How Kōkā put a Matariki twist on the classic road movie
Alex Casey talks to Kōkā director Kath Akuhata-Brown about crafting an intergenerational road movie like no other.
On a frantic search for a last minute location on the East Cape, Kath Akuhata-Brown (Ngāti Porou) was driving around aimlessly until a silhouette stopped her dead in their tracks – a single towering pōhutakawa tree atop a giant hill the middle of a field. 'We were standing on the road, and we looked at each other and said 'that's what we need'.' She knocked on the door of the nearest property, introduced herself, and started talking about the details of the film she was making. But, as it turns out, the guy who answered the door just had one big question for her.
'He looked at me and goes 'are you Harry's sister?' I said yes and he said 'OK, you can use it'.' As it turns out, Akuhata-Brown's brother had helped out on the farm years ago, and the man was happy to return the favour between whānau – by welcoming a film crew of over 100 people onto his farm with little notice. This is the kind of generosity that Akuhata-Brown loves to tell about the place she was raised. 'I've always wanted people to know how much I loved the land that I grew up on, how much I loved being Ngāti Porou,' she says.
It was that instinct to tell the story of her land that sowed the seed for Kōkā over two decades ago. Following a kuia named Hamo (Hinetu Dell), who picks up a wayward 20-something Jo (Darneen Christian) on her journey up the country, the film is an intergenerational road trip that traverses everywhere from boarded-up small towns to lush green bush to dripping caves. Akuhata-Brown first had the idea at film school in Amsterdam in 2003, but says life and work got in the way. 'Kōkā was always on the back burner though, always waiting,' she laughs.
Exploring the experience of different generations of wahine was always at the heart of Kōkā, Akuhata-Brown explains. 'We are very much a matrilineal community and society, so it just made sense.' She met Hinetu Dell on another film set, and knew immediately she was her Hamo (it also helped, in classic Aotearoa fashion, that Dell's mother had been Akuhata-Brown's childhood kapa haka teacher). Darneen Christian was a new mum when she was cast, and the production provided a 'korowai of support' in her own trailer and an onset nanny.
It was also essential to Akuhata-Brown that Kōkā's story unfurls on the road, bringing to mind other New Zealand road movies like Goodbye Pork Pie and the upcoming Holy Days. 'I think the road movie genre shows a deeper connection to the land,' she says. 'I wanted the journey to tap into the collective desire we have in Aotearoa for finding those connections between each other, and protecting our land.' It also taps into another shared truth about New Zealanders: 'we are all travellers, for goodness sake – to go anywhere around here you have to fly for 20 hours.'
Kōkā began filming in Pōneke, then travelled everywhere from Harihari to Blenheim, Picton to East Cape, to Lane Street studios in Upper Hutt. 'Moving an entire unit across the country was epic, but there was no room for anyone to forget their schedules,' says Akuhata-Brown. Being on location and in the elements also came with its fair share of challenges: 'on the second day of filming, it absolutely persisted down with rain. Everybody's cellphones got drenched and died, all the technology was in trouble because of all the water coming in.'
Despite all the hurdles that have arisen over the two decades Kōkā has been taking shape, Akuhata-Brown says the timing has worked out perfectly – the film is released today around the country, right in time for Matariki. 'This is a cosmic journey as well as a physical journey. Our actors are moving across the landscape under the gaze of Matariki and let's just say Matariki has a very significant moment in the film.'
Akuhata-Brown also hopes that Kōkā allows people to reflect on the current political environment in Aotearoa, and the importance of celebrating te ao Māori. 'We'll give value to our language and our rangatahi and our elders. I hope people who come to the film walk away having had an experience but also understanding the value of specificity and the value of being Māori,' she says. 'No one wants to be told anything anymore. But if you take people on an emotional journey, they might just come out the other side thinking differently.'
