# Māoriland

> Māoriland is a Māori-led charitable film and arts organisation in Ōtaki, New Zealand. It runs the Māoriland Film Festival, a year-round arts hub and Toi Matarau Gallery, alongside youth training, Indigenous film development and production. Its international relationships connect local creative opportunities with filmmakers across the Indigenous world.

- **Founded:** 2014
- **Headquarters:** Ōtaki, New Zealand
- **Founders:** Libby Hakaraia (Co-founder; Head of Content, Māoriland Films), Tainui Stephens (Co-founder; producer and trustee), Tania Hakaraia (Co-founder), Pat Hakaraia (Co-founder), Madeleine Hakaraia de Young (Co-founder; Festival Director)
- **Products:** Māoriland Film Festival, Māoriland Hub, Toi Matarau Gallery, NATIVE Slam, Ngā Pakiaka Incubator Programme
- **Notable:** Won the Economic and Social Impact category at Screen International’s 2025 Global Production Awards in Cannes., Opened the Māoriland Hub in 2017 and bought its former department-store building with grant and community support., BUB, made by rangatahi with professional cinematography support, was accepted into imagineNATIVE in 2019.

## Products & services

- **Māoriland Film Festival** — Annual Indigenous screen programme in Ōtaki, including screenings, arts and industry events.
- **Māoriland Hub** — Year-round creative arts venue in a former department store, including screenings, performances and community activities.
- **Toi Matarau Gallery** — Kaupapa Māori gallery exhibiting and selling traditional and contemporary Māori and Indigenous art.
- **NATIVE Slam** — International Indigenous short-film collaboration challenge launched in 2016, with 72-hour production constraints.
- **Ngā Pakiaka Incubator Programme** — Mentoring and professional short-film production for eight selected rangatahi projects, developed during the 2020 disruption.
- **M.A.T.C.H** — Māoriland Tech Creative Hub: kaupapa Māori workplace training in animation, filmmaking and game development.
- **Māoriland Indigenous Co-Lab** — Advanced Indigenous feature-film development, comprising a writers residency, pitch packaging and a directing lab; six teams selected for the 2026 cohort.
- **Māoriland Films** — Production arm working on Indigenous screen projects and Māori-language adaptations.
- **Spirited Away in te reo Māori** — Announced adaptation scheduled for Whakaata Māori and MĀORI+ in December 2026 and the 2027 festival.
- **Manu Wairere** — Free weekly performing arts classes for rangatahi.

## Achievements

- Won the Economic and Social Impact category at Screen International’s 2025 Global Production Awards in Cannes.
- Opened the Māoriland Hub in 2017 and bought its former department-store building with grant and community support.
- BUB, made by rangatahi with professional cinematography support, was accepted into imagineNATIVE in 2019.
- Selected six Indigenous feature-film teams for MICL 2026.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Announced Spirited Away in te reo Māori, scheduled to premiere on Whakaata Māori and MĀORI+ in December 2026, then screen at MFF2027; casting closes 8 October 2026.
- **2026-09** — Announced MFF2027 for 16-21 March 2027, with late submissions closing 30 October 2026.
- **2026-05** — Announced the six teams selected for the 2026 Indigenous Co-Lab.

## Links

- Website: https://maorilandfilm.co.nz/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/maorilandfilm/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/MAORILANDFILM
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maorilandfilm/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaorilandFilm

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/m-oriland
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-07