Excitement is building for the highly anticipated debut feature film by Ngāti Porou and former Gisborne woman Kath Akuhata-Brown to be released in June.
KŌKĀ- the first feature film to use the original dialect of Ngāti Porou - was written and directed by Akuhata-Brown and stars Ngati Porou actor Hinetu Dell, of Whareponga (near Ruatōria).
The trailer and poster for the movie were revealed this week.
KŌKĀ is described as a powerful relationship drama following Māori elder Hamo (Hinetu Dell) and local delinquent Jo (Darneen Christian), who form an unlikely bond on a road trip in a Ford Falcon.
Together they confront past traumas and face their own demons, and this shared path become a journey of healing, community and reconciliation.
“I wanted to make a film that puts a Māori world view front and centre of the screen,” Akuhata-Brown said.
“It’s a road trip about an elder who feels it’s time to go home, but getting home isn’t going to be easy for her.”
Akuhata-Brown wants audiences to experience KŌKĀ “as a journey of dignity, heart and of mana in the face of a landscape that is constantly shifting”.
Dell, 76, encourages grandparents, elders and grandchildren alike to experience the movie - “Mauria mai o kuia, o kaumatua me o mokopuna kia kite i a KŌKĀ”.
Shot on location across the South Island, through Wellington and the East Cape of the North Island, KŌKĀ is bought to life by female leads Dell (Ngāti Porou, Te Whanau a Apanui) and Darneen Christian (Māori /Pitcairn Islander).
Dell (nee Ngarimu) is from Whareponga but moved to Wellington in 1974. She and husband Kevin Dell settled in his hometown of Invercargill for several decades and had eight children. She returned to Whareponga in 2005.
The movie was funded by the New Zealand Film Commission’s He Pounamu Te Reo Māori Feature Film Fund Initiative and is being be distributed by Studiocanal through Australia and New Zealand.
“Studiocanal are excited to be working with the visionary team behind KŌKĀ – a deeply moving and emotionally charged spiritual journey that explores the importance of intergenerational relationships and how powerful simple acts of kindness can be,” Studiocanal general manager sales and acquisitions Nigel Forsyth said.
“KŌKĀ is a film that will resonate deeply with people across the motu. It is a privilege for our team to bring this film to Aotearoa screens.”
KŌKĀ will be released on June 19, Matariki weekend.
