Far North teenager Donald Wayne Morgan stars in The Turning Tide, which will have its first public showing in Northland at the festival. Photo / Supplied
Oromahoe School will hold its inaugural Environmental Food and Film Festival next week.
It is believed to be the first time a festival of this kind has been organised by children at a New Zealand school.
The festival is scheduled for Friday, April 7, from 5-9 pm at Oromahoe School, on State Highway 10 south of Kerikeri.
Far North Mayor John Carter and his wife Leonie will open the event.
"Food from the Whenua" is the theme of the evening. The new Year 7 and 8 senior leadership class is part of the event management team behind the festival.
"This project offered real-world learning opportunities, students wrote sponsorship letters to local businesses and much more," teacher Jason Taylor said.
Principal Melissa Anderton added: "It is fantastic to see our senior leaders so motivated and engaged to lead their own learning through a rich, meaningful, and practical event."
Two outdoor cinemas will be set up for the festival. Under the Sea, a children's documentary directed by Howard Hall and narrated by Jim Carrey, will be screened in the Orchard Cinema.
The Open Air Cinema will feature Island Earth, a rich film about environmental sustainability and a young scientist's struggle to find the truth between science and tradition. This documentary will be paired with The Turning Tide, an award-winning, locally made short film by Mr Taylor.
The Turning Tide was shot in Northland in 2016 and has since travelled to festivals in New Zealand and internationally. Starring local boys Donald Wayne Morgan and Keenan Rush, the film won best music at the Maori Film Festival in Wairoa and travelled to imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival in Toronto, Canada, as well as the recent Maoriland Film Festival in Otaki. This will be the film's first public screening in Northland.
The senior leadership class has also set the menu for the festival. It consists of a selection of international foods as well as a sweet stall and of course popcorn.
Festival coordinator Jane Francis said the festival was a zero-waste event so all food packaging and supplies used would be biodegradable.
"The screenings will take place outside so bring something warm, a blanket and bean bag or cushion to sit on," she said.
The school will use the proceeds to buy digital technology equipment and an irrigation system for its shade house and gardens.
Tickets are available at Warehouse Stationery in Kerikeri or the Oromahoe School office. For information about group bookings contact festival@oromahoe.school.nz or (09) 407 7834. The postponement date in case of bad weather is Saturday, April 8.
* Sky Gundry, 12, is a Year 8 pupil at Oromahoe School.