Trailer Unveiled For 'Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua - Two Worlds'

The first glimpse of Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua - Two Worlds has been released, ahead of the local documentary’s nationwide cinema release on May 1, 2025. Directed by Ursula Grace-Williams (Zealandia, Still Here, The King), the film is an intimate four-year portrait of performer Marlon Williams as he writes and records his first te reo Māori language album Te Whare Tīwekaweka (out 4 April, 2025).

Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua - Two Worlds gives audiences a behind the scenes glimpse at Williams’ most ambitious project to date, writing an album in te reo Māori, and the personal challenges he faces along the way. The film weaves together Williams’ different worlds, from international tours and recording the album, to life in his hometown of Ōhinehou (Lyttleton). The film captures poignant moments, like travelling with his dad to his marae in Tōrere for the first time in decades.

Williams says he was initially nervous about the journey of being captured on film: “There were definitely periods of reckoning, but the trust grew and grew as we moved forward. Ursula has an incredible creative eye for storytelling. I had faith that she would be able to tell the story in a nuanced way.”

Director Grace-Williams says she’s looking forward to premiering the film to audiences: “Marlon has such an infectious energy that’s fun to be around. He’s thoughtful, but also very silly, funny and charismatic. I think audiences will enjoy learning more about this side of him.”

Whilst she doesn’t whakapapa Māori, Grace-Williams’ Samoan lineage meant she knows what it’s like to lose an ancestral language and everything that goes with it. This gave her a strong motivation to follow Williams’ journey: “I knew he would be making something very special that needed to be documented as an historical moment.”

Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua - Two Worlds gives audiences an insight into the strong connections and friendships in Williams’ life, including his album collaborator and rapper KOMMI, his whānau and his long time band mates, The Yarra Benders. The film also shows the close bond and working relationship between Williams and New Zealand pop star Ella Yelich-Connor (Lorde).

Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua - Two Worlds is produced by Alexander Behse (Poi E: The Story of a Song, Kim Dotcom: Caught in the Web, Ever the Land). Associate producers are Alastair Burns, Ursula Grace-Wiliams, Marlon Williams, James Borrowdale and John Harris. Production companies are Monsoon Pictures International /Revival Pictures Production. Madman Entertainment is the distributor for New Zealand and Australia. The film was financed in partnership with the New Zealand Film Commission, NZ ON AIR and Te Māngai Pāho, with additional support from the Screen Canterbury NZ Production grant.

Marlon Williams biography

Connection lies at the heart of Te Whare Tīwekaweka, Marlon Williams 4th studio album and first written entirely in Te Reo Māori. The album’s five-year process reconnected Marlon to family, friends and his home town of Lyttelton after a globe-trotting decade establishing his career.

That career has seen Marlon release three studio albums with Dead Oceans, win six New Zealand Music Awards and an APRA Silver Scroll Award, sell out headline shows around the world, collaborate with the likes of Florence & The Machine, Yo-Yo Ma and Courtney Barnett, tour with Bruce Springsteen and Eagles, and grace stages at the Newport Folk Festival and Austin City Limits, as well as the screens of Later with Jools Holland, Conan and NPR's Tiny Desk. He has even found time to build a nascent acting career, including roles in television series Sweet Tooth and The Beautiful Lie, films Bad Behaviour and True History of the Kelly Gang, and the Oscar-nominated A Star Is Born.

That sense of home-coming is expressed on the cover art by Marlon’s mum, artist Jennifer Rendall, drawn when she was pregnant with the future singer and which eerily resembles an adult Marlon. The album also signifies another step in Marlon’s journey with his ancestral tongue, his ability in the language developing as the songs accumulated in the hours spent with close friend and co-writer, rapper KOMMI.

The language unlocked both a newfound lyrical honesty and a grand sonic vision. Supported by long-time touring band The Yarra Benders, co-producer Mark Perkins (Te Whānau-ā-Apanui), the He Waka Kōtuia singers and featuring a collaboration with pop star Lorde, the album traverses Marlon’s familiar folk-country-bluegrass territory, while continuing his exploration of poppier waters and the inherent rhythms of Māori music. The result is a collection at once contemporary and timeless.

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