Weengushk International Film Festival celebrates global Indigenous talent – Manitoulin Expositor

July 17, 2019

AUNDECK OMNI KANING – They came, they saw, and then they watched some more. The offerings at the Weengushk International Film Festival proved addictive to most of the audience who took in the films from Indigenous communities across the globe.

The opening night ceremonies were enhanced with a dance and song performance by a visiting troupe of Maori media personalities including Peter Lucas Jones, general manager of te hiku media, a charitable media organization that belongs collectively to the Far North Iwi (tribes) of Ngāti Kuri, Te Aupouri, Ngai Takoto, Re Rarawa and Ngāti Kahu. The te Hiku Media troupe processed into Aundeck Omni Kaning’s Four Directions Complex to a welcoming song that was replied to in kind by the troupe, and gifts were presented to the Maori Indigenous relatives. In addition to performances by the Maori, the group delivered a workshop on the work being done to revive the Maori languages (several similar dialects) in their home territories (see story on page 14). Joining Mr. Lucas were Te Ikaui Kingiwaiaua, Ngawaiata Evans, Taimania Jones, John Raroa Winder, Joel Hone Bristow, Nicole Hoey and Renae Mahl.

Read More: https://www.manitoulin.ca/weengushk-international-film-festival-celebrates-global-indigenous-talent/