Marama

Official Selection, 2025 Toronto International Film Festival
Official Selection, 2025 Hawai’i International Film Festival

A letter and a one-way ticket from a mysterious Englishman lead young Maori woman Mary Stevens from New Zealand to North Yorkshire. Growing up an orphan, she hopes the trip will give her clues about her lineage. A dead end leads to an unexpected and curious opportunity to work as a governess in a house full of dark corridors and secrets. It’s led by Sir Nathaniel Cole, a former South Seas whaler with an unhealthy love for all things Maori.

A 19th century gothic ghost film with a taste for blood and anti-colonial retribution, MARAMA is a searing directorial debut, summoning Maori ancestors and painting the screen with lavish, visceral images of resistance and haunting.