Day One Shorts Premiere - Show Me Shorts Film Festival

Show Me Shorts is proud to present the world premiere of this collection of new short films, funded and supported by Day One Hāpai te Haeata. The shorts are made by talented young filmmakers who are interested in exploring stories about cultural, social and political issues. They are boldly taking story risks, pushing the envelope, and looking to the future.

Run Time: 95 min
Rating: TBC
Proudly in partnership with: Day One Hāpai te Haeata

• O Alofa Nei, O Alofa Nā (Love Me, Love You)

Romance, 9m, New Zealand

Manaia, a young woman caught between expectation and self-acceptance, finds herself confronting her repressed sexuality when a chance reunion with her first love stirs old feelings.

Dir/Writ: Giselle Ilaoa, Prod: Carrisse Uta'i

• Ata Pūao

Drama, 14m, New Zealand

Amid the nightlife of a new city, a young Māori trans woman reckons with safety, isolation, and the fragile bonds of old friendships outgrown — as the promise of belonging rises just beyond the horizon.

Dir/Writ: Allie Howell, Writ: Pūmanawa Rawiri, Prod: Angel Kameta

• Fearlessli

Documentary, 10m, New Zealand

After her gender identity was denied in her homeland, Lee Li, a transgender asylum seeker, embarks on a journey toward belonging, freedom, and self-empowerment.

Dir/Writ: Lee Li, Prod: Tyler Redmond

• Maysa

Drama, 12m, New Zealand

A quiet visit forces Maysa and her stoic Iraqi mother to confront what’s long been left unspoken.

Dir/Writ: Roxie Mohebbi, Prod: Betty Scott Molloy

• Frozen - My Eggs and Me

Documentary, 13m, New Zealand

Single and approaching a mid-thirties birthday, Shamin, a first generation New Zealander, confronts the question she's long been avoiding: should she freeze her eggs?

Dir/Writ/Prod: Shamin Yazdani, Prod: Sam Wilton

• Gloss Finish

Documentary, 13m, New Zealand

Gabi wants to take a dance class, but is too haunted by her excessively sweaty hands, so she sets out to find a clammy dance partner who shares in her glistening plight.

Dir/Writ: Gabi Maffey, Prod: Matilda Boese-Wong

• monster & me

Fantasy, 8m, New Zealand

Motmot lives a monotonous life until one day he meets an unknown creature, a human boy.

Dir/Writ: Tom Field, Writ/Prod: Elora Battah

• Devil in the Gat

Horror, 12m, New Zealand

Desperate for his big break, an aspiring musician discovers a forgotten country singer at a nightclub who may hold the key to his dreams—but the answers come with a dark price.

Dir/Writ: Taniora Heketanga Ormsby, Prod: Te Kohe Tuhaka