of Te Arikinui Kuīni Ngā wai hono i te pō and more recently Te Hīkoi mō Te Tiriti demonstrated the power of kotahitanga within the Māori media sector.
E ngā ringa raupā, tēnei te mihi nui me te ngākau whakahī ki ō koutou mahi rangatira. Ka mau te wehi!
In exciting news for Ngā Aho Whakaari, we are delighted to welcome Te Mātāwai as a new core funding partner. This valuable collaboration will enable us to expand our activities in 2025 and strengthen our focus on how our mahi in the screen sector contributes to the revitalisation of te reo Māori. We are also grateful for the ongoing operational funding we receive from Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga and Te Māngai Pāho. This year we also received support from Foundation North and targeted project funding from Irirangi Te Motu.
Mā ngā huruhuru, ka rere te manu, nō reira ka tuku mihi ki enei kaitautoko.
A huge mihi also to the board for their service and to everyone who has supported our activities across the year.
We'd also like to extend our congratulations to our Board member, Peata Melbourne on her new role at Whakaata Māori as the News and Current Affairs editor.
In this current political climate, the need to share our stories and perspectives on screen has never been more important. It’s going to take resilience and dedication from all of us who champion te ao Māori in the creative industries.
Ngā Aho Whakaari will continue to advocate for, uplift and celebrate the Māori screen sector. We’re stronger together and we encourage you all to get involved and let us know how we can help you.
Our last day in the office is 20th December and we’ll be back rearing to go on 13th January.
As the holiday season of Raumati approaches, we hope you can take time to rest, recharge, and reconnect with what inspires and sustains you.
Ngā mihi mahana o te wā. Mā ngā ātua tātou e manaaki.
Kay Ellmers
Te Tumu Whakarae
Sonara Southcombe-Wallace
Executive Coodinator
A.I. Rauemi | Resources Available Now
Ka nui te mihi to the members who participated in our first A.I. wānanga.
Tēnei te mihi to our Emcee, Stacey Morrison and our panellists for sharing their mahi!
Ka nui te mihi anō ki AcademyEX mō te mātauranga me te manaakitanga
Ngā mihi hoki ki a Irirangi te Motu mō te putea tautoko.
From the day, we have received some really great rauemi which you can view and download from our Resource page.
We look forward to exploring A.I. even more in 2025 with more bespoke offering.
Whānau mā, don't be shy to get in touch and let us know of wānanga, resources or development opportunities you want in 2025.
Attendees! Be in the draw to win $100 towards an A.I. subscription of your choice.
Fill in the survey by midday Friday 20th
Check out our rauemi!
Doc Edge Festival 2025 Submission Deadline
Doc Edge Festival 2025 - celebrating 20 years of documentary excellence - is now open for submissions! As an Academy Awards® qualifying festival for both features and shorts, this is a significant opportunity for documentary filmmakers.
Films must be NZ premieres, with preference given to world and international premieres. To qualify as a NZ documentary, projects need either a key crew member who is a NZ citizen/permanent resident, or over 50% NZ funding.
📅 Submissions close 26 January | Programming decisions will be announced by April 20, 2025
Submit via FilmFreeway. Check out the website for more info.
⭐ Fees are in USD
🎟️ Early Bird (until Sept 15, 2024): Features $30, Shorts $20
Regular (until Dec 22, 2024): Features $40, Shorts $25
For Tauira/Students: Free submissions until Jan 26, 2025 (proof of NZ student status required)
TMP Funding Dates 2025
Te Māngai Pāho has released their funding round dates for 24/25!
Add these to your calendar for next year's reminders.
We are working on a shared calendar in the background for you to easily add these dates to your own from our website. Keep the karu peeled for that update announcement!
Whakaata Māori Commissioning Deadlines 2025
Whakaata Māori has shared their Commissioning deadlines for 24/25. Add these dates to your calendar. If you'd like more information, get in touch with the Commissioning team.
Aho Shorts 2024 Premiere at RIFF
The 2024 Aho Shorts Collection at RIFF premiered to the largest audience to date. Ka mau te wehi!
Thank you to the teams who participated this year with the brilliant "Wait, Wait, Now", "Rapido", "Hokia" and "Puti" as well as our six Development recipients.
Thank you to Olly Coddington and Lanita Ririnui for steering the Aho Shorts waka in 2024 and to our Reo Māori short being filmed over Raumati, kia kaha!
Aho Shorts will be back next year with a slightly different spin to it. Keep an eye out on announcements in January.
Aho Anniversary - headshots available now!
Thanks to everyone who came along to our Aho Anniversary evening.
We had a great time of whakawhanaungatanga!
All headshots taken from the evening have now been sent out in folders to everyone. If you had individual headshots taken on the day and you've not received your īmera, get in touch.
Check out some of the pics here on the event page!
(Kia ora to our models Tomika Whiu and our Board member, Kirstin Te Wao-Edmonds)
Submission: Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill
We have made a submission on the Principles of the Treaty of Waitangi Bill.
We encourage you to consider doing one for your tamariki, mokopuna and hapori.