Te Whiringa Taura o Whanganui

Tā moko artist and kapa haka teacher Sacha Te Utupoto Keating travels the Whanganui River, on a journey to discover his whakapapa. Director Howard Taylor follows Sacha's story and the histories of the awa. He weaves oral histories, reconstructions, archival footage, and lush images into a story of people, place, and the ongoing battle for tino rangatiratanga over the river. "Taylor's investigation of the mythical, historical, ecological and spiritual aspects of the Whanganui River is deeply moving." wrote Grant Smithies in The Sunday Star-Times. "You're left entertained, enlightened and politicised."

I usually run a mile from docos containing too many historical "dramatisations" . . . But writer/director Howard Taylor's investigation of the mythical, historical, ecological and spiritual aspects of the Whanganui River is deeply moving . . .  You're left entertained, enlightened and politicised.

– Grant Smithies reviewing this documentary in The Sunday Star-Times

Key Cast & Crew

Sean O'Donnell

Camera Operator

Howard Taylor

Writer, Editor, Producer, Camera Operator, Director

Parata Reweti

Narrator

David Paul

Camera Operator

Sacha Te Utupoto Keating

Composer, Presenter

Anne Keating

Producer