media

This paper outlines key categories and elements of Kia Manawanui: Kaupapa Māori Film Theoretical Framework, developed to interrogate film texts and shed light on the processes of Māori film production and environments within which filmmakers operate. Kia Manawanui film theory is informed by diverse expressions of Kaupapa Māori , Indigenous and critical media studies, discussions with Māori  filmmakers, theorists and film texts, particularly Ngati (1987), Mauri (1988) and Te Tangata Whai Rawa o Wēniti—The Māori  Merchant of Venice (2002).