NGĀKAU

NGĀKAU is a poetic film that dives deep into the wananga of the 3 chambers of the heart — whatumanawa, manawa and pumanawa.

Performance poet Michael Moore and filmmaker and taonga pūoro artist Komako-aroha Silver take us on a haerenga into the caves of one’s kare-a-roto with visual poetry from Te kore, Te Po through to Te Ao Marama.

This rich immersion in tikanga, ancestry, the divine and the sublime is beautifully shot in the wilds of Te Henga, with an immersive soundtrack including taonga pūoro.

Moore and Silver’s story embraces the heart, the mind and the soul.

A descendant of Ngāti Maniapoto Iwi, Tainui Waka, Taupiri Maunga and Waikato Awa, Michael Moore is a performance poet and Poutohi for Poutama Rites of Passage based in Whaingaroa.

Michael has performed and hosted workshops across Aotearoa and internationally as a recipient of the Banff Indigenous Writers Residency in Canada and as a feature performance poet in the Red Dirt Festival held in Mpartwe Alice Springs, Australia.

Currently Michael is developing both written and performance poetry collections drawn from pūrākau māori as a means of flooding the world around him in indigenous stories.

Komako-aroha Silver (Nga Puhi, Ingarangi, Ngāti Pākehā) is a filmmaker and tāonga puoro artist based in Waikato.

Michael Moore (left), Komako-aroha Silver (right)

Credits:

Director/Producer & editor: Komako-aroha Silver
Director of Photography: Corbin Patrick Kuhtze
Written and embodied by Michael Moore
Performers: Michael Moore, Asher Moore and Sienna Moore
Soundtrack composed by: Atirau Jensen, Whetu Silver, Komako-aroha Silver, Jeremy Mayall in collaboration with Hine-puu-te-hue.

Commissioned by Going West Writers Festival with the support of Waitākere Ranges Local Board, Auckland Council and Creative New Zealand. Additional support from The Trusts Charitable Foundation, The Trusts, Foundation North and South Pacific Pictures.