This year's Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts 2019 have been curated by Leo Koziol (Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Rakaipaaka), Director of the Wairoa Māori Film Festival, and guest co-curator Craig Fasi (Niue), Director of the Pollywood Film Festival.

The six films selected for Ngā Whanaunga Māori Pasifika Shorts 2019 are listed below, along with notes from Leo and Craig in italics:

Our Atoll Speaks: Ko Talatala Mai Tō Mātou Wenua

A meditation on sustainability from the remote Pukapuka atoll in the Cook Islands. A serenade of narrative and captivating imagery – a political cry for help. — CF

Ani

A young Māori girl drifts into a world of make-believe when her mother leaves her – and her father – to fend for themselves. A tribute to the realities of solo parenting – touching and insightful. — CF

Liliu

A court interpreter in colonial Samoa risks everything to help a wrongfully convicted chief. In the time of King George VI, it was a time for guardianship of indigenous history as truth. — LK

Ways to See

A young Māori girl trying to reconnect with her absent father reaches out to a mysterious stranger. Hine-nui-te-pō, in her intoxicating beauty and temptation, comes for a visit. — CF

Rū

A pregnant woman must fight for her life when she inadvertently becomes the victim of a violent initiation. A routine whānau errand turns dark in this unexpected native noir. — LK

Yellow Roses

An elderly Māori woman who pines for the company of her husband enlists the services of a male escort. Vicky Haughton shines in a story of lost love reawakened. — LK