Ngā mihi nui whānau for all your help in sharing the word and donating to this beautiful kaupapa. We are now 20% of the way to our 10k goal! Woohoo. We could not have gotten this far with you (yes, you!). Thank you, thank you, thank you ❤️

I had so many beautiful people come through from Thursday - Tuesday to say goodbyes, have final coffees, and talk all things Japan. I have so much gratitude for the connections I have on the home Whenua, and the immense support I've had from all from professional to personal folks.  Tomorrow, in 12 hours, I leave on my flight for Japan for the foreseeable future. I know nobody there, I have no job to go too, and I have a whole lot of residencies, memories, and curiosities in the brain bank. It's risky, but I feel like it's the right move. For now. Ngā Mihi to all who've donated so far - we're already at 18% and it's only been 2 days! 

Firstly - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to all my Boosted donors for giving me some financial support so I can have an intensive Butoh (avant-garde dance-theatre style) initiation down on Yakushima Island with Sensei Mushimaru Fujieda. It’s been 11 days, and I’m already at 30%, which has filled me with so much gratitude and made me feel like my dream is that little bit closer. Arriving in Tokyo brought back so many memories from my trip to Japan in ‘23. The thing I’m most aware of when disembarking are the smells. Japan has this distinct, smoky smell that weirdly feels like home. I travelled to Osaka straight away for my first day at residency #1 at FUTRWORKS in Umeda/Osaka. This is basically a digital nomadic residency / co-working space run by the loveliest group of people, including some escapees of the Oceanic variety who’ve been in Japan for 17+ years, and I can see why.I taught pilates to our nomad group in Umekita Park / うめきた公園で! It’s been really special getting to share fitness with digital nomads, and it's something I’ll be focusing on more while I journey. Then - work for the day.I’d been invited to a dance class with a Butoh practitioner and street dancer through another dancer I’d contacted. Aryuu-San & Sensei Nas Wataru were so welcoming. We worked with very simple explorations of using hands and giving them a gentle massage. Sensei Nas’ philosophy is about treating everything with kindness and trying to transmute non-sustainable energies into something more regulated. Sensei-Nas has a background in street dance, Butoh, and contemporary dance but has started to move away from rigid technical practice and focus more on using dance as a means of healing, expression, and community-building. I gained so much value and learning from his class, and after the hecticness of travelling, it was nice to be in a dance studio moving the (very sore) bod. There were so many other exercises that I simply can’t explain in words. To conclude, the three of us did and improvisation jam. I’m looking forward to getting deeper into practice in May down on Yakushima.Post class, the 3 of us got some kai (Izakaya) and talked all things philosophy - from folk dance practices and rituals to appropriation of Butoh (I’m trying to be sooooo careful not to do this) to our shared interests in dance. Post-lunch (it was a 4 hour lunch), Aryuu-San and I made our way to Osaka-Ko (the docks in Osaka near the Aquarium) to film a little dance jam in the dusk.All in all this week has been a super rich, adventure-fuelled time. I don’t know when sleep will happen, but so far, I’ve been loving every moment despite missing the wonderful support network I have in Aotearoa. Japan truly feels like a home I’ve not had.Here's a wee improv jam from Sunday just gone:https://youtu.be/5XtT4_n7mUw?feature=shared 

Kei Poutū-te-rangi, kia ora koutou.  Wow, it is March with that beautiful red moon and chilly nights.  And we have exciting news to share...As we continue to traverse the hundreds of hours of filmed footage, we are closer and closer to a cut.  I returned to Nigeria last September (photo below) to show scenes to The Critics, the co-filmmakers and subjects of CROCODILE, and celebrate again this crazy and boundary-pushing collaboration.   It wasn't the most straight forward of journeys to get there this time - five hours in a traffic jam in the countryside, with the Nigerian airforce hovering overhead and people with guns walking car to car checking on the occupants.  One asked me "Has he kidnapped you?" pointing to my driver.  "Not yet," I replied.In November we were selected for the prestigious IDFA Rough Cut Presentation, out of 170 submissions, at the world's largest documentary film festival and market in Amsterdam (photos below).  Raymond Yusuff, one of The Critics, was able to come with me and, as I said to him, make me cool... but more importantly continuing on our journey of collaboration and inclusion, making our film stand out and be stronger.And from hundreds of applications, CROCODILE has now been selected for the reputable European workshopping programme Dok Incubator.  It will be three workshops over the coming months, drilling down into the DNA of the film, finding the strongest film and then preparing the release materials to hit press and publicity with on the film's completion.The workshop organisers have agreed that two members of The Critics can accompany me to Europe with each workshop.  It will be an amazing time of growth, of learning and of continuing to build the spirit of this film that makes me emotional every time I review a cut.It is I believe a very special film.  I've arrived at a word to describe its tone and look - restless.  I feel this encompasses the unique approach to this coming-of-age story, in the footage, in the pacing of the film's edit, in the sound design I have in mind, and the musical score.   But also the restlessness of The Critics to grab at life, and from me to get it out to you all to view!  I will be celebrating hard when it is finally released, let me tell you.I remain so grateful to you all, the film's supporters.  Mauri ora.

