PISA Writers' Room with Special Guest Aroha Awarau!

Aroha Awarau (Ngāti Maru, Ngāti Porou, Niue, Samoa) is an award-winning playwright, scriptwriter and journalist who, over his career, has won numerous awards including, Pikihuia Māori Writer of the Year Award in 2015 and 2017, Best Play at the 2014 SWANZ, and New Zealand Magazine Journalist of the Year at the annual Magazine Publisher’s Association Awards in 2008 and 2011. Awarau has also produced various short stories and worked as a TV and film producer. Based in Auckland, NZ, he currently works as a freelance journalist. In terms of short films, Aroha has written and produced two short films, Home, which was funded by the NZ Film Commission’s Fresh Shorts in 2016, and Disrupt, which was funded by Nga Aho Whakaari in 2021. Both films travelled to international film festivals and have won awards including being screened at Imaginative, New Zealand International Film Festival, Puerto Rico, Russia, Berlin, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, New York, and other countries around the world.

Aroha won the Pikihuia Māori Writer’s Award twice for best short film script in 2015 and 2017. 

He will share his experience of how to get that short film idea from your head and onto the page and provide tips of how to structure, write and turn your short film script into an award winning film.

Our monthly Pacific Writers' Room is for any Pacific Islands Writers at any stage of their career (from emerging to experienced) and is availble both in-person and online. Just select if you are attending this event in person or online when confirming tickets. If you cannot make the event in person, please let us know!

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0930 - Doors Open (Light Refreshments provided)

0940 - Prayer & Introductions

0945 - Special Guest Aroha Awarau provides tips of how to structure, write and turn your short film script into an award winning film.

1155 - Closing & Opportunity for further networking.

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What to bring:

Please bring along your own personal devices to write on or your own notebook and pen- whatever your preference is for the Personal Writing session.

PISA Writers' Room was possible with the support of Te Tumu Whakaata Taonga New Zealand Film Commission’s Strategic Training Fund.