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RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Kōkā puts Māori storytelling, healing, and Matariki at the heart of its journey
Kōkā, directed by Kath Akuhata-Brown (Ngāti Porou), follows the journey of two wāhine - a kuia named Hamo (Hinetu Dell) and a troubled young woman, Jo (Darneen Christian)- who form an 'unlikely' bond on a road trip across Aotearoa. Photo: Kirsty Griffin A new feature film weaving together Māori storytelling, intergenerational healing, and the significance of Matariki has hit the big screens today, offering Aotearoa a moving experience grounded in te ao Māori. Kōkā , directed by Kath Akuhata-Brown (Ngāti Porou), follows the journey of two wāhine - a kuia named Hamo and a troubled young woman, Jo - who form an unlikely bond on a road trip across Aotearoa. Described by Akuhata-Brown as "a road movie, but a journey that is both physical and metaphysical", the film platforms both mātauranga Māori and the Ngāti Porou dialect. "I genuinely wanted to create something that showed the world how beautiful being Māori is to me," Akuhata-Brown said. Akuhata-Brown first wrote Kōkā nearly 20 years ago but said now was the perfect time to share it. "I wanted the world to understand that our existence is so deeply connected to our land and our tīpuna. This doesn't make us a people who live in the past, but a vibrant, connected nation." The film's release coincides with Matariki, a season of remembrance, renewal, and wānanga. It's also a time that brought Akuhata-Brown closer to mātauranga Māori, she said. "It wasn't until making the film that I started understanding Matariki's significance to me personally. "My dad lived by Matariki principles... it was just his way of life. It was all he knew. Everything was alive: pounamu, the stars, the whenua, the awa - all of it was a living entity. "That's why it became important to me. I started understanding that more during the process of making Kōkā ." Kath Akuhata-Brown (Ngāti Porou), wrote Kōkā nearly 20 years ago, but said now was the perfect time to share it. Photo: Supplied Kōkā stood in deliberate contrast to earlier portrayals of Māori in films like Once Were Warriors , Akuhata-Brown said. Released in 1994 and directed by Lee Tamahori, Once Were Warriors follows an urban Māori whānau living in South Auckland and their problems with poverty, domestic violence, and alcoholism, caused by intergenerational trauma, racism, and systemic land loss. "The intention was to bring elements of healing into the work, to ensure that when people come away from it, they're not traumatised. Because I am so sick of traumatising films," Akuhata-Brown said. She said the current political climate made it more important than ever to share Māori stories. "I think if you look through history, the greatest storytellers emerge in the darkest periods. Not just in te ao Māori, but across the world. "Artists are the soul of the nation. And our souls need some help right now." Hinetu Dell (Ngāti Porou), plays the lead character Hamo in Kōkā, she said it was "humbling" to be part of a kaupapa that uplifted her people. Photo: Kirsty Griffin Hinetu Dell (Ngāti Porou), who plays the character Hamo, said it was "humbling" to be part of a kaupapa that uplifted her people. "It's really important for those who live in isolated areas or isolated spaces to see their kind on the screen. It's something they can aspire to and achieve." She said stepping into the role of Hamo, a kuia deeply rooted in tikanga and whakapapa, felt natural. "A lot of the experiences that Hamo was going through, I had already experienced in my own life. I was very comfortable with the Māori protocols." Kōkā also explored intergenerational trauma and how the restoration of mauri begins through service, connection, and care. "Hamo serves this girl by doing all the work, catching the kai that's important to young women. Hamo does karakia, and during that whole process, Jo, who has come into this place bruised and battered, is healed," Dell said. Jo's character was inspired by a real person Akuhata-Brown once met, a young Māori man who had been institutionalised, released into the community, and left to "survive on his own". "He lived under the Grafton Bridge and used to read the newspaper to see who had passed away, then turn up to their tangi," she said. "He had no filters, it was quite full on. People were nervous around him. I thought to myself, he's not long for this world. Three years later, his body was found in a ditch." Akuhata-Brown said she couldn't stop thinking about him. "My Jo in the film is that Joe. It's to honour him and his life when no one else did." She said the character served as a reminder of the realities some Māori still face. "All I know is that someone's life has been given that's the truth." Darneen Christian (Tūhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Pitcairn Island), plays Jo, the disconnected and troubled kōtiro in Kōkā. Photo: Damien Nikora / graded and delivered by