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Loading Docs 2020 - Te Wao Nui

2020 9m Web
  • Māori
  • Te Reo
  • Documentary

This evocative short film follows Northland kaumatua Tohe Ashby, as he uses mātauranga Māori (traditional Māori knowledge) as a cure for kauri dieback disease. Ashby — alongside fellow spiritual practitioners Fred Tito, Hori Parata and Te Ariki Manihera Henderson — administers a traditional whale ointment to the trunks of ailing Kauri, referencing an ancient relationship that the tree enjoyed with its relative the whale. Made in te reo Māori with subtitles, the documentary marks the debut of Whangārei director Ngāriki Ngatae, who approached the making of the film carefully because of the spirituality of the rongoā (medicine). 

 

Loading Docs 2020 - Te Wao Nui | NZ On Screen