Asinabka Festival: Opening Night Outdoor Film Screening

Maori Pacifica Shorts & The Deadlands
August 19th, 7pm • Victoria Island (100 Middle Street)

We’re excited to start our 4th annual Asinabka Festival with our traditional Outdoor Film Screening on the beautiful Victoria Island, located on the Ottawa River.  We’ll start off the evening with a welcome from the Festival directors Howard Adler & Christopher Wong, an Elders opening prayer, songs from hand drummers, and few words from Simon Tucker, the New Zealand Embassy’s High Commissioner.

This year we’re very happy to be partnering with the Wairoa Maori Film Festival in Nuhaka, New Zealand, to present a stunning collection of Indigenous films in theMaori Pacifica Shorts Program.  Following this screening there will be a half-hour intermission to watch the fireworks taking place at the Museum of History, and then watch a dramatic feature length Maori film from New Zealand called The Dead Lands, by director Tao Fraser.

The news keeps getting better, because we’ll also be doing a group Skype call with Curator Leo Koziol, along with filmmakers Hiona Henare & Lennie Hill, to introduce the Maori Pacifica Shorts Program.  Plus we’ll be Skype-ing in Tainui Stephens, the producer of the film “The Dead Lands” to speak about what inspired the film to be created.