Te Whenua Tupu Ora
Kiriata Screening
Te Whenua Tupu Ora
Sunday 4 February
11 am Te Whenua Tupu Ora (Documentary), Len Lye Centre Cinema, Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Buy Tickets
The KIRIATA MĀORI Showcase is a partnership between the Wairoa Māori Film Festival and the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery in Ngāmotu New Plymouth. Māori, Pasifika and Indigenous moving image art works will be screened over Waitangi weekend 2024 during the Te Hau Whakatonu exhibition.
Curator's Statement: "Heather Randerson's documentary is centered upon the Hokianga and its adjacent Ngāhere - the Kauri forests so threatened by dieback. In this stunning documentary, photographs and video of the Kauri forests are projected upon the dunes of the Hokianga harbour, an art project of the Niniwa Collective. Alongside this feature documentary are two short works, Karen Sidney's documenting the recreation of an ancient woven sail, and Holly Beckham's heartfelt story about overcoming meth addiction."
Screen artists:
Heather Randerson (Te Hikutu)
Karen Sidney (Te Aitanga a Māhaki, Rongowhakaata, Rongomaiwahine) Director IMDB Bio
Holly Beckham (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Rangi)
Heather Randerson (Te Hikutu), Te Whenua Tupu Ora, 2023
PROGRAMME
Te Whenua Tupu Ora
62 min Aotearoa 2023, Director Heather Randerson
A film by the Niniwa Collective.
Documentary about the making of an art project about Kauri Dieback projected onto Niniwa on the Hokianga.
Biography
Ko Te Ramaroa te maunga
Ko Whirinaki te awa
Ko Tuwhatero te rere
Ko Te Hikutu te hapu
Ko Pa te Aroha, Matai Aranui, Moria nga marae
Ko Nga Puhi te Iwi
Kia ora mai tatou te whanau whanui, ko Heather Lindsay Randerson ahau.
No reira, tenei he mihi poto ki a koutou katoa, rau rangatira ma.
Heather Randerson’s return to the ukaipo of Hokianga from Wellington, where she was born, began when she moved to Omapere to live in 1997. This move enabled her to explore her whanau roots and experience being a member of a vital, vibrant community.
Waking to Niniwa in his full glory daily and being witness to the unceasing transformations has inspired the development of her photography practice.
“In the beginning it was about capturing the natural beauty of Hokianga and the world I live with daily - the beauty within the water, the tides, the sky, the clouds, Niniwa, Arai Te Uru, the earth, and the forest. Now, it has become recognising that within that, is the living presence of the tupuna, of the wairua. I live with that all the time, and I no longer seek to capture it to express it, because it is simply there.
“Occasionally I will see something that fires me, that touches me so deeply because it is mystical – that is the wairua, that is the mystery.”
Trailer for the documentary:
Preceded by two short documentaries:
Te Rā
Karen Sidney (6 min)
Te Rā is about the 100 year challenge issued by Māori Anthropologist Te Rangi Hiroa, for Māori to recreate the woven sail now kept at the British Museum. A challenge answered in 2022 by the wahine Māori/Māori women of the weaving group 'Ta Rā roopu ringa raupa'/the calloused hands.
Mana Over Meth
Holly Beckham (10 min) Note: Contains Mature Content
Determined to break the cycle for her tamariki, one wāhine toa turns her troubled life of addiction and trauma around by rediscovering her wairua and reclaiming her mana.
Jessica Apanui’s methamphetamine addiction began as an escape from the trauma of a violent childhood. But after years of chronic abuse, she made the decision to break the cycle for her own tamariki. Now Jess must look deep into her past and embrace the power of Māoritanga to help guide her future.
Holly Beckham (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Rangi), Mana Over Meth