Ōtaki to the World - The Māoriland Story

Ōtaki to the world - the Māoriland story 

In the heart of Aotearoa, the Māoriland Charitable Trust was formed to support the Māori film industry and share Indigenous voices and perspectives with the world.

Everything began with a small grassroots film about a group of aunties and a lawnmower. 

“My Aunty Libby Hakaraia was directing a film about our four aunties and a lawnmower at our local marae. You could see all our whānau peeking their heads over the fence trying to see what was going on,” says Maddy Hakaraia, Director of Māoriland Film Festival. 

The film, ‘The Lawnmower Men of Kapu’ became a success, touring the country at several film festivals. This was the moment Libby, and her team realised how well their mahi resonated with the community.

“The success of this film was the first time our wider whānau had an opportunity to see the creative world we live in, and the possibilities for our storytelling at a national level.” 

At that time, Indigenous creatives and filmmakers from around the world were searching for a place in the southern hemisphere to meet, share, and celebrate their work. In March 2014, Libby sent out a call for people to come to Ōtaki. Filmmakers from the Northern Hemisphere, across te Moana Nui ā Kiwa, and from Aotearoa answered the call.

Māoriland Film Festival 

The inaugural Māoriland Film Festival was created to celebrate Indigenous voices and storytelling in film and to uplift the perspectives and stories of Indigenous peoples. 

Over the past eleven years, the festival has become the largest presenter of indigenous screen content in the Southern Hemisphere, with events year-round, including industry gatherings, emerging technology, showcases, lecture series, sound and stage performances and visual arts programme.

Since it began, MFF has grown into a must-see event on the Kāpiti Coast, attracting thousands of tourists - both local and international - and millions of dollars into the local economy.  

Globally, the festival is now the largest international Indigenous film festival in the world, not just for its film line-up but also for its audience reach.

Award winning tīma

Just this year, Māoriland Productions won the Economic & Social Impact Award at the 2025 Global Production Awards, held in Cannes on May 20.  

Māoriland was selected from a strong group of finalists for their Māori‑led approach that supports cultural, economic, and creative empowerment for Māori and Indigenous storytellers.

“It was a big surprise. We hadn’t prepared a speech because we didn’t think we stood a chance of winning,” says Maddy.

“Winning this event really put into perspective how much our way of storytelling connects to people across the globe, and that was really encouraging.”

And while walking away with an award was a major highlight of the night, the Māoriland team used their time at Cannes as an opportunity to connect with other filmmakers and discuss future projects.

Community growth, outside of film 

Even as Māoriland keeps making waves on the world stage, supporting the local community through the Māoriland Maara Kai remains a top priority.

The Māoriland Maara Kai is a food garden that grows fresh kai for the Ōtaki whānau.

“Our maara exists to support the Ōtaki community to expand their collective knowledge of how to grow and share healthy, affordable kai.”

“We want to spread knowledge on how we think about and deal with waste. At its core, this kaupapa is about how we create a sustainable approach to food so everyone in our community is fed.”

“Plus, you can’t make films on an empty stomach!”