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. '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.' / AC
Shrek: Kātahi Te Korokē (TVNZ+)
From this week's New to Streaming: 'Shrek has been dubbed into more than 40 languages, but Shrek: Kātahi Te Korokē marks the first time a DreamWorks Animation title has been adapted into an indigenous language. Hot on the heels of several te reo Māori versions of Disney's beloved animated films, the adaptation is helmed by Tainui Stephens and stars the renowned musician and actor Maaka Pohatu as the titular gruff green ogre and Te Puaheiri Snowden as his wisecracking donkey sidekick. Experience the side-splitting, gross-out fairy tale like never before.' / Thomas Giblin
Secrets Of The Octopus (Disney+)
I loved My Octopus Teacher, but only recently recovered from its predictable but still heartbreaking ending. 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. There's profiles of artists like Francis Hodgkins and Rita Angus, a behind-the-scenes look of a film about the country's 'most controversial murder' and a handful of episodes about architecture. Other than the peep it gives us into the recent past, Kaleidoscope is charming for the way its subjects are somewhat candid and unsullied by a world where everything is content all the time. / Gabi Lardies
Under the Tuscan Sun (Disney+)
It's the season of new beginnings. Under the Tuscan Sun is a must watch for anyone going through a breakup or anyone looking to make changes in their life. Other than the fact we all want to vicariously buy a run-down villa in Italy and do it up, the movie is littered with loveable characters and the Gay and Away tour really sends it home. Uplifting. Lovely. Funny. A movie that could be described as a ray of sunshine. / GL
Long Bright River (ThreeNow)
Everyone is going on about Dept. Q but Long Bright River over on ThreeNow is way better. 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
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Otago Daily Times
5 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Community spirit shines
For the 16th year in a row, Kahu Youth will be igniting the community spirit on Matariki day with performances, traditional food and storytelling. The appearance of the Matariki cluster of stars is a significant event in the Maramataka, marking the Māori New Year. These stars, also called Pleiades, become visible in June. The Maramataka is deeply connected to the environment, particularly the ocean and its tides, as the moon influences them. In 2022 Matariki became an official public holiday in Aotearoa, but Kahu Youth had already taken the lead on the celebration with an event that began in 2010. The Wānaka Matariki celebration had humble beginnings with just a potluck meal and some storytelling. It has since flourished into a local highlight, complete with local kapa haka, Māori storytelling about Matariki from local kaumātua Darren Rewi and a traditional hangi feeding over 600 people. Kahu Youth operations director Anna Sutherland said despite the event growing over time, some things had not changed. "The thing that has stayed the same is that this event has been run by community spirit," she said. For her, the value of the celebration was its ability to bring the Upper Clutha community together and teach local rangatahi about Māori heritage. Ms Sutherland said around 30 young volunteers were involved this year in the making of the event, giving them the opportunity to learn more about Māori history. "It's really inclusive, and it allows everybody to be involved and learn. So, through that it brings diversity and respect for other cultures," Ms Sutherland said. Leading up to the big day, the event has strung together a network of groups eager to contribute such as the local primary and secondary schools, Te Kakano Trust and the Mana Tahuna Trust which provides support for migrant communities in the lakes district. The seven kapa haka groups performing are from across the region, including groups from Wānaka Primary School, Hāwea Kindergarten and Matariki Tupu Hou, an inclusive group of young and adult performers. Chairman of the Mana Tahuna Charitable Trust Darren Rewi will be doing Māori storytelling relevant to the Lakes region. "Because we're surrounded by the mountains, the arrival of Puanga, which is another star, is what the local tribe used to focus on rather than the Matariki constellation because it sits so low," Mr Rewi said. He highlighted the importance this knowledge has for all attendees, especially young people and the immigrant community. The Matariki or Pleiades constellation holds a special place in many indigenous cultures and Mr Rewi believed this presented a unique opportunity to bring together different ethnic groups across the whole region. "What we find is that a fair amount of people that listen to those stories are overseas visitors," he said. "It gives them an understanding of why New Zealand is celebrating Mātariki and why it's worthy of a holiday." As well as enjoying the new year, the event also aims to represent the values of this holiday, which includes honouring the past, celebrating the present and having hope for the future. Despite the growth of this celebration over the years, the event has managed to maintain respect for the environment and uphold the principles of Matariki. "We don't want this event to be commercialised or about stuff," Ms Sutherland said. "It's about people and place." Set to take place at the Dinosaur Park from 2pm, the celebration will also include a weaving workshop, a lakefront bonfire and a community waiata from 5:30pm.
Otago Daily Times
5 hours ago
- Otago Daily Times
Youth involvement increased in honour of Māori Queen
A cosy bonfire set up by the Kahu Youth Team for Matariki. PHOTOS: RAWAN SAADI Young rangatahi were the stars of this year's annual Wānaka Matariki celebration, as hundreds of locals gathered to enjoy the festivities. For the 16th year in a row, Kahu Youth delivered a successful Matariki celebration across Wānaka's lakefront, complete with seven kapa haka groups, a hangi and a beachfront bonfire. The day started at 2pm with performances, while a team from the Mt Aspiring College (MAC) cultural committee helped prepare the hangi at the Wānaka Dinosaur Playground. Local Paul Tamati, who was heavily involved with the organising the hangi, said that year they had involved more young people to honour the Māori Queen, Kuini Nga Wai Hono i te Po. "These are our young people of today coming forward to learn hangi," Mr Tamati said. " ... We see it as a representation of who their new Māori queen represents." The Mt Aspiring College cultural committee (from left) Jacob Fielding, Joseph Combe, Ethan Prince, Isaiah Chin-Nyika, Lucas Parry and Eli McArthur. Joe Miller and Axel MacDougall help prepare the hangi. He added that the Māori Queen had made it clear in her maiden speech that she would represent rangatahi, and Matariki was a perfect opportunity for the Wānaka community to contribute to that sentiment. The hangi was certainly a crowd favourite, as dozens of people lined up to purchase a plate after the group of MAC students helped to prepare the food. The day was also filled with performances from locals of all ages, including the Hāwea Kindergarten, Wānaka Primary School and the community waiata group, Matariki Tupu Hou. Weaving workshops, face painting and a beachfront bonfire also brought people together and were made possible by rangatahi volunteers from Kahu Youth, further involving the town's young people. Kahu Youth youth worker Imogen Smith spoke passionately about the importance of being able to have a big event that showcased Māori heritage for the local community. Community group Matariki Tupu Hou performs a haka. Having grown up in Christchurch, she felt Māori culture in a city could often be more accessible to young people as there were larger populations and therefore more Māori communities, in comparison to small towns where the same heritage could be more sparse. "This event is really important to bring te ao Māori to a small community and creating that accessibility for rangatahi and the community in general," she said. Local kamatua and chairman of the Mana Tahuna Charitable Trust Darren Rewi had come from Queenstown to celebrate with the community and expressed how the performances by young kapa haka groups made the event more special. "The children doing kapa haka always brings people in and it's a relaxing way to celebrate the Māori new year," he said. As the sun set and the star constellations began to appear in the sky, the event's busy activities ended with the community coming together to sing a group waiata.
Scoop
13 hours ago
- Scoop
Kōkā Puts Māori Storytelling, Healing, And Matariki At The Heart Of Its Journey
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." Māori voices at the forefront 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." A spiritual journey of healing and whakapapa 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. A tribute to a life lived and lost 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." Connection through te reo and identity 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." Te reo Māori, whenua, and a nod to Ngāti Porou 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." A tribute to the whenua and wāhine 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. Making space for future storytellers 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.
