Matasila is a writer/director with a background in anthropology, film, and animation. She is passionate about exploring cultural complexities through storytelling. Matasila’s last NZFC funded short animated film, SHMEAT, was an NZIFF Official Selection for New Zealand’s Best Short Film and appeared in a number of festivals including 2016 Sitges International Fantasy Film Festival and was awarded Best Animation in A Night of Horror Film Festival in Sydney.
“I haven’t had many experiences of seeing myself, family or the people surrounding me, reflected in the media I consume. Vai has been an incredibly formative experience in changing that, by celebrating the diaspora of Pacific identity and telling stories from specific world-views and voices.”
-Matasila Freshwater
