Untold Stories, Global Voices
Along with the premiere of the films at the Bristol Encounters Festival, Kareem Mortimer, Oscar Kightley and Jules Koostachin also joined a panel discussion, chaired by journalist Rosie Goldsmith. This was part of the Untold Stories, Global Voices strand at Encounters, presented by Commonwealth Writers and the British Council. The panel also included Anis Barghouti, from the Palestinian Young Filmmakers Association, Noémie Mendelle, from the Scottish Documentary Institute and Lucy Hannah from Commonwealth Writers.
London Screening of Commonwealth Shorts: A Common Story
In March, 2014, the five Shorts filmmakers, Kareem Mortimer from the Bahamas, Lisa Harewood from Barbados, Jules Koostachin from Canada, Wanjiru Kairu from Kenya and Oscar Kightley from New Zealand, joined Commonwealth Writers at the Soho Hotel in London for a screening and Commonwealth Writers Conversation.
Chaired by journalist and broadcaster Rosie Goldsmith, the conversation explored whether a common story can be found between the five distinct films.
Pacific Voices Webcast: The Orator – From Script to Screen
In June 2013, Tusi Tamasese, New Zealand based, Samoan-born writer and film director, talked to Kath Akuhata-Brown about his work, in a live webcast. This was delivered by Commonwealth Writers and B3 Media, with special thanks to the School of Design, College of Creative Arts, Massey University, Wellington, NZ.
Tusi Tamasese
Tusi’s first 15 minute short, Va Tapuia (Sacred Spaces), was screened at the 2010 New Zealand Film Festival and then at festivals around the world. He went on to make the Samoan language feature film, O Le Tulafale (The Orator) funded by the New Zealand Film Commission and the Samoan government. The Orator is the story of a small taro farmer who has to find the courage to defend his land and family against adversaries.
Kath Akuhata-Brown
Kathryn Akuhata-Brown is of Ngati Porou descent, the Maori tribe that extends around New Zealand’s North Island East Coast. She is a writer, director and script editor. Kath was a development executive at the New Zealand Film Commission, the Chair of Script to Screen New Zealand and sits on the board of Te Paepae Ataata, the Maori feature film development fund. Her background includes writing drama, documentary and docudrama for television.