A short film directed by Jennifer Ward-Lealand which tackles the growing P epidemic in Aotearoa was named best film by an audience vote at the Wairoa Film Festival on the weekend.
Disrupt delves into the devastating effects of methamphetamine on a whānau when a grandmother is the only person who refuses to give up on her drug-addicted grandson. It's the film directing debut for Ward-Lealand who is one of New Zealand's most accomplished actors and industry advocates.
The 13-minute story is written by Te Ao Tapatahi journalist Aroha Awarau and produced by Te Ao Mārama presenter Peata Melbourne under her new production company, Te Koru Media.
The film won the Tinirau Prize, which was voted by the audience who attended the screening of a selection of the best Māori short films at the Gaiety Theatre in Wairoa on Saturday night. The award was donated by broadcast veteran Derek Fox and Jaewynn Mackay.
The cast includes Kararaina Rangihau, Joe Dekkers-Reihana, Ella Edward, Miriama McDowell, and Whakaata Māori identity, Piripi Taylor.
Disrupt also screened at the Beverly Hills International Film Festival in Los Angeles at the same time as it was playing at Wairoa.
Ward-Lealand says the award shows that the audience has resonated with the film’s important message.
"The audience responding so positively to our film affirms for us the very reason we wanted to make Disrupt, to see how one family tries to deal with what is a huge problem throughout Aotearoa. It's often the small, personal story that can affect the biggest change," Ward-Lealand says.
Jennifer Ward-Lealand on the set of Disrupt in her directing debut. Photo/supplied
Melbourne chose Disrupt as her first film as a producer because she wanted to highlight the growing problem of P in all communities. She attributes the aroha from the cast, crew, funders, sponsors, and supporters as the reason for the film’s success.
“Our supporters believed in us to make it. This win is for them. We were blessed with our superb and very talented cast and crew. I’m proud and grateful for the contribution from each and every one of them.”
Awarau says he was inspired to write the film after covering many stories on the P epidemic as a print and TV journalist and saw firsthand how the drug had a strong grip on his own whānau.
“I find a lot of films or narratives surrounding drugs, P in particular, are quite glamorised. So, they’re set in the gang world or on the streets. And what I had seen is that this problem is actually closer to home for most people,” he says.
The film was funded by Ngā Aho Whakaari, an organisation advocating for Māori working in the screen industry, and supporters who donated to the film via Boosted, a New Zealand crowdfunding site dedicated to the arts. The film was also sponsored by the following organisations: Image Zone, Cordis Hotel and Resorts, Nati 4 Life, St John’s Ambulance and Wireless Rentals.
The annual Wairoa Film Festival celebrates the best in Māori and indigenous films from Aotearoa and around the world. This year's festival also honoured screen producer Desray Armstrong, who was the recipient of the WIFT Mana Wahine Award.
Festival director Leo Kolziol says audiences were excited to see local resident and the main actress in Disrupt, Kararaina Rangihau, play the poignant role of a concerned kuia on the giant screen.
"There was an amazing collection of Māori cinema," Kolziol says. "The audience was touched with the themes in Disrupt, of hope in the face of the scourge of P."
Disrupt also screened at the New Zealand and Hawaii International Film Festivals in 2021 and is scheduled to screen at the Māoriland Film Festival in Otaki on June 30.