"It's certainly a unique aspect of our film festival ... We add our flavour using our natural resources."
Curtis believed Rotorua was a good place to hold the festival because of manaakitanga.
"Rotorua is the home of Māoridom. Our Te Arawa side, we've been hosting people for as long as tourists were in New Zealand. We've got it in our blood now."
He said the Steambox Collective, a group of filmmakers, also made the festival special.
"We've got this collaboration that's quite unique. We have a group that makes stuff happen. It's the kaupapa that brings us together."
One of the festival events, the Pitch-Slap, saw entrants given three minutes to sell their film idea to a panel of industry executives.
The New Zealand Film Commission and Māori Language funding body Te Māngai Pāho, allocated $10,000 for the winner but ended up giving a second person $2500 to make their idea a reality.
The overall winner was Kereti Rautangata and the $2500 winner was a girl whose idea was a youth web series on suicide to provide a platform for people to talk.
The animated short film made by last years pitch competition winners Te Mauri Kingi, Bridgette Tapsell and Maruia Jensen was screened before the competition.
Piripi said this year's winners would be given support to deliver their projects in time for next year's festival.