Skin to Skin - Stories of Māori Intermarriage

Television (Full Length) – 2009

Director Carol Archie — who wrote Skin to Skin, the book that inspired this documentary — explores the lives of interracial and dual heritage families in Aotearoa. Through personal stories from couples and descendants, Archie brings to light historical, social, political and cultural perspectives that shape their lives. Themes include ancestry, cultural links, cultural tensions, and core value systems. Insights are shared into family dynamics, common struggles and aspirations, while affirming Māori language and cultural identity. Ultimately, these stories reveal resilience, and the bridges people build walking between two worlds.

One of the things we learned with each other was the no go areas, in both our lives. And some things I go to, she just instinctively says, 'I won’t come with you on this occasion'. And, there are some of her Pākehā things that she goes to, that I say “You’re on your own here”. We um, we learned to, to read each other’s communities and know where were the places we could go, and where were the no go places. Which made for a much happier relationship.
– Reverend Hone Kaa [Ngāi Porou, Ngāi Kahungunu] describes his marriage with Jane Kaa