He Oranga He Oranga - Healing Journeys

This feature-length documentary introduces 11 Kiwi cancer survivors. Their differing approaches to dealing with the illness have a recurring theme — the power of the mind. The interviewees share their experiences of alternate medications and treatments that they found helpful. These include meditation, Chinese and herbal medicines, organic food diets, naturopathy, and shifting mindsets. Spirituality also plays a huge role for some of the interviewees. Morehu Te Maro says "It's a spiritual strength you need to grab hold of. Because in a lot of cases that's all you need, that's all you got left." 

...life is all about perception: how people perceive you, and how you perceive the world. People look at you for two seconds — they think about you no further than that. They might say "Oh, she looks funny with that hair!" and that's it. They don't even think about you again that day. So, you've just gotta get over yourself, really.

– June Grant on losing her hair from chemotherapy, early in this documentary

Key Cast & Crew

John Chrisstoffels

Cinematographer

Aroha Yates-Smith

Composer of Waiata

Ian McDonald

Musical Arrangements

Peter Young

Cinematographer

Kathleen Gallagher

Director, Producer

Therese Gallagher-Power

Editorial Advisor