The 2023 Wao Film Festival: Sharing Precious Stories, Live and Now Online
by Georgia Merton
The inaugural Wao Film Festival was a goosebump-inducing success, and it’s not too late to tune in and watch online.
On the 18th of May, across four cold and rainy Wānaka days, hundreds of people gathered to watch films. They weren’t just any films, either. These, the official selection for the inaugural Wao Film Festival, were 18 of the most inspiring short films and documentaries in the world right now.
The festival, run by Wao Aotearoa, was a celebration of storytelling, connection and the power of both of these to help us to understand what it means to be human on planet earth at this time. There were over 620 attendees across the four days, and Wao Community Coordinator and operations manager for the festival, Aaron Thulé says the event went amazingly, and was a huge success for its first year. If you missed it, we’re taking the films online. You can watch them from anywhere, at any time between now and June 23rd. $50 will get you an all-access ticket, or it’s $10 to watch a single film.
According to Thulé, the films seemed to really land with people on an emotional level. “I don’t want to necessarily say sad,” he says, “But a lot of them were really heartfelt. They created that deep feeling of understanding someone else’s journey, whether it be difficult or heartbreaking or sad.”
In doing that, Thulé says many of the films put the audience into the shoes of people in different parts of the world going through experiences with, for example, climate change. “They really reached a deeper level, and it was eye-opening as to how people are affected around the world by different situations,” Thulé says.
He says the festival wouldn’t have been possible without the huge team of volunteers who turned up to help. Additionally, a big thanks to QLDC for their funding support. The most popular session was River, a cinematic and poetic exploration of humankind’s irrevocable relationship with the rivers of our planet. This was closely followed by Fashion Reimagined, which joins fashion designer Amy Powney on her quest to create a sustainable collection in the time of fast fashion. The program has films for the whole family, and Thulé says that particularly for the evening sessions, there was a range of demographics in the audience.
One attendee, Eiko Jones, could only get to the film festival on the first day, so he decided to buy the full day pass. “I'm so glad I did. I sat and watched all of them. Some I might not have watched if I had to buy tickets for them individually. Some of these films really made me think and question,” says Jones. “It was a great day of immersing myself in other people's lives from around the world. I just wish more people saw these precious stories."
Though the line-up of films has a global flavour, connecting us with perspectives across the world, it also features some stellar New Zealand documentaries. Whetu Marama, for example, explores ancient practices of polynesian celestial navigation, while the Fight For the Wild series speaks to reducing predators in New Zealand. “These local films were great for showing people what’s happened or is happening here, and to build community,” says Thulé. “I’m glad we had those, as well as those from other parts of the world.”
The Wao Film Festival is a little different from many others in its focus on inspiring action in a rapidly changing world. To this end, Thulé says something which worked well was having a discussion prior and after each film, for those films which didn’t have a guest speaker. “It wasn’t intended at the beginning but I think it was a good result,” he says. “So that it wasn’t only sharing films that were inspiring or made you think deeper about something, but being able to have a little discussion afterwards about those things.”
Thulé also says a major theme brought forward across the films was the future; what it holds for us collectively and our shared responsibility towards it. “All these films had that idea of, hey, even though we’re in New Zealand far away from these issues, the world is one so no matter what happens here, another part of the world could be affected.”
The festival was an inspiring, mind-opening four days, and if you missed out, we would love you to experience it online. Get ready to feel the feels, wherever you may be tuning in from. Buy your tickets at Wao.co.nz
Fashion Reimagined
FASHION REIMAGINED Official Trailer 2023 Sustainable Clothing Documentary - YouTube
The River Trailer
River - Official UK Trailer - YouTube
Fight for the wild.
Whetu Marama trailer