Kei Poutū-te-rangi, kia ora koutou.  Wow, it is March with that beautiful red moon and chilly nights.  And we have exciting news to share...As we continue to traverse the hundreds of hours of filmed footage, we are closer and closer to a cut.  I returned to Nigeria last September (photo below) to show scenes to The Critics, the co-filmmakers and subjects of CROCODILE, and celebrate again this crazy and boundary-pushing collaboration.   It wasn't the most straight forward of journeys to get there this time - five hours in a traffic jam in the countryside, with the Nigerian airforce hovering overhead and people with guns walking car to car checking on the occupants.  One asked me "Has he kidnapped you?" pointing to my driver.  "Not yet," I replied. In November we were selected for the prestigious IDFA Rough Cut Presentation, out of 170 submissions, at the world's largest documentary film festival and market in Amsterdam (photos below).  Raymond Yusuff, one of The Critics, was able to come with me and, as I said to him, make me cool... but more importantly continuing on our journey of collaboration and inclusion, making our film stand out and be stronger.And from hundreds of applications, CROCODILE has now been selected for the reputable European workshopping programme Dok Incubator.  It will be three workshops over the coming months, drilling down into the DNA of the film, finding the strongest film and then preparing the release materials to hit press and publicity with on the film's completion.The workshop organisers have agreed that two members of The Critics can accompany me to Europe with each workshop.  It will be an amazing time of growth, of learning and of continuing to build the spirit of this film that makes me emotional every time I review a cut.It is I believe a very special film.  I've arrived at a word to describe its tone and look - restless.  I feel this encompasses the unique approach to this coming-of-age story, in the footage, in the pacing of the film's edit, in the sound design I have in mind, and the musical score.   But also the restlessness of The Critics to grab at life, and from me to get it out to you all to view!  I will be celebrating hard when it is finally released, let me tell you.I remain so grateful to you all, the film's supporters.  Mauri ora. 

Our cameras have just captured the opening of the Nigerians’ exhibition ONE CAN ONLY HOPE AND WONDER at Frankfurt Museum of Modern Art thanks to your fundraising efforts. The five oldest of The Critics, aged 15-22 have been in Frankfurt for six weeks building and then being the stars of the opening night, even Raymond as you see below editing right up until the last minute, sitting in his beautiful mauve suit.  And a note that we’re now holding smaller fundraising events if any of you know of someone who might be interested…Again huge thanks to you all, you’re in our hearts.

We are in the final hours, and thank you all for your support and encouragement. It means so much. In these final hours if there's anyone you feel you can send the link to, we would be so grateful. Kia pai te rā i te ngahuru. Have a lovely autumn day.

A few years ago my beautiful mum was knitting a jumper for me. Dad would deliver the updates. "She's building that cobweb for you still", as he walked the phone to where she worked the needles. I could imagine her sitting, with the fine multicoloured wool I'd chosen, the view of te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa at Ōhope for her gaze to drop on as she probably cursed my choice of wool, building the cobweb that would eventually become my jumper.Oh how I call on my mother's talents in this film cobweb we are currently building. And just like the jumper, it's an extraordinary weave - of life, of culture, of the hope and sometimes despair of these young, of the unbelievable creative minds I get to dive into in this film, of a place so far away from me now but always so close. CROCODILE.A wee update - we have now been editing for majority of the year, working through the hundreds of hours of footage gathered. We have over 140 scenes cut and are beginning to workshop the knitting of the three main characters and their storylines, and how their short scifi films reflect their lives in this coming-of-age epic.Your support earlier this year empowered us onwards to get to this stage. And we are eternally grateful.Enjoy the first dive into the sea or lake or awa on your holiday. And may you find unexpectedly beautiful moments of colour co-ordination like Big Rachael here as she contemplates directing her first film.xx

In 5 days time, Bodies of Water will be nearing the end of its first shooting day. After existing for so long in my mind (and on my computer!), the shoot seems to have come around so quickly! Heading out to shoot on location could have the potential to feel pretty daunting. But in this specific process, we’ve been given a wonderful gift- rehearsal time! This feels pretty unheard of in this day and age of “get-in-get-out”! But our director Shelley Waddams made sure to craft this into the schedule. Shelley is every actor’s dream. She’s an actor herself, and knows intrinsically what we need. She’s also an INCREDIBLE writer, so her knowledge of storytelling runs deep on SO many levels. Rehearsals with her have been a chance for Michelle and I to explore the complexities of our characters and the relationship between them. We’ve made new discoveries, and most importantly felt free to play! This past Saturday, we took our rehearsals out into the world- to Pt. Chev beach to be precise! And it was amazing just how being in the environment brought so much new life to the piece. Shelley guided us through the beats of the script, and we spent time crafting important technical moments so they’re safe to shoot come the day. And then beyond that, we just let the experience of the beach affect the work we were doing. It’s the sort of rehearsal I’ll always treasure having. Our Boosted campaign is so SO close to reaching its final goal- we’re roughly only $1300 away! Any additional funding we get now is going to help us with the post-production on the film… which means the film you’ll eventually see will look top notch through your generous donations! If you haven’t shared this campaign yet, it would mean the world to me if you could- and anything you’re able to give is appreciated SO much! Arohanui,Megan