Kirsty Griffin Darneen Christian (Tūhoe, Ngāti Kahungunu, Pitcairn Island), who plays Jo, said the production was both challenging and rewarding. "I love that it's touching people who don't know their whakapapa and their culture. It's touching a lot of things people are starting to finally be passionate about and trying to work on." Like her character, Christian said she had been distant from her Māori whakapapa. But being on set helped her reconnect. "I teared up at one of our rehearsals and said I can't communicate with you in the language. Everyone was so supportive, I realised I wasn't going to be looked down on." The film's alignment with Matariki made the experience more meaningful. "It's a time to release and start again... to leave what has happened behind and welcome what's new." Dell said the journey of understanding Matariki had also evolved for her. "Matariki is a word that's very familiar to me in terms of haka and waiata," Dell said. "Prior to that, we didn't really understand what Matariki really meant until today. The research in terms of Matariki has been instrumental in developing us as a people to go forward." Actor Te Kohe Tuhaka (Ngāti Porou, Tūhoe), pictured on the right, plays Marcus in the film, a police officer who acts as a protector to Hamo. Photo: Supplied Kōkā was the first feature film to be shot predominantly in the Ngāti Porou dialect. The dialogue was developed with local kaumātua, language experts, and Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Porou. Akuhata-Brown said the language spanned generations, from modern-day reo to expressions once used by Māori Battalion soldiers. "The language of women is different to the language of men and there's even a Ngāti Porou language of love," she said. "It's a full range of te reo and it was incredibly important to the filmmaking team that the language create a tapestry of beauty and gorgeousness. I haven't dared touch it." Actor Te Kohe Tuhaka (Ngāti Porou, Tūhoe), known widely in Aotearoa for his role in The Dead Lands , plays Marcus in the film, a police officer who acts as a protector to Hamo. He said Kōkā' s use of reo is empowering but "normal." "I grew up in a period where I just thought everybody spoke te reo Māori, and English was second, everybody's second language. Which is not the case. Case in point to the current government. "Everything about te ao Māori is a very normalised thing in my life. That is not to say that I am an expert in any of it. I just know what I know, and I've grown how I've grown." Tuhaka said an important part of the film is exploring the universal challenges Māori still face today. "We touch on poverty, we touch on low socio-economic spaces, we touch on the role of the police in the community, we look at the journey of Māori returning back to their maunga, their awa, our versions of manaakitanga. "The landscape is another massive character and touchstone for us in Kōkā ." He said all of these practices and kaupapa exist now. "To be able to shine a bit of Matariki light, me Puanga, ki runga i ēnei tū āhuatanga, it feels fitting as we head towards our release in Matariki weekend." Kōkā follows a healing journey of two wāhine - a kuia named Hamo and a troubled young woman, Jo - who form an 'unlikely' bond on a road trip across Aotearoa. Photo: Supplied / Kōkā trailer Filming took place across Te Wai Pounamu, Te Whanganui-a-Tara, and the East Cape - but it was Akuhata-Brown's awa and maunga that anchored the story. "It couldn't be told anywhere else," she said. The title Kōkā is specific to Ngāti Porou and is a shortened form of Waiapu Kōkā Huhua, referring to the ancestral Waiapu River. It can be translated to "matriarch" or "mother of us all". "It reflects all those female aspects - not just one," Akuhata-Brown said. "Along the Waiapu riverbanks are marae often led by chiefly women, nurturing all the people who live there." "The river's flow mirrors the story structure, with all rivers joining the central character Hamo on her journey out to sea," she said. Akuhata-Brown says the time is "now" for more Māori storytelling. Photo: Supplied All of the film's actors offered words of encouragement to rangatahi, wāhine, and Māori wanting to enter the film industry. Tuhaka said it was important for aspiring creatives to understand their purpose. "You have to really know why. Why this industry? Why this craft?" he said. "We're lucky here in Aotearoa that it's not foreign to dabble in a whole raft of things, in front of the camera, behind the camera. But it's about understanding the 'why' because you'll get more noes than yeses, and the why is what gets you through the no's and lets you really celebrate the yeses," Tuhaka said. "Kia kaha, kia māia, kia manawanui. "If this is something you want, go for it. Make mistakes, stand up, and carry on," Dell said. Christian said the time was right for more Māori voices in film. "This is the time. The pot's boiling for the right time to start jumping in." Kōkā premieres across Aotearoa this Matariki, Friday, 20 June.
