Wairarapa Film Festival Embraces Culture and Education
The Wairarapa Film Festival, supported by the National Commission, celebrated its fifth year in 2025 with a diverse programme of films, discussions, and community events placing particular emphasis on education, cultural understanding, and access to film as a tool for learning.
The Festival
The festival showcased films by New Zealand directors, with a focus on films that had strong regional, cultural, and historical connections.
Screenings were paired with facilitated discussions that encouraged critical thinking and reflection, enabling audiences to engage more deeply with the themes and contexts of the films.
Special focus was given to youth and lifelong learning, with school groups, tertiary students, and community learners in attendance. The festival enabled intergenerational dialogue, with younger audiences learning directly from filmmakers, producers, and actors about both craft and cultural context.
Teachers and students reported that the festival broadened their understanding of Aotearoa New Zealand stories and perspectives, while also highlighting global issues through a local lens.
By linking cinema to curriculum areas such as history, media studies, and cultural studies, the festival provided rich material for classroom and community learning.
The festival fostered cross-cultural appreciation, strengthened community connections, and showcased the value of storytelling as an educational resource.
