About
This documentary accompanies author Witi Ihimaera on a journey with his "townie" daughters to his marae in Waituhi on the East Coast, ahead of the publication of third novel The Matriarch. Ihimaera describes his writing as a type of "tangi to a people and to a life" he experienced growing up around Waituhi in the 1950s — a way of life symbolised by the tears of the toroa (albatross) said to be held deep in greenstone. Jim Moriarty is among those reading from Ihimaera's works. The film is directed by Peter Coates, from Inspiration, his series on New Zealand artists.
