Leo Koziol, the founder and long-serving director of the Wairoa Māori Film Festival died at his home in Nūhaka.
His passing was confirmed by his whānau.
A proud uri of Ngāti Kahungunu and Ngāti Rakaipaaka, Leo spent more than two decades creating a platform for Māori and Indigenous stories to be told on their own terms.
Through the Wairoa Māori Film Festival, he transformed Kahungunu Marae in Nūhaka into an internationally recognised gathering place for Indigenous filmmakers, storytellers and audiences, building Aotearoa’s longest-running Indigenous film festival.
Since its launch in 2005, the festival has brought together Indigenous voices from around the world whilst upholding the tikanga and manaakitanga of Te Wairoa and Nūhaka.
Under Leo’s leadership, it became a launching pad for Māori filmmakers and a unique cultural experience for international guests, with films screened on a marae.
The Wairoa Māori Film Festival Trust paid tribute to Leo on social media describing him as the Godfather of Indigenous Cinema.
“Leo was a cheeky yet intelligent and inspiring Māori man who led rangatahi to the forefront of his kaupapa and ensured his vision included his people, land and his whakapapa”
Outiside Te Wairoa, Leo curated Indigenous film programmes in New Zealand and overseas, including the Ngā Whanaunga programme for the New Zealand International Film Festival, helping bring Māori and Pasifika storytelling to wider audiences.
A tireless advocate for Indigenous cinema, Leo was honoured in 2019 with the New Zealand Film Commission’s Te Aupounamu Māori in Screen Excellence Award, recognising his outstanding contribution to Māori filmmaking and the screen industry.
Friends and colleagues remember him as a passionate champion of Indigenous storytelling who believed film could strengthen culture, preserve language and connect Indigenous peoples across the world.
His legacy lives on through the festival he founded, the filmmakers he mentored and inspired, and the stories he helped bring to the screen.
Details of tangihanga and funeral arrangements will be announced by his whānau.
Haere, haere, haere atu rā e te rangatira. Moe mai rā i te rangimārie.
