There are the famous A-List film festivals of Europe - Cannes, Berlin and Venice. Then there's the equally prestigious Sundance Festival of Utah, the champion of smaller, independent films.
Now there's growing interest in "indigenous" films - and, as Simon Morris discovered, a festival surprisingly close to home.
March 15 sees the fourth annual Maoriland Film Festival, showing in the "Los Angeles of the South Pacific", Otaki.
Incidentally, that's not a cheap crack - the original Maoriland Film Company launched itself early last century with that as a by-line! Today's Maoriland Festival is an ambitious attempt to encourage and focus on, not just young Maori talent, but indigenous film-makers around the world.
It's the brain-child of film-maker Libby Hakaraia, and runs from March 15-19.
