Hiona Henare

Kahu is the last man standing in a world devastated by dis-ease.

A short doco exploring the Māori passion for cinema against the backdrop of the annual Wairoa Māori Film Festival.

A beautifully lyrical and intimate documentary following the ceremony of two women receiving their traditional moko kauae (chin tattoo). For Maori women receiving their traditional moko kauae, they are visually asserting their birthright and identity while celebrating the mana (spiritual power) of their whakapapa (ancestry). In Maori tradition, the head is considered the most tapu (sacred) part of the human body making the practice of moko kauae highly prestigious and exclusive to Maori women. Director Hiona Henare brings us into an uninhibited and unobstructed experience filled with traditional songs and story.

Paradise is a young single pregnant mother living on the bones of her ass. Her boyfriend is in prison and her mother wants nothing to do with her. Desperate for help she finds solace in the two people in the world that love her unconditionally; her children.