Mārama Selected as New Zealand’s Official Submission for the 99th Oscars
Mārama, the debut feature from Māori writer-director Taratoa Stappard (Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Tūwharetoa), has been selected as New Zealand’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 99th Academy Awards.
Set in 1859 in Victorian-era Yorkshire, the Māori gothic horror follows a young Māori woman who travels to England under mysterious circumstances and discovers the devastating truth about her family’s colonial history. The film explores themes of identity, colonisation and cultural reclamation through Māori storytelling traditions.
The film stars Ariāna Osborne, Toby Stephens and Umi Myers, with Stappard both writing and directing. Producers include Sharlene George, RickyLee Waipuka-Russell and Rouzie Hassanova. The creative team also includes cinematographer Gin Loane, editor Dan Kircher, production designer Nick Williams and costume designer Sarah Voon.
Mārama made its world premiere in the Discovery programme at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival and has since screened at numerous international festivals, including Zurich, Sitges, Chicago, AFI FEST and Palm Springs.
The film has also collected several major awards, including the Grand Jury Prize at the Seattle International Film Festival, two awards at imagineNATIVE, Best Fantastic Feature Film at Amsterdam’s Imagine Film Festival and the Audience Award at Wales’ Abertoir International Horror Festival.
Speaking about the Oscar submission, Stappard described Mārama as his Māori gothic love letter to the land, ancestors and stories of Aotearoa.
I made this film to reclaim our history through a Māori lens: boldly, unapologetically and on our own terms.
New Zealand Film Commission Chief Executive Annie Murray welcomed the selection, praising the film’s cultural grounding, ambition and distinctive Māori perspective.
Mārama is fearless filmmaking: culturally grounded, cinematically ambitious and unmistakably from Aotearoa. Taratoa has brought a powerful Māori perspective to the screen with confidence and originality. We are immensely proud to select Mārama as New Zealand’s Official Submission for Best International Feature Film for the 99th Oscars®
The selection marks another significant achievement for Stappard’s debut feature, which has continued to attract international attention since its Toronto premiere.
Mārama will now represent Aotearoa New Zealand in the submission process for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards.
Read the full announcement from the New Zealand Film Commission HERE
