New Zealand has selected the debut feature film *Mārama* as its official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards. Written and directed by Taratoa Stappard, who affiliates with Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Raukawa, and Ngāti Tūwharetoa iwi, the film has been described as a "Māori gothic love letter" to the country, known in the indigenous language as Aotearoa.

Set in Victorian-era Yorkshire, *Mārama* follows a young Māori woman who is summoned from New Zealand to England, where she uncovers painful truths about her colonial heritage. Stappard said the film was created to reclaim history through a Māori perspective "boldly, unapologetically and on our own terms." She expressed pride in the story’s international reception and the opportunity for it to represent New Zealand on a global platform.

Annie Murray, chief executive of the New Zealand Film Commission, highlighted the film’s cultural grounding and cinematic ambition. She called *Mārama* “fearless filmmaking” that brings a strong Māori viewpoint to the screen with confidence and originality, and said the Commission was proud to select it for the Oscar submission.

*Mārama* premiered last year in the Discovery program at the Toronto International Film Festival and has since been featured at numerous international festivals, including Zurich, Sitges, Chicago, AFI FEST, and Palm Springs. The film has also earned several accolades, including the Official Competition Grand Jury Prize at the Seattle International Film Festival, the Dramatic Feature Award and Audience Choice Feature Award at imagineNATIVE, Best Fantastic Feature Film at the Imagine Film Festival in Amsterdam, and the Audience Award for Best Film at the Abertoir International Horror Festival in Wales.