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Kōkā: Spiritual road-trip movie hits some potholes
Hinetu Dell and Darneen Christian: On a cultural journey. Photo / Supplied Kōkā, directed by Kath Akuhata-Brown, is in cinemas now. Released in time for Matariki, Kōkā is the tale of Jo, a young wahine Māori whose life is going off the rails, and Hamo, the kuia whose history drives her to help the girl get back on track. The predominantly
The Spinoff
2 days ago
- The Spinoff
What to watch over the long Matariki weekend
The Spinoff writers on what you should pop on your watchlist ahead of the long weekend. Matariki mā Puanga 2025 (Whakaata Māori, TVNZ+) Cosy up with a cuppa and a warm blanket to watch the Matariki celebrations beamed straight into your living room from 5.45am Friday, June 20. The mammoth five hour broadcast begins at dawn with a traditional hautapu ceremony at Tirorangi Marae in Ohakune, with hosts Stacey Morrison (Te Arawa, Ngāi Tahu) and Mātai Smith (Rongowhakaata, Ngāi Tāmanuhiri) inviting everyone across Aotearoa to explore the old traditions of Matariki – and create some new ones of their own. / Alex Casey Land of the Long White Cloud (TVNZ+) If you need an injection of Northland sand, surf and sun over the chilly weekend, not to mention some much-needed crack-up yarns, I highly recommend Florian Habicht's 2009 documentary Land of the Long White Cloud. Centred around the annual Snapper Classic fishing contest on Ninety Mile Beach, Habicht meets the competitors vying for the whopper $50,000 prize. But this is so much more than a documentary about a fishing contest – the sometimes staggering and frequently charming musings on love, life and death will have you falling hook, line and sinker. Habicht's equally excellent Kaikohe Demolition is also available on TVNZ+ for Matariki, plus there's an open air screening of James and Isey happening tonight in Kawakawa, and a couple of sessions in select Auckland cinemas over the weekend. / AC Runt (Neon) We stumbled across this charming and quirky Australian film last weekend, and had a delightful time watching it. Based on a book by Craig Silvey, Runt follows the lively adventures of 10-year-old Annie, who adopts a stray dog and enters him in an agility competition in the hope that the prize money will save their farm from drought and ruin. The trouble is, however, that Runt the dog gets stage fright when anyone other than Annie looks at him. With an impressive cast that includes Celeste Barber, Jai Courtney, Jack Thompson, Deborah Mailman and Matt Day, Runt is funny, heart-warming and full of sweet surprises. A wee gem for all the family. / Tara Ward Kōkā (in cinemas) Following a kuia named Hamo (Hinetu Dell), who picks up a wayward 20-something Jo (Darneen Christian) on her journey up the country, Kōkā follows a meditative and intergenerational road trip that traverses everywhere from boarded-up small towns to lush green bush to dripping caves. Director Kath Ahukata-Brown told The Spinoff that the film was 20 years in the making, and is an ode to her land and her people. 'I think the road movie genre shows a deeper connection to the land,' she says. 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This series is completely mesmerising – it takes you under the sea all over the world to meet a cast of octopus who are shapeshifters, social networkers and masterminds (the three episode titles). One of the top searches related to the show is 'Is Secrets Of The Octopus real footage?' It is and it's otherworldly, like a high-def trip to outer space but you're in the ocean. The series strikes a nice balance between informative Paul Rudd narration, storytelling by scientists, and just letting you watch these cool creatures doing their thing. I felt compelled to take up snorkelling immediately, and had buzzy dreams afterwards. / Liv Sisson Kaleidoscope (NZ on Screen) If you want to see a few glimpses of good old Aotearoa in the 70s and 80s, look no further than this collection of eccentric little 90-minute documentaries. The title is fitting: all that holds it together is the 'arts' – all of them. 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If you want a crime series written well and without unnecessary subplots and a predictable ending, then go for this excellent (if not pretty grim) series about a cop in Philadelphia who is struggling to cope with her sister's disappearance amid a spate of deaths. Amanda Seyfried is superb as troubled, solo mum who is sure that the deaths have more to do with murder than opioid overdoses. Well written, well acted, and nicely contained in a limited series. / Claire Mabey Code of Silence (TVNZ+) I've been on a crime binge recently (see above) and Code of Silence is one of the best I've watched. It stars Rose Ayling-Ellis who plays a Deaf woman recruited by the police to be a forensic lip reader. Ayling-Ellis (Deaf since birth) is absolutely riveting and the storyline is brilliant. For those after a good, solid crime story you can't get much better than this. / Claire Mabey
