Synopsis
Mary lives in middle class suburban New Zealand. After befriending a young Maori boy at her school, she becomes curious about his culture and its relevance to her. But when he turns his curiosity onto her, it soon becomes clear that Mary is not quite ready to embrace her own roots.




About the Film and the Director
The word Mokopuna has two meanings in the Maori language. First, it is the physical reflection of your face, secondly it is the word for grandchild or descendent. It suggests that people are a physical reflection of those who have gone before them.

The question at the heart of this story is captured in its dual meaning. It is about that time of life when children cease to simply be, and start to question what it means to be.

Director Ainsley Gardiner has produced short and feature films, television series and commercials. She also has experience in script development and selection, editing and post production and a passion for creative producing. Mokopuna is her first foray into dramatic writing and direction.

Ainsley produced Taika Waititi’s Oscar nominated short Two Cars One Night in 2005 and his first feature Eagle vs Shark in 2007. The latter was the opening film for the 2008 New Zealand Film Festival in Hong Kong.

Ainsley Gardiner on Mokopuna: “Mokopuna is a small and explicit story about the question of identity. I hope it is a film that will resonate with indigenous cultures around the world. Who are we? What does that mean? How do we fit in? ”

Director and Writer: Ainsley Gardiner
Cast: Francesca Morton, Haze Reweti
Year: 2009
Language: English with Chinese subtitles
Duration: 11 mins
Category: I

Festival – Highlight
Dreamspeakers Film Festival, Canada 2009 – Best Short Film
New Zealand International Film Festival 2009
Tampere Film Festival, Finland 2009
Melbourne International Film Festival, Australia 2009
Sprockets Toronto Film Festival for Children, Canada 2009

故事簡介：
瑪莉在新西蘭中產郊區居住。自從在學校認識了一個毛利族的小男孩，她開始對於他的文化背景十分好奇，同時想知道這跟自己的文化背景是否相關。但當男孩反轉對她產生好奇時，她顯然還未準備好去面對自己的根源。

導演與製作：
影片原名是一個帶有雙重意思的毛利語：Mokopuna。第一個意思是自己臉孔的倒影；另一個意思是孫兒女或者後人的別稱。這個字好像說出了人們都是前人的真實映照。

這個毛利語的雙重意思正好反映故事的核心主題 : 當孩子到了生命中的某個階段，不再僅僅存在，而且開始質問存在的意義。

導演艾斯莉‧加甸拿曾製作多部故事片、短片、電視連續劇及廣告片。她在劇本創作、選材、剪接、後期製作各方面亦有豐富的經驗，並且熱衷於一切創意的製作。我是誰？是她第一次涉足戲劇寫作和導演工作的短片。

加甸拿曾替導演泰卡‧偉帝迪的奧斯卡提名短片Two Cars One Night （2005）及他的首部故事片狂鯊戀上鷹痴（2007）擔任監製，後者為香港二零零八年新西蘭電影節開幕電影。

艾斯莉‧加甸拿談我是誰？：『這是一個小而直率，關於身分疑惑的故事。我希望本片能引起世界各地原住民的共鳴－我們是誰？這有甚麼意義？我們怎樣與自己的身份協調呢？』

導演/編劇：艾斯莉‧加甸拿
演員：凡西斯加‧摩頓、赫斯‧利韋堤
年分：2009
語言：英語附中文字幕
片長：11分鐘
級數 : I

參展及提名（摘要）：
加拿大Dreamspeakers 電影節2009－最佳短片
新西蘭國際電影節2009
芬蘭坦佩利電影節 2009
澳洲墨爾本國際電影節 2009
加拿大多倫多飛輪兒童電影節2009