ANZ Film Festival: KOKA

The London Australian Film Society and the Foundation for Australian and New Zealand Arts (FANZA) present the 2nd annual ANZ Film Festival at Finsbury Park Picturehouse, on the weekend between Australia Day and Waitangi Day.

Set in present day New Zealand, KŌKĀ follows Māori elder Hamo (Hinetu Dell) who discharges herself from a hospital, packs up her life and goes on a road trip, only to meet accident prone thief Jo (Darneen Christian) who is long estranged
from her Māori heritage. 

When Jo steals old family artefacts, Hamo must attempt
to retrieve them, opening both of their worlds up to new possibilities. Together, these two unusual companions find common ground, embarking on a road trip film that brings joy, tragedy and hard truths.

Set during Matariki, which signals the Māori new year, this aroha-infused film from Kath Akuhata-Brown is a powerful tribute to her Ngāti Porou heritage, and to the proud people and awe-inspiring landscapes of New Zealand’s East Cape.

Australian and New Zealand snacks, sweets & gifts will be on sale, and a raffle will take place before the screening.

With thanks to Verity Mackintosh and Krafty Productions.

REVIEWS:

“Kōkā is a road trip movie, but it is of a very Māori, surreal kind - navigating between this world and the next.” 

- Kath Akuhata-Brown, RNZ

“A kind of Goodbye Pork Bye inverted…where the protagonists are wāhine Māori, the journey south to north, and where power is manifested through kindness
and compassion to enable change.”

– Mark Amery, Culture101 (RNZ)