A friendly reminder that your best intentions of promoting a New Zealand-made film are not actually supporting the artists behind it.

For many of us, documenting our day or sharing highlights of our week is a common occurrence on social media. For some, that meant uploading full scenes onto TikTok of the recently released bilingual (Tongan and English) film Red, White and Brass because that was what they got up to over the weekend.

I get it… I recently went to the premiere in Auckland and got māfana* watching people from my community on screen, which was unheard of 10-15 years ago. I got māfana because I went to primary school with one of the main cast members and it was amazing to see how far he has come.

And as tempting as it was to document this moment for the Tongan community by recording a quick snippet of the movie, co-writer and producer Halaifonua Finau asked us all at the end of the premiere to not record scenes and post it onto social media as he’d like for everyone to head to the cinemas to watch Red, White & Brass rather than watch it in bits and pieces on Instagram.

Unfortunately, since the film’s release, there have been many TikTok videos, some as long as seven minutes, being shared of the film, which has prompted Finau to front the film’s social media account over the weekend and ask for everyone to not record scenes and upload the content online.

“I know you love the film and you’re just māfana and you want to share it with everyone to get them behind the film, but we want people to experience that māfana themselves in the cinemas,” he said.

There are many ways to be māfana and post content about Red, White & Brass on social media without being the spoiler alert person.

Take a photo with or without the movie poster at the cinema, a boomerang with your movie ticket or, if you’re fortunate enough, a selfie with the cast as they’ve been travelling around Auckland the past couple of days doing meet and greets.

If you’re in māfana overload, add a mini review of the film along with these photo ideas to encourage your following to go watch. You would be doing the creators, cast, supporting actors and all who were involved in the film a massive favour.

At the end of the day, the movie industry is a business and the people in charge decide what movies to make based on what does well at the box office, so vote with your dollars and let them know what you’d like to see more of.

If you like a particular actor, actress, or director, then going to the cinemas is a great way to show your support. Film production companies look at the performance of artists and their work and if their latest movie does well in the box office, it’s more likely you’ll see more of your favourite actress’s works in the near future.

So, please… put your phone down when you’re in the cinemas, enjoy the spectacle and appreciate the art of film without trying to make one yourself.

*māfana means warmth, to feel overwhelmed with a warm heart or to have warm energy towards either someone you love and appreciate or a happy event.

This is Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ On Air.