Māori Television Documentary Catches up with Whānau

Māori Television Documentary Catches up with Whānau

In the year 2000, four children were welcomed into four families who shared their dreams, fears and hopes for their babies in WHĀNAU, a special documentary project that set out to get a glimpse of what it means to be Māori in the new millennium.

Now in WHĀNAU 2014, which screens at 9.30pm on Monday, October 13 on Māori Television, we meet these children again as they embark on the next stage in their lives.

The early parts of their lives – from pregnancy and birth to pre-school – were traced in WHĀNAU, which screened on TV3 in 2001 and won Best Māori Programme at the 2002 New Zealand Television awards.

WHĀNAU 2007 provided an update of the busy lives of four very diverse whānau. It screened on Māori Television in 2008.

Producer/director Kay Ellmers, from Tumanako Productions, says the project explores whether, 100 years on from being declared on ‘the brink of extinction’, Māori would step out from the shadow of colonisation.

“It was clear that the babies of 2000 were being born into a very different social climate than their ancestors a century earlier.”

Ellmers says a project of this nature requires an extraordinary commitment from the participants.

“It’s a huge honour as a documentary maker to be welcomed into their lives and shown this level of trust.

WHĀNAU 2014 catches up with the children - KaHana Ngawati, Koare Hudson, Pianika Ormsby and Uenukukopako Angus – and their families to find out what has happened since we last saw them.

Building a true portrait of their lives, they share their thoughts on their education, their whānau and iwi connections; their interests and hobbies; their hopes and expectations for the future and what it means to them to be Māori.

Some have known the highs of success, the stress of unemployment or the excitement of new opportunities.

All have known the ups and downs of family life. Some have welcomed new family members, and others have said farewell.

Through it all, how have the four children developed and how are they now navigating their early teenage years?

Tune in to Māori Television at 9.30pm on October 13 to find out in WHĀNAU 2014.

ENDS

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