Our Story Our Voice - Film Raro

Developing nations such as the South Pacific's Cook Islands need to learn more about telling their own digital stories to aid social and economic development. To be able to see themselves on screen, hear their own language, preserve heritage, culture and identity, to have a voice in today's overwhelming audio visual digital world.
In the Pacific the standard educational model used to build the capacity of digital story telling has generally been classroom orientated and disconnected from cutting edge technology and the commercial industry as a whole.
A new and innovative way of thinking needed to come about, hence Film Raro was conceived by Cook Island/ Tongan Stan Wolfgramm, the founder of New Zealand award winning media company Drum Productions.
As an accomplished media producer of pacific decent and having worked around the world and through out the pacific over the last 25 years in film and television, Stan brings an indigenous perspective that understands well the needs and resources of pacific people. He also brings as an international producers perspective that can see where pacific people can grow collaboratively with the international film and television industry.
Film Raro hence is a break away from a traditional form of learning in that its capacity-building format has practical, social and economic drivers attached.
Film Raro is a film challenge like no other in the world. Its core objectives are to aid the social and economic development of the Cook Islands through a global strategy of engagement with filmmakers and audiences around the world.
Film Raro produced by Drum Productions is a world first concept in the way that it will link dedicated filmmakers from all over the globe to indigenous peoples as collaborators in the production of eight short films made on location in The Cook Islands - Rarotonga.
The finished films will be show cased to the people of the Cook Island's during a gala public screening and then at film festivals around the world.
The production of a behind the scenes Film Raro documentary series will also be produced for broadcast internationally bringing substantial global exposure to the Cook Islands.
Film Raro creates the opportunity to demonstrate to the worlds film and television industry that the Cook Islands is more than just a beautiful location but that it has the capacity to develop an industry of workers, professionals and service providers able to produce international film and television product.
To assist this development Drum Productions sees unique opportunities in partnering with New Zealand's world leading film and television industry to support Film Raro to build an annual event and a sustainable film industry.
Film Raro is a big idea, this is its first year. Everyone loves it and can see the many returns, some claim it was an idea they already had, others are willing to sit back and wait for the benefits but now's the time to get honest and help out because success is earned and many hands make a community... says Stan Wolfgramm Film Raro Exec Producer.
The first Film Raro event is scheduled for March 2013.
For more information check out our website.
www.filmraro.com