Auckland, New Zealand - A young Māori Manawatū-Whanganui filmmaker has taken out the top award at the 2025 New Zealand Youth Film Festival (NZYFF), with the winners announced at a red carpet ceremony in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland last night.

The “Best Overall Film” was awarded to James Kevin Gray, 24, for his documentary Tidy Kiwi. The film takes aim at Aotearoa New Zealand’s “clean, green” image, exposing what really happens to carefully sorted recycling once it leaves office bins - and the gap between the country’s global branding and its on-the-ground reality.

“During my time at university, I worked as a janitor, cleaning eight floors of office buildings in Pōneke city. Every office made a genuine effort to recycle by sorting, cleaning, and separating items with tremendous attention,” James said.

“But the cleaning company had strict instructions: collect all that sorted recycling and dump it with the rest of the waste to save costs. I was disgusted. I felt complicit in undoing the honest efforts of Kiwis who just wanted to do their part for the environment.

“The irony hit me hard. A nation that relentlessly sells its ‘100% Pure’ image to the world, yet there’s still no law requiring cleaning companies to actually follow through on recycling what their clients have sorted and paid for. That experience became my driving inspiration. I decided to recreate the façade of a ‘100% Pure New Zealand’ advertisement using the very recycling I’d collected for over a year. Through this project, I wanted to expose the contradiction between our clean, green image and the reality of the active fabrication that lies behind it.”

James grew up in rural Manawatū-Whanganui and later studied at Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington. Identifying as both Pasifika and Māori, he describes himself as an aspiring, emerging filmmaker who is determined to use storytelling to drive environmental change.

“I really wanted to use the New Zealand Youth Film Festival as a platform to help me raise awareness and meet people who could actually help me make a difference in the conservation of our environment,” he said.

“It’s so tough in Aotearoa. Breaking into filmmaking or the creative world is definitely hard at the start - there’s a lot of competition, and figuring out funding or getting your work seen can feel daunting. But the local industry keeps growing, and there are more festivals, programmes, and chances for fresh voices to be heard. It takes real resilience and a willingness to collaborate, but if you stick with it, there are exciting opportunities out there for young people to make their mark.”

The other category winners are as follows.

Best Acting (Backed By South Pacific Pictures)
Young Burden by Marcus Savelio, Auckland

A 17-year-old caught between adolescence and adulthood spends a night drinking with his mates to escape the pressure of new fatherhood. Young Burden looks at what it means to be forced to “grow up” too soon, and the cost of being pushed away by the people you love while you are still figuring yourself out.

Marcus Savelio is a 21-year-old Samoan-New Zealand filmmaker passionate about stories that explore Pasifika identity and the complexities of youth. “I wrote and directed my

graduation short film ‘Young Burden’, which follows a teenage father navigating responsibility

and redemption,” Marcus said.

Best Cinematography (Backed By Canon)
Haere Mai by Benjamin McQueen, Auckland

After spending three years in prison for the manslaughter of his best friend, a young man is released and knocks on the door of his best friend’s parents, desperate for forgiveness. Haere Mai is an intimate drama about guilt, grief, and whether redemption is possible.

A recent AUT Screen Production graduate, Benjamin first wrote Haere Mai as a short story before adapting it into his final-year film project. He was inspired by real teen car crashes in Aotearoa, including the 2021 Timaru tragedy, and wanted to imagine life from the surviving driver’s perspective. As a new filmmaker facing a competitive industry, he says festivals like NZYFF are vital for recognising emerging work and connecting young creatives with opportunities.

Best Documentary
mhm by Bradley Mutch, Canterbury

mhm offers a fresh perspective on vulnerability in Aotearoa, following young people as they open up about mental health, stigma, and the importance of honest conversations in a world that so often tells us to “toughen up”.

“Mental health has always been close to my heart, and I wanted mhm to feel like a conversation that helps people feel seen and less alone. The title of the film is also the name of the mental health organisation I have which is dedicated to sharing stories and changing what it means to be vulnerable while creating a platform that aims to create safe spaces and reduce the stigma around mental health, particularly in Aotearoa,” Bradley said.

Best Editing (Backed By Blackmagic Design)
Paint it Black by David Harrison, Auckland

Based on a true story, Paint it Black follows amateur actress Hannah Garvey after an encounter with a Hollywood star spirals into allegations, online outrage and a revenge plan that blurs the line between justice, spectacle and truth.

“I was fascinated by how easily stories about abuse in Hollywood can be distorted or buried, so I wanted to make a revenge story that makes you question who controls the narrative,” David said.

Thematic Resonance (Backed By Wellington Boys’ and Girls’ Institute) – Most Impactful Film with Themes of Identity, Belonging and Community
Ito Ang Aking Pinanggagalingan (This Is Where I’m Coming From) by Meggy Laguda, Auckland

After migrating from the Philippines to suburban Aotearoa, 17-year-old Sabina tries to relearn an old dance while grappling with grief for her Lola from across the world. The film traces how movement, memory and family stories become a bridge between the place you come from and the place you now call home.

Meggy Laguda is a Filipina/Kiwi filmmaker passionate about empathetic storytelling, sharing in human experience and paying it forward. “Home has always felt like something floating between Aotearoa and the Philippines for me, and this film became a way to grieve my Lola while honouring where we come from,” Meggy said.

Best Visual Effects (Backed By Wētā FX)
Echoes of the Wild by Shaz Bell, Wellington

Echoes of the Wild follows a boy who escapes the chaos of home by stepping into an otherworldly forest, where luminous creatures and shadowy figures turn his fears into something tangible in a quiet tale of memory and resilience.

“I’ve always been drawn to the quiet, secret worlds we escape into, and I wanted the fantasy in Echoes of the Wild to give shape to feelings I carried as a kid,” Shaz said.

The winning entries are available for viewing here

For information, please visit https://www.nzyff.com