The film that touches you: "The Haka Party Incident"
curated by Bridge Film Festival and Diplomart
This year, Bridge Film Festival and Diplomart will collaborate with Tocatì for two evenings of open-air cinema dedicated to screening or medium-length films, documentaries, animated or experimental short films, with the aim of enhancing the themes and protagonists of the festival by promoting a contemporary reflection on the concept of Cultural Heritage. The event will be held at the Batteria Carlo Scarpa, located in San Nazaro 52 street, Verona, in the heart of the Veronetta district. The choice of this space represents a meeting point between historical memory, architecture and community, and perfectly embodies the spirit of the Third Space, the central theme of the first evening.
Friday will be dedicated to Tocatì’s 2025 host country: New Zealand, with a special focus on Māori culture. In collaboration with the Maoriland Film Festival – the most important indigenous film festival in the Pacific region – we will propose a selection of short and feature films capable of bringing us closer to an authentic and identifying vision of this extraordinary cultural heritage. A precious opportunity to get to know stories, values and imaginaries up close that often remain far from the mainstream cinema circuit.
The film shown will be “The Haka Party Incident” (directed by Katie Wolfe, 2024), a powerful and theatrical work that reconstructs a real event that happened in Auckland in 1979: the confrontation between a group of New Zealand university students, who mocked the haka Māori, and members of the activist movement Ngā Tamatoa. The film reflects on identity, resistance and cultural appropriation.
“The Haka Party Incident” powerfully restores the complexity of race and cultural relations in New Zealand, offering a current reflection on the dignity and power of Māori heritage.
Free entry subject to availability, reservations are recommended. Event expected even in case of bad weather.
