Unleashing the Tiger: AsiaNZsing the Media
Asia New Zealand Film Foundation Trust

On Friday the 25th of November, the Asia New Zealand Film Foundation held a one-day seminar on Asian representation and participation in New Zealand's media. Unleashing the Tiger: AsiaNZsing the Media was held in the Department of Film, Television and Media Studies at the University of Auckland, and brought together, for the first time, Asian filmmakers, members of the television and screen production industry, and educators, committed to making a wider space for Asian stories, and Asian storytellers in New Zealand's mainstream media.Unleashing the Tiger: AsiaNZsing the Media
Asia New Zealand Film Foundation Trust

On Friday the 25th of November, the Asia New Zealand Film Foundation held a one-day seminar on Asian representation and participation in New Zealand's media. Unleashing the Tiger: AsiaNZsing the Media was held in the Department of Film, Television and Media Studies at the University of Auckland, and brought together, for the first time, Asian filmmakers, members of the television and screen production industry, and educators, committed to making a wider space for Asian stories, and Asian storytellers in New Zealand's mainstream media.Unleashing the Tiger: AsiaNZsing the Media was held in the Department of Film, Television and Media Studies at the University of Auckland, and brought together, for the first time, Asian filmmakers, members of the television and screen production industry, and educators, committed to making a wider space for Asian stories, and Asian storytellers in New Zealand's mainstream media. Filmmakers Rosanne Liang (Banana in a Nutshell) Zia Mandviwalla (Eating Sausage) and Amarbir Singh (1 Night) screened portions of their films. Rosanne Liang was named the New Filmmaker of the Year at the recent SPADA conference, for her documentary Banana in a Nutshell, which examines her own identity as a Chinese New Zealander in an interracial relationship. Zia Mandviwalla's short film, Eating Sausage, tells the story of a Korean woman who is a new migrant to New Zealand. The film has been accepted into international festivals including Pusan and as Zia stated, "The film has been shown in every continent except Africa." All three filmmakers stressed that their films told human stories, and saw this aspect as crucial to their films' successes, both inside New Zealand and in global markets.

Ruth De Souza (Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Asian and Migrant Health Research, AUT), Tina Hong (Head of School of Performing and Screen Arts, UNITEC), Charles Mabbett (Media Advisor, Asia New Zealand Foundation), Carolyne Meng-Yee (Network Executive, Agenda, Eye to Eye, TVNZ), formed a panel focusing on Culture and Identity, and called for the need to avoid over sensationalism of negative images of Asians in the media Instead they emphasised the need to normalise the representation of Asian communities, in order to more accurately represent our increasingly multi-cultural society. Charles Mabbett stressed the fact that due to increased migration, it is imperative for the mainstream media to reflect New Zealand's ethnic diversity. This in the long run will also help the mainstream media to remain economically viable. "The Big Media needs you" he stated, "and if it doesn't yet know it, it soon will."

The final part of the day addressed strategies that can be carried out by the Asia New Zealand Film Foundation Trust in order to play a role in fostering increased Asian participation in New Zealand's media. The Trust will continue to run the Asia New Zealand Film Festival, short film competition and will also increase its participation in active community development. This will take the form of seminars like the one held on Friday, running funding and pitching workshops and becoming involved at the policy level in influential media organisations. There is also the potential to create a DVD that can bring together a collection of short films in order to showcase the outstanding talent of Asian New Zealand filmmakers to local audiences and encourage interest in the media and creative industries within Asian communities. Finally it was concluded that the various Asian peoples in New Zealand need to get more involved with mainstream media through training and participation so as to create a space for accurate representation.

For more details: info@anzfft.org.nz