Festival director Jane Ross, recognised the depth of local and emerging talent in film-making and storytelling in the Wairarapa, and wanted a place to showcase this. With ingenuity and determination, she successfully staged the first event during the 2020 Covid pandemic lockdown, and it has grown with each year since. “We are so lucky to live in a region where local film and film-makers are valued. We have world-class film-makers who hail from, or whakapapa to the Wairarapa, such as Jemaine Clement, Barry Barclay, Vincent Ward and Ramai Haywood. We also have world-class filmmakers who come to this region to help tell our stories, including Dame Gaylene Preston and Sir Peter Jackson”.

WBS is thrilled to be one of main sponsors of the rangatahi youth film-making “Someday Leaders” Workshops. Aimed at 14-20 year olds, two full-day workshops to be held at Kuranui College and Wairarapa College on Thursday 25 and Friday 26 May, will be facilitated by Auckland based Chris Widdup, Director of the Connected Media Trust. Invitations have been extended to all colleges in the Wairarapa, to identify participants who demonstrate a propensity or interest in leadership, film-making or sustainability.

An inspiring array of events and films will be screened at Regent 3 Cinemas and the Masterton District Library over the festival. At the heart of the programme are the stories that celebrate the connection between people and places, tangata and whenua. We even have an exciting WBS connection, with one of our own team members grabbing his popcorn, and heading along to watch his father feature in one film based on his school experiences right here in the Wairarapa! WBS is very proud to support this event as we celebrate the outstanding creative talent of our locals as they share our local stories.

Make sure you check out the full programme and get along to some of these events – waifilmfest.co.nz