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Aperture: / London part 2 

The second part of this year’s festival continues with screenings and events taking place across London 15-30 September with a focus on South East Asia and a focus on New Zealand, as well as a free workshop 'Asia Through the Aperture: regional framings in cinema and art'.

A SENSE OF HOME, A SENSE OF PLACE

A collection of short films from New Zealand and Pacific Islands, looking at cultural identities, crisis and conflict, and social relations. This is a free event organised by Day for Night as part of their programme Aperture: Asia & Pacific Film Festival in response to the upcoming exhibition Oceania at The Royal Academy of Arts. New Zealand and Pacific Island passport holders get free admission to the Oceania exhibition.

This programme of short films take us on journeys into the cultures and societies of New Zealand and Pacific Islands, delving into shared histories and contemporary concerns - from occupancy of Maori lands in the 1900s, to nuclear testing in the Pacific, to migration and preoccupations of youth.

AHI KA (Richard Curtis, 2014, 15 min)

Left alone with just her spiritual guides, a young girl upholds the prestige and sovereignty of the tribe in order to protect the land for generations to come. A poetic piece set against the backdrop of the occupancy of Maori lands in the 1900s.

SNOW IN PARADISE (Nikki Si’ulepa, Justine Simei-Barton, 2012, 9 min)

On a remote Pacific island, a young Polynesian girl goes about daily life in a small community, with her family around her. Yet no one could suspect what devastating power lies beyond the ocean reef, where a nuclear testing facility lies. An impending crisis looms and one moment will change her world forever.

MARIA (Jeremiah Tauamiti, 2016, 14 min)
An ailing Polynesian matriarch of a large family lies bedridden and silent, unable or unwilling to speak following a long illness. When a family crisis strikes, she receives some unexpected help to find the strength to lead her family one last time.

 

NIGHT SHIFT (Zia Mandviwalla, 2012, 15 min)

A film about people existing on the periphery, in which an airport cleaner faces the longest journey. As she begins another long night shift, she keeps her head down and gets on with her work, while no one spares her a second glance.

TREE (Lauren Jackson, 2017, 16 min)

One evening, after her secret gets out, a young New Zealand Tongan teenager climbs up a large tree to escape the world. Refusing to come down and as evening turns to night, her sanctuary becomes her prison. She must make a choice - either bow to tradition or find a new path, with or without her family.
  

MOVING (Eli Kent, Leon Wadham, 2016, 12 min)

A couple living in a shared house split up, while their flatmates tread on eggshells around them as the dynamics of the house are disrupted and the ex-couple separate their living arrangements. A story of breakups and beginnings, both with people and place.

Total running time: 81 min

Kindly supported by the New Zealand High Commission 

With thanks to the New Zealand Film Commission

*** Please note, tickets booked for this film screening do not include admission to the Oceania Exhibition ***

See full Aperture programme here>>