Tearepa Kahi's film Taua has received two awards at important international indigenous festivals this month.

The 4th annual National Geographic All Roads Film Festival in the USA awarded Taua Best Short Film, and the 8th ImagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in Canada gave the film an Honourable Mention for Best Short Drama. These awards follow Taua's international premiere at the prestigious Edinburgh Film Festival in August.

After receiving his award director Kahi said, "There's an ever increasing amount of story entering the world and to win Best Short Film in a festival which draws from such rich and meaningful works by important filmmakers such as Bahman Ghodabi (A Time for Drunken Horses), Arturo Perez Torrez (Super Amigos) and Hiner Saleem (Dol) is a real honour."

Taua is a short film about a boy who shows compassion amidst rival Maori tribes at war. It's based on the Maori proverb: Mate atu he tëtë kura, ara mai anö he tëtëkura - In war, leaders fall and leaders rise.

Taua is written and directed by Tearepa Kahi and produced by Quinton Hita.

Kahi explains, "I was brought up with our tribal waka, Te Kotuiti (star of Taua) and have always been fascinated by its size and purpose. Setting the waka in a challenging environment really interested me, as did the idea that an act of compassion can cut through political or physical power. And everyone, young or old, tall or small has the power to be compassionate. More importantly, I became a father around the making of Taua and had always envisaged dedicating this to my first born son.

There's a beautiful lesson within this short film, but it's something he may not grasp for a few years yet. At the moment he simply enjoys chewing on the Taua dvd cover to aid with his teething. It's a strong story."

The All Roads Film Festival is a fast growing event which provides an international platform for indigenous and underrepresented minority cultures, with festival screenings in LA, Washington DC and Sante Fe.

NZ filmmaker Merata Mita chairs the All Roads Advisory Board and N. Bird Runningwater, Associate Director for the Sundance Institute Native American and Indigenous Initiative is on the board.

The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival celebrates the latest works by indigenous peoples on the forefront of innovation in film, video, radio and new media.

Taua was funded by the Short Film Fund of the New Zealand Film Commission with an additional seed grant from National Geographic All Roads Film Project.

Tearepa Kahi and Quinton Hita also collaborated on the NZFC short film, The Speaker, which premiered in the Panorama Section at the Berlin Film Festival in 2006.

New Zealand Film Commission - Thursday 25th October, 2007.