Movies aren't the only attraction at Māoriland Film Festival

As the Māoriland Film Festival drew to a close on Sunday, artist Regan Balzer's new mural remains.

Balzer was given the opportunity to paint the mural for the five-day festival. But she admitted that a week beforehand she had "no idea" of what she wanted on it, so she started painting a wāhine carrying a pēpi in the ocean.

"This painting on the wall is sharing a story about being strong. It's called 'Me he toka tū moana' which translates as be like the rock in the ocean, steadfast and strong no matter the tides or the waves."

Little hints throughout the week made her rethink of who the mural was about.

A young person asked her to 'include Kāpiti Island.' Balzer was confused as to why, but followed the suggestion. Libby Hakaraia, one of Māoriland's creators, also told Balzer that the middle painting showed the kaitiaki of the strait - Mukakai, is the taniwha/kaitiaki, or guardian.

Finally, someone else had approached her and asked if it was based on Kahe Te Rau-o-te-Rangi - the Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Mutunga wāhine who swam the strait between Kāpiti Island and the land with her daughter Rīpeka strapped on to her back in 1824. The strait is named the Rauoterangi channel after her.

Suddenly, the three-part mural was based around the journey of Kahe.

"The most out of it thing is not even knowing beforehand that you were doing it."

Māoriland is the largest indigenous film festival in the world, featuring film screenings, indigenous art exhibitions and installations.

The paintings timely due to the recent return of Kāpiti and Mana islands to Ngāti Toa iwi, and the upcoming 'Porirua ki Manawatū' Waitangi Tribunal hearing in May.

"The biggest thing for my work is really for our people to have uplifting imagery and stories to show that we have so much beauty in our culture, in our language, in our narratives. It's really important to share those uplifting, powerful, strong stories because if our people aren't seeing that, then we don't know what to aspire to."

An unsolved mystery

It is not the first time Balzer had been commissioned to paint a mural at the film festival, but the evidence of her mahi is nowhere to be seen.

Last year when organiser Libby Hakaraia returned to Ōtaki from a trip, she had noticed the piece on the museum building was gone.

"It disappeared. No one knows where it went," Balzer said.

The building had gone through renovations. Scaffolding had marked the area, but once completed, the painting was never returned.

"I don't know how to feel. Either someone really loved my work, or didn't like it, but it was weird because commissioned artwork in the centre of the town just disappeared. So it's a mystery."

The council had apologised and compensated some of the costs, she said.

"I'm really blessed to be back to Māoriland and paint another narrative to share a beautiful story with the community."

Subtle activism

On day one of the Māoriland Film Festival, activist and artist Tame Iti expressed a bold statement, not by words, but dressed in the whites of a British explorer.

"Well, you know, heard of a fella called Captain Cook? His head is still in a pot somewhere in Hawai'i, so I took the hat. Yeah, so, giving the mickey to him."

He acknowledged the creators and kaimahi through his kōrero during the powhiri.

"It's a big operation just to weave the carpet, to weave the whāriki, and pull that together and bring the magical part," Iti said.

Iti is renowned for his activism after becoming a prominent member of 1970's protest groups such as Ngā Tamatoa. He first made headlines in 1972 after he perched a tent at parliament and established the 'Māori Embassy.'

"We are the people of the 70s that cleared the pathway for te reo, for te moko, for everything that who we are, and maintaining mana motuhake, tino rangatiratanga, just not just lip service."

His activism started when he was in school, where speaking te reo Māori was not welcomed by the principal. He has expressed his hurt through many creative ways, including his 'I Will Not Speak Māori' art pieces.

"To be able to bring the voice again, hear the voices of the mass, hear the voices of Rangi and Papa, hear the voices of the awa, all the intricate parts that make us here in Aotearoa and globally, through the Pacific, all other indigenous people there."

The festival's Toi Ora Motuhake Decolonised Indigenous Artists Zone was his new camp, shared with other indigenous artists.

The space in the middle of the area was designated for Iti and Kamilaroi, Kooma, Jiman and Gurang Gurang man Richard Bell to share their wisdom and art.

Bell was an original member of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. On 'Australia Day,' in 1972 an urgent meeting was called by elders which led them to pitch a beach umbrella opposite the Parliament House in Canberra on 26 January 1972.

Bell and Gary Foley are the only two members Aboriginal Tent Embassy still alive.

"It was through him that has ignited us to set up an embassy, Māori Embassy in 1972. And after seeing it on [BCNZ, Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand], a black and white view, and I saw that, wow, you know, and thought about it and then six-to-seven months later, I liked the idea, so I put my hand up."

Iti said he went to the festival for fun.

"We say, you don't have to go in Auckland to do that. You can come to the magical place here that enables us to be able to weave and pull things together, and have a smell to it, have a taste to it, and have a colour to it, and have fun."

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