New Zealand film dealing with the devastation of P on whānau smokes competition to take out Puerto Rico film award

Award winning team, Aroha Awarau (left), Jennifer Te Atamira Ward-Lealand (centre) and Peata Melbourne. Photo / Sally Tagg

A short film partially in te reo Māori and directed by Jennifer Te Atamira Ward-Lealand about the P problem in Aotearoa has won Best International Short Film at the Puerto Rico Film Festival.

Disrupt explores the devastation that methamphetamine has on a whānau and follows an elderly Māori woman's desperation to help her grandson overcome his addiction.

The film screened in the city of Mayagüez in Puerto Rico and won the top award at the country's annual film festival.

The judges last week said they awarded Disrupt "for being a complete work, where the sound, music, cinematography, and script come together to create a simple but complex story."

Ward-Lealand says: "I'm extremely proud that our little film has had such a big impact. That it resonates for people around the world, and in this case, Puerto Rico, affirms the very reason we wanted to make it. Addiction has no boundaries - but neither does love."

A scene from award winning short film Disrupt. Photo / Supplied

Writer and associate producer, Aroha Awarau (Ngāti Maru/Ngāti Porou/Niue/Samoa), says the film played to a Spanish-speaking audience and was in English and Māori without any translations or subtitles.

He says the award is a testament to the fact that the audience understood the film's impact and important message just by the visual storytelling and acting.

"As a team, we're so grateful our film is finding its audience. It's not only resonating with audiences locally but also internationally. It really is beyond our expectations."

Producer Peata Melbourne (Ngāi Tūhoe, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Kahungunu), who made the film under her company Te Koru Media, says her team supported and developed young Māori filmmakers by establishing a mentoring system during production.

"This is a result of a team unit believing and trusting in one another. I'm grateful to work alongside film industry professionals who guided our team and our newbies coming through."

Disrupt was funded by a $15,000 Aho Shorts Production Grant from Ngā Aho Whakaari, an organisation supporting Māori screen professionals. The creative team also raised a further $20,000 from supporters on the arts crowdfunding website Boosted and received sponsorship from Cordis Hotels and Resorts, Image Zone, Wireless Rentals, St John Ambulance and the Nāti 4 Life organisation.

The 13-minute film won the Audience Award at the Wairoa Film Festival in June and has screened at festivals in New Zealand, Hawaii, Beverly Hills, Poland, Canada and London. It's scheduled to travel to other festivals but the programme for those international events has yet to be officially announced.