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Acclaimed musician & composer Arli Liberman presents the theme for the original short film, Washday. The release of the theme arrives as the short film premieres as part of the New Zealand International Film Festival 2021

The music of Washday, a collaboration between Liberman and filmmaker Kath Akuhata-Brown, was intended to contemporise the 1960s period short film. Instead, it lifts the film into the realm of ancient mythology. “The film is set in the early 1960s and our aim was to use the music in a way that an audience today could identify with. But that’s not what happened”, says filmmaker Kath Akuhata-Brown. 

The film is written and directed by Kath Akuhata-Brown and produced by Julian Arahanga and Verity MacKintosh. Washday is a simple story about love, in particular the transformative love of a child for a parent. The film brings together simple rituals of daily life in a small Māori family binding them together with the land, water, air and the constant spiritual presence of their gods and ancestors.

“Arli’s composition combined with the powerful voice of Hamo Dell changes a simple film into a visual oriori (Lullaby)” says filmmaker Kath Akuhata-Brown. 

More info on the short film available HERE.

Liberman’s work on this short film follows on from his acclaimed score for the film Savage, which saw him named as a finalist for the APRA Best Original Music in a Film Award.