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Entertainment

Film producer Desray Armstrong receives Mana Wahine Award

Film producer Desray Armstrong will be recognised at the Wairoa Film Festival for her hard work and dedication as the recipient of the annual WIFT New Zealand Mana Wahine Award.

“The award within itself is a beautiful thing because it celebrates wāhine Māori. The whakaaro ‘if you can see it and you can be it’ is important. That’s definitely the case for me” says Armstrong, whose iwi are Te-Aitanga-a-Hauiti and Ngāti Porou.

“Having peers, dear friends and role models reminds you of where you’ve come from but also reminds you of how much more mahi there is to do and that is to bring others through.”

The annual award will be presented by fellow recipient Dr Ella Henry at Nuhaka Marae in Wairoa on June 5. It recognises the achievements of Māori women in film and TV who promote and support Māori culture and the welfare of wāhine stories.  Past recipients include Briar Grace-Smith, Chelsea Winstanley, Ainsley Gardiner and Rachel House.

'Energy and ahua'

“Look at the legacy of wāhine who have been acknowledged over the years. It is somewhat strange to be a part of that. In the same token, it moves me. I take a lot of inspiration from the wāhine in my life, my whānau and my industry whānau who have played a huge part in shaping me.”

From 2007 to 2011, Armstrong and fellow producer Chelsea Winstanley ran a production company focusing on creating compelling stories with a Māori worldview. Armstrong has also worked on many local and international productions alongside Oprah Winfrey, Margot Robbie and Taika Waititi on films including A Wrinkle in Time, What We Do In the Shadows and Mortal Engines. In the past year she has produced feature films Juniper, Coming Home in the Dark, and Millie Lies Low.

Her first feature film was Show of Hands, shot in Taranaki in 2008.

“That was a pivotal moment for me because that is where I saw the craft of drama. It has its own tikanga and one that I really love.”

Desray says it’s important for more Māori women to be involved in producing films and TV, not only on Māori kaupapa projects but also on non-Māori productions.

“For kaupapa Māori storytelling, it’s necessary. I don’t see how we can support our Māori directors and our Māori writers without somebody who shares the same worldview. For kaupapa that isn’t Māori, it’s still important because the values that we have as Māori invites an energy and an ahua around a production that may otherwise not exist, like whakawhanaungatanga and manaakitanga.”