Puanga Pictures is an inaugural three-day film festival celebrating contemporary local, Maori, and New Zealand cinema.
It will be held in Whanganui on July 15-17.
The festival has a focus on film making and will host a number of visiting guests over the weekend. From the opening night feature Great Maiden's Blush, writers/directors Andrea Bosshard and Shane Loader will attend for Q&A alongside cinematographer Waka Attewell; as will producer/actor Fraser Brown from the closing night feature Orphans & Kingdoms.
A filmmakers session on Sunday welcomes Maori cinema luminaries Libby Hakaraia and Tainui Stephens who will Q&A over a shared lunch following the screening of Ms Hakaraia's documentary Hautoa Ma!: The Rise of Maori Cinema. A second documentary about NZ cinema, Barefoot Cinema: the Life & Art of Cinematographer Alun Bollinger, will also screen.
The centrepiece of the festival on Saturday is two programmes of short films, the first, Kia Ora Shorts, selects the best from the latest Wairoa Maori Film Festival, and will be followed by a diverse line-up from Whanganui filmmakers, or films with a Whanganui